//------------------------------// // Chapter II - Reise, Reise... // Story: Tainted // by Dinius //------------------------------// Chapter II - Reise, Reise... I was floating in complete emptiness. I couldn't see anything. I couldn't even decide which way was up or which way was down. All I could hear and feel was the beat of my own heart. Then there was a cold unlike any I have ever felt before; it was as if all pretenses of heat had been destroyed and the surrounding blackness was simply the manifestation of what remained. Utter nothingness. 'Cold. So very cold.' My mind was incapable of wrapping itself around anything except. The cold slowly penetrated my body. It crawled inside me from every direction as if thousands of spawning spiders were testing their eight new legs under my flesh. They crawled in through my ears, nose, mouth, eyes and my very skin. They creeped up through the blood in my veins, with clear intent to savor my heart and brain. As I realized that, I started to move. I tried to shout, but no voice come out from my mouth. I did not felt panic so much as I felt raw fear. It was unlike any fear that I had ever experienced before, it was not the fear of caution telling you something was a bad idea, no; this was true fear. I wanted to run, to hide, to cower underneath my very being just to escape the nothingness before me just so long as the darkness couldn’t find me. This hollow emptiness I feared more than death, I gladly would have allowed the reaper to harvest my soul if it would’ve guaranteed by escape from this infinite nothingness. My were wrecked with a hitherto unknown pain. Every time I even tried my arm, it was seized with a the feeling of being stabbed, shot, and stung by a thousands wasp all at once. 'Fuck! Come on! It's time to get out from here!' I screamed in my head. My actions were to no avail, the more I moved the more the pain butchered my muscles. With a final cry of hopeless despair I somehow freed myself. I did not land on anything, instead I fell into the void beneath me. With a loud impact, I hit a wooden floor with more force than a human should be able to survive. I landed on my stomach, the wind was instantly knocked out of me as I struggled to catch my breath. The cold was gone in an instant, but the pain was still ravaging my body. At least I was no longer floating in the void that I now called home. The world around suddenly began to spin as feeling of intense vertigo came to dominate my stomach, serving only to add to my unimaginable pain. As my eyes slowly began to adjust to the pitch blackness I began to see something. I was standing in some sort of hallway, the walls of which were painted a faded ivory color, the floor was too dark to properly make out. At the end of the corridor was a small moving light, a beam of it was pulsating not unlike a pulsar star or a lighthouse. It looked like it was miles away but its warmth felt near. I slowly staggered to my feet as I tried tried to keep my stomach’s protests silent; I leaned against the wall as I tried to wait out the sickness. In perhaps a few minute’s time my vertigo began to subside, my stomach began to quiet itself in much the same way. I took a step toward the light and immediately felt it again. Fear. That same unrelenting fear that had consumed my very being only moments ago had bubbled back into my mind. The difference was, that this time I could fer a direction from which it emanated. I could feel its insidious tentacles violate my very soul. I raised my head from the wall and saw the other end of the corridor being devoured by darkness. There came a terrible sound from the new shroud of shadows. Drag. Thump! Drag. Thump! Drag. Thump! The sound rapidly morphed into a distant and menacing giggle. It was like Lucifer’s daughter was toying with me. The giggle rapidly devolved into a series of hoof beats and low growls. A feeling of dread washed over as each growl. I saw spots flash in my vision as it growled, either my blood was having a field day in my ocular veins or the thing was growling at a very low hertz rate. I tried to make out the being making the sound but it was to no use, the only think I learned was that the sound was definitely getting closer to me. "Shit!" I hissed at myself. I turned from the encroaching veil of nothingness and ran to were the ‘light’ yet remained. All the while I could hear my new ‘playmate’ somehow getting closer to me but without picking up its pace. It was almost as if I was running on a treadmill. As the ‘light’ around me began to be shredded by the darkness something blindsided me. All I saw was a humanoid abomination composed of swirling shadows, on what would have been the left side of its face a single eye glowed a deep blood-like crimson, its body was surrounded shimmering aura that radiated malice. As my eyes met its lone eye I saw only hatred, malice, avarice, and determination; its eye bored directly through and and into my very soul. With renewed vigor I tore myself from its vision and ran even harder, the pain that was already insufferable easily tripled. Suddenly the hallway ended at a small table. On the table was a small light candle. Next to the candle was a shiny metal object that reflected the glow of the candle into my eyes. 'My knife!' I cheered in my head. Somehow the thought echoed its way into the reality around me. I was overcome with a sense of confidence owning to my new found ability to defend myself. I spun around to face the blackness with my knife at the ready. It had somehow fallen far behind me. My heart almost failed to beat as I saw it speeding at me with impossible speed. 20 feet... My head began to surge with pain but I held my ground. I could hear its loud and ragged breathing as it neared me. My muscles tensed in response. I doubted I could truly defeat a creature such as it, but I could be rather resourceful when backed into a corner. I was praying for a sudden dues ex machina to suddenly pop into my head. 10 feet... Something suddenly felt very wrong, aside from he whole everything. My vision suddenly became hazy and my movements and perception seemed to slow as if my mind was suddenly encased in molasses. It was like swimming up strongest currents of the grandest river imaginable. Some malevolent force began to tighten itself around my muscles, its tendrils were not unlike the fear the had gripped me only so shortly ago. 5 feet... 'Steady.' I posited my arm to jab at the thing it what I assumed would be its heart when it reached me as thought I were a Spartan phalanx. I could feel the icy tinge of despair and hopelessness crawl up my spine as the nothingness washed over the last vestiges of light before me. 1 foot... The entity reached me, a malicious hand shot up in the blink of an eye towards me with dire intent. My mind reverted back to its most primeval instincts of fight or flight; I had already fled, all I could do was fight. I didn’t need anybody to tell that that it was kill or be killed in those fleeting moments. The seconds passed by like hours as its hand grabbed my shoulder, in response I thrust my dagger up and as deep into its heart as my body could manage. With the combined force of my thrust and its ungodly speed my blade sank through it like a scalding hot knife through butter. It released a piercing shriek that momentarily left me deaf and disoriented. The thing looked down to the knife, then with painful slowness it looked back at me with a smile that was too large for a human being. It slowly grabbed the knife, and my wrist, and pulled the blade out as it licked its lip with another shadow. 'He-he great stab, its such a shame I don't have a heart.' said the creature with a high pitched daemonic growl, its lips didn’t move from the unnatural smile it wore. The voice was unlike anything I had ever heard before. It was vaguely feminine, but sounded like a choir of evil monks was reiterating every one of its words as it spoke. My mind failed to properly cogitate what had just happened. "I like this game." spoke the thing with a childlike chorus. My spine tingled in fear with every one of its word. “Well, perhaps I should amend myself?” it asked. I had no response other then to gape in terror. It brought its face to within inches of mine and said, “My words fly up, my thoughts,” it giggled, “remain below: Words without thoughts never go to heaven!” We stared at each other for a few seconds, our eyes were locked and I couldn’t bring myself to look away. I simply did nothing, my fight or flight instincts were drawing a blank as my mind threatened to simply shut down from terror. I looked down at my blade and saw something I yet further could comprehend, I blinked hard to double check. The entity before me did not posses hands; rather it had stumps, but as I looked at it something clicked inside me; the being before had hooves. Its hoof suddenly jerked forth and up, taking my blade with it. It raised the blade and somehow spun it around so that the knife was pointed towards me as if I was a sacrificial lamb, its expression reflected its intents as clear as a summer’s sky to me. In a start of action I raised my left hand in a defensive gesture towards it but the move was all for not; it stabbed the blade down, piercing straight through my hand in the process. "AAAAAGH!" I howled in bloody murder. The pain was intense, and it burned like a swarm of molten bees. The impact of the blow combined with my wound collapsed me to my knees. "Hmmm, most interesting. It would appears that your reflexes have increased dramatically since our last encounter, wouldn’t you agree?" "Wha-a-?" I stammered. My response was cut critically short as its hoof coiled itself around my throat, extending far further than it should have been able to. It lifted me by my neck and pressed me against the ivory wall. It moved with impossible grace and fought with impossible strength it relation to what its physical body should have allowed. I should have realized that to continue struggling was an exercise in futility, but something inside me refused to let me give up. The only winning move would have not been to play, but that option had long been discarded. "Now let's talk a little, shall we?" "B-Bite me!" I spat. Its grip around me intensified as I heard an audible crack of bone, the bone was no doubt my own. I shriek in pain. I think I can honestly say that I’m not the most sociable character when it comes to dealing with supernatural entities. It began to methodically twist the blade in my hand. Someone once told me that when you’ve dug your own grave you might as well dig to China, and I was taking that lesson to heart. "Try again." I panted as I tried to hold back the urge to bawl from the pain in my palm. “Y-you want to talk? Fine!” I rasped. “Who or what in the nine hells are you? Have we met?!" I demanded as I stared into its crimson eye. The more I looked into its eyes the more a scream tried to work its way up my throat like vomit. "You forgot?" it queried in an almost mocking tone. It’s expression changed to one of murderous curiosity; like when a twisted child murders a cat with a lawnmower just to see what made the cat ‘tick’ on the inside. I kept silent as I tried to remember something, anything, about this thing, but nothing came up. Its eye somehow changed as a black pupil became visible in the entity’s eye, I looked into the pupil and was rewarded with a vision of infinite blackness the likes of which contained veritable malice and limitless malevolent intent. "Hehe, it looks like you’ve really forgotten... This will make the surprise even more rewarding for both of us!" cheered the being as a black serpent’s tongue licked the edges of its lips "Fuck you!" I barked. It gave me a disappointed look as it twisted the knife in my hand once again. I grunted as tears began to well up in my eyes while I repressed a wail of suffering. “F-fine! What is it you’re planning? I’ll play along,” I groaned in a defeated tone. "Don't worry, I'm fairly certain you’ll remember by yourself in due time," dismissed the creature with a sing-song. "What is of importance to the matter at hand is I’ve found one who may ameliorate my condition in yourself." "No!" I challenged. "Forgive me for stating the obvious but you’re not in a condition to be bargaining. A vaguely vicarious, veritably symbiotic synergy -" It was interrupted by a loud thud. It began to frantically search with its eyes as the being’s expression changed to one of panic. "What’s going one!?” I demanded in a choked tone. Its grip uncoiled from around my hand as I felt to the ground, coughing, on all fours. It didn’t even bother answering me, or look at me for that matter. As soon as I was on the ground it dematerialized into an immaterial cloud of swirling shadows as I felt a familiar feeling crawl up my spine. 'Shit! Not this again!' The sickly coils of fear, cold and pain returned to every part of my body in full force. It was like the Soviet counterattack after Operation Barbarossa on a bodily scale. I tried to grab at the cloud in the vain hope of it being my salvation, but my hands completely phased through it. My only accomplishment was that the cloud began to seem into my flesh like an osmosis of syringes. I roared in agony as the prickles of the cloud’s needle-like pain crawled up my veins. "Get out! Get out! GET OUT! GET OUUUT!" ---------------------- I gasped as my head shot up. I was back outside, laying on my back, in the real world. My body was drenched in an icy sweat. I heard a rustling sound in the nearby bushes, but judging by the decibels of the sounds it was rapidly heading away from me. My vision was shrouded by black splotches in my vision, I sat and rubbed my eyes until I could see properly once more. My thoughts were obsessed on the prospect of finding water, I was thirstier than I had ever been before in my life. My muscles ached and refused to yield to my commands to move. Slowly, my muscles began to flood with themselves with my commands, but my legs didn’t seem to want to obey. I realized that I could hear the babble of a small brook somewhere behind the nearby foliage. I slowly dragged myself over the grass beneath me and through the small thicket. The brook was shallow, but looked free of any waste that could make the water hazardous. The taste was truly magical to my water starved person. While the water had a vaguely muddy aftertaste, I could really complain being that it was clean and actually there. Judging by the proximity of myself and the stream to the mountains I have been been the first significant creature the water’s encountered. As the liquid reinvigorated me I could feel my muscles more easily responding to my commands. 'By the graces of Saint Anthony this is refreshing!' The steam was surprisingly cool compared to the ambient temperature outside; I took slow and careful sips to avoid brain-freeze. After I was assured in my quenched thirst I took a moment to look at my reflection in the babbling brook. My eye suddenly felt really heavy, as though I could just fall asleep here where I laid. 'What's with my glasses?' I pondered. I finally took note that my vision was somewhat blurry as the result of a cracked lens and not dehydration. I slowly raised myself to my feet, I felt the mildly sting left half of my face and raised a hand to rub it; it was covered in scratches and small cuts from my expedition through the brush. I blinked as it dawned on me that I was seeing as clear as polished crystal without my glasses, I was stunned to say the least. I began to look at various objects at varying distances, all of which came in perfectly in focus. I took a hand and covered my right eyes as I tested my left eye by itself then repeated with the left eye. I was beyond words, my vision was easily 20/20. I couldn't comprehend the reasoning behind it, I looked back at the creek and checked my eyes out in the assumption that I might somehow be wearing contacts; I was not wearing anything on my eyes. "How the hell?" I mumbled in sheer bemusement. I tried to think how this could have come to pass but I couldn’t, and I get a headache for trying as much. I looked again at my reflection in the water to see if there was anything else in my eyes or anything to that effect. My right eye looked perfectly normal, it was the same dark-brown color as always. My left eye, however, was a different story. It was slightly swollen and reddened to an insane degree. 'What the hell happened to you, man?' There was a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach as my left arm, and more specifically my left palm ,began to burn profusely. I suppressed a screech as I grabbed hold of my left wrist with my free hand. As the flaming pain subsided I looked at my stinging palm, it was a black gem. My jaw fell open as I tried to think, but to many things that were beyond explaining that I almost gave up on the spot trying to understand it. The onyx-black gem completely pierced my palm. I turned my hand to view the other side and the gem was clearly visible. I cautiously moved the fingers on my left hand and there was no hesitation on their parts. To my horror I could clearly see my bones moving within the gem as though it was a casing of gelatin and not a gemstone. It reminded me of a medical video I once saw there a man had his wrist and the back top of his hand cut open to reveal the bones as he moved his fingers. The words, “This can’t be real,” fell from my mouth. A strange and viscous black puss-like fluid began to ooze from the edges of the gem where the crystal met flesh. 'Shit! This is so gonna infected if it isn't’ already!' I pulled out my flask, the painkillers, the black sport gloves and the spare T-shirt out of my backpack in an attempt to find something I could use to cover the gaping ‘wound.’ I pulled out a shirt, one that was very near and dear to me. 'A shirt, and one of my favorites no less. How did - never mind, I guess I’ve no choice.' The heart wrenching sound of tearing fabrics assaulted my ears. I allowed a lonely tear for my shirt to be shed and continued the process. I washed my hand and my face in the stream before opened the flask and poured a few drops of "remedy" on the scar. I grit my teeth as the ichor stung, but the alcohol would be a suitable impromptu antibiotic. I grunted as I pulled my tore shirt out and wrapped by hand with it as a makeshift tourniquet, then down an unhealthy dosage of painkillers. When the deed was finished I placed everything back in my pack, pulled the pairs gloves snugly over my hands, and finally took out the case and lighter from my pocket and ignited a cigarette. *Click* The calming effects of the tobacco easily calmed my shot nerves. 'How did this thing my hand? I should probably see a doctor about this and fast' I mused. I started prodding the gem through my gloves. 'Although, it doesn't hurt-' My thoughts were interrupted the the crunching sound of fallen leafs. “Huh?" I could tell the the crunching sound wasn't that far off, but I failed to spy anything that might have caused the sound. "Hello?" I asked the air. There was no answer. 'Hmm, must be some sort of wild animal or something. I guess it just wants a drink.' I stood up, replaced the pack on my back where it belonged, and continued my journey. 'I’ll let the little creature get a drink without having to deal with big scary old me.' I walked in a seemingly random, that being wherever the creek lead downstream, for what might have amounted to an hour. I got a paranoid feeling from time to time that something was observing me with almost predatory intent. Sometimes looked down at my hand, wondering as to how I’d explain this, or how ever would the doctor get this gem cut out without destroying my hand; Or pondering as to how my new found keen-eyed nature. When it came to the matters of my awesome vision I really didn’t care, I was just happy. ‘No need for laser eye surgery, at least.’ I was followed the creek until it started to flow inside a large cavern of some description. As I approached the cave I examined its outsides. “Hmm...” I sounded as I began to consider my options. The side of the cliff was far too steep to climb up safely. Without a rope it would probably be suicide. I entered the antechamber-like entrance to the cave. To my relief, as my eyes began to adjust, I could see a light at the end of the tunnel. It was distant, I wasn’t quite sure how far it would be but it wouldn’t be a quick trip. I momentarily mused by comparing this light to the pearly gates. I looked up the the sky, judging by the position of the sun there couldn’t have been that much more daylight. 'Okay, so it’s probably an hour to two, maybe less, before twilight. I’ll be the duke of Burgundy before I allow myself to spend the night out here.' The sun was definitely approaching the horizon at an alarming rate, and most curiously the moon already seemed to be up. "Both walking on its own path, the road less traveled" I mused with a smile. "They almost looked like children chasing each other in an eternal game of heavenly tag." *Click* I lit a cigarette as I finished my idle musings. "Huzzah~. I finally found you!” "KHAA! Huh?" I choked on my cigarette. I wasn’t sure if I had even heard those words, but I at least felt something. It sounded like it was coming from somewhere above me. With that thought in my mind I darted my eyes to the sky before examining the steep hillside; I saw nothing out of the ordinary. 'Hmm, this is a most curious development. Am I imagining things now? Somehow that wouldn’t surprise me.' I continued to smoke my cig, occasionally I would cast a paranoid glance around perchance to see who/whatever had spoken to me. In the end I gave up and flicked my burned cigarette into the small stream of water. I stole one last glance at the moon. 'It looks ludicrously close to Terra Firma.' I mused as I entered the cave. After a few minutes of slow travel my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I felt more confident that I wouldn’t run into the forest’s nasties and after that my stride quickened in kind. The only sound, other than my footsteps, was the calm babble of the brook. In a moment of paranoia I took out my lighter and lite it so that I could better see my surroundings. To my surprise I appeared to be in some large sort of room. I slowly scouted out the room with my eyes for what it was worth - that worth being little. I did, however, see a sizable group of bats hanging from the ceiling, a few of them were even making their echolocation sounds; judging by the dearth of guano on the floor they must not have resided in the cave for very long. I slowly trudged thorough the dark cave, with the occasional flashback to that nightmare thing I had only so recently. At the end of that section of the cave was something that looked eerily out of place. 'What on god’s green Earth?' It was a large blue square shaped object. On one side of it was an inscription in English. 'A public police call box? The hell’s going on here?' I cautiously made my way towards it. 'What the hell is this thing doing here? This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder.' I moved to open the door, but to my chagrin I found it locked. "'Free for use of public... Yeah right." I grumbled. In reality I wasn’t that surprised that it was locked, it looked rather aged and haggard. It likely hadn’t seen use in years, and the cool, damp environment of the cave probably didn’t do it any favors. But there was one question still bugging my mind. 'Who the bloody hell puts a public call box deep in a cave?' ‘Huh? What’s this?’ There was a rugged sheet of paper on a pin under the door knob. I unfolded it and began to read it. Some of the words were rather hard to read, likely written in a hurry, and the fact that my Zippo wasn’t meant to act as a torch wasn’t doing my any favors. DeAr straNGER, I’ve gone to Search some spare parts for the ------. it's CurrentLy brOken. i’m not Sure whEn i'll be back. best of luck, the do---- p.s.: you should probably Get Out - - -- FAST! "What?” I whispered to no one in particular. There was the sound of heavy footfalls landing in water coming from somewhere in the darkness. I dropped the paper as my head was assaulted with a migraine, I clutched my head as squeezed as the pain slowly began to dissipate. I turned my head towards my destination at the far side of the cave. There, in the water, was a large being of some sort. Without warning a low pitched growl came from the beast, utterly terrifying the cave bats. The bats practically shrieked as they flew the opposite direction of the creature. 'Well fuck me!' I turned around in an attempt to see how far I could make it before I was caught even though I didn’t know how fast the beast was. 'Shit! I don’t think I can make it out in time, fuck my life!.' My eyes began to frantically search the room in vain hope of finding some alcove or niche were I could cower. 'Balls to it! This’ll have to do.' In a hurry I squeezed myself behind the police box and the wall, then scrunched myself into a squatter position. I could hear every one of its movements, every step it took was followed the sound of displaced water. I tried to focus on being quiet, going as far as to try to hold my breath, the only result was another onset of that grand old headache it was becoming so fond of me lately. I opened a small pouch on my belt and pulled out my knife, it was likely to be a useless gesture but holding it made me feel more comfortable somehow. I anxiously waited every heart-pounding second for this thing to go on its merry way. If it was curious enough to check behind my call box I would have to be readied to spring into action, predators only go after easy prey and won’t bother going after something if it posses a legitimate threat to it. It entered my small chamber of the cave. My headache only began to intensify. With my left hand I clutched at my head, with the right I held my blade in a gesture vaguely reminiscent of a sacrificial gesture. I tried to focus on the creature's sounds, but the pain in my head was accompanied by a ringing in my ears, I couldn't hear anything worthwhile. I could feel the hotness of sanguine began to trickle out of my nose. The beast started to slowly plod its way to my location. I tired to stop my breathing when I realized its probable intent, but it was to no avail. As I began to feels the hotness of its breath my grip on my blade when from extremely tight to white-knuckled. 'Move... Move goddammit... There's no one here! Just fucking move!' It started to taste the air around the police box. The event couldn’t have lasted more than a few seconds, bu they felt like endless eternities; my heart was thumping so hard in my throat that I almost choked on it. Suddenly, without reason nor explanation, I started to feel the fear mixing in the pit of my stomach with bile and the result was a viscous concoction of anger and malice; yet I also felt my body almost growing cold and distant of myself. I likened it to the feel of a caged cat when in a corner, you fight harden then possible because you know the alternate is death and there’s never any sense to dying alone. Regardless of the rush of adrenaline I remained without motion, a part of me just wanted to rush out there and began to eviscerate it, but the rational part of me overruled my animalistic instincts. It snorted, and with a growl I felt it turn around and slowly canter away. A pungent feeling hung in the air that almost resonated with fear, but it was not my fear. Somehow my nerves began to loosen themselves as released a breath I hadn’t been aware I was holding. It wandered of it the direct from which I had entered. When the steps grew quiet, I allowed myself a deep breath. 'Thank god or whomever is watching over me!’ I slowly rose to my feet and made my way from my little alcove of salvation. I stole a paranoid glace to check for the beast but to my surprise, and relief, I did not see it. I finished that last ten minutes of my way to the exit in three minutes. I jogged for speed, but maintained a slow enough pace just so that my footsteps wouldn’t give me away. 'This is too much for me!'*Pant*Fuck! My heart is going to implode or I’m going to have a mental breakdown before I ever reach civilisation!' As I reached the outside I did not stop; rather I kept walking at a steady pace alongside the creek. It dawned on me that I was downright sprinting from the cave, at that point I stopped to catch my breath. As the sun’s warm embrace began to leave me for the other have of the world a thick miasma began to roll out of the now dark forest. "Fucking trees.” I grumbled. "Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelp!" My head instinctively darted to in the direction that the sound had originated. I wasn't sure, but is sounded like the screams of females, and more importantly they yelled in a language I understood. 'Holy hell, voices! Wait, why are they screaming? It would be just my luck to run into the real life version of the Texas chainsaw massacre or human centipede country.' I began a flat out sprint toward the screams. There was a strange white flash above me towards the direction I was heading. There was an ear-splitting roar of some unknown monster; when I hear it I jumped to the ground and went prone in the brush. My nostrils were suddenly assaulted with the stench of addled eggs and burned flesh. I dared to crawl my way forwards and brushed aside a small branch. Before me I could see some sort of large reptile, it poses leathery bat-like wings and there was black smoke coming from its nostrils. It was perhaps only marginally larger than I. The beast was approaching three small figures, they all stood and didn’t move as they bunched up together. 'What... the... fuck?' "P-Please!L-Leave us alone!" bawled a voice that was beyond simple terror. Something inside me also clicked; judging by the pitch of their voice they sounded like children. 'Shit! I need to help them, I can’t just sit here and watch! They’re just little girls for Christ's sakes! I need to help them! I need to help them!' As I chanted to myself I felt my heart beating faster as a familiar darkness began to enshroud me. I completely failed to notice that my hands began to violently convulse. My thoughts suddenly took a turn for the grim, and I didn’t even notice the difference. ‘I need to kill them! I have to kill them!' The rational part of my mind seemed to shut of. The last thing I could rightly recall was my hand suddenly, frantically even, searching something in the backpack. 'Show me what it's like to be set free! Embrace what you are!' -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Half an hour earlier Not far away... "Okay girls! So far, so good," declared Twilight. "Unfortunately it seems that the forest forks off into a few different directions from here" Everypony cut their chatter, which only seconds ago had been so lively. "While I’m hesitant to do this, I’m afraid we’ll have to split up if we want to cover more ground. Rarity, you and Rainbow Dash’ll go to the right - towards Zecora's hut. See if she has any insights as to the nature and/or origins of that phenomenon! Maybe she heard or saw something we didn’t." "Alright, dear,” replied Rarity. "You got it!" saluted Rainbow Dash. "AJ, you’ll go with me! We’ll take the middle road and see where that leads us." "Sure thing, Twi'." replied Applejack as she adjusted her cowpony hat. "Fluttershy! You and Pinkie will go on the left road - towards the ruins of the old castle, any objections? "O-okay, that’s fine by me," replied Fluttershy in an almost inaudible deadpan. "Yippee-kay-ay! That place is so much FUN," cheered Pinkie with far to much excitement for one heading into the ruins of an ancient city. "Just be careful I know I don’t have to say this but I don’t want any of you getting hurt! Keep your eyes and ears open to anything unusual, well, unusual for the Everfree forest. We don't know what we could be dealing with here," Twilight stated as she turning to everypony with an expression that was beyond seriousness. "If we don't find anything we will meet back here in, let’s say, an hour! Alright?" Everypony nodded in agreement. "However, if one group finds something, use a signal! Rarity, do you know the Spark spell?" queried Twilight as she turned to Rarity. "Naturally, darling.’ the fashionista replied. "Great. You and I will use that spell to signal everpony else if something, good or bad, should happen." "Pinkie? I'm sure you got the-" Twilight got the answer instantly. "My party cannon! Never leave without it." With a sound like a paper bag exploding shiny confetti started to rain from the sky as fallout from Pinkie’s ludicrous cannon. "Hihihi.” the pink party pony giggled. "You and Fluttershy will use that to signal! Just shoot straight up towards the sky." "Okey-dokey-lokey" Twilight looked at the rapidly setting sun. "Let's move! It's going to be dark soon." And with that the three group headed for their separate ways. Behind a tree Not too far away... "What are they doing? I can't see ‘em," asked Apple Bloom from the bottom a totem pole composed of three live ponies. "Shush! They’ll hear us," Sweetie Belle hissed from the middle, standing as we was on Apple Bloom's neck. "They’re splitting up!" whispered Scootaloo from the top. She stood on Sweetie Belle's neck. "Rarity and Rainbow Dash went right, Pinkie and Fluttershy went left, Twilight and Applejack took the middle road." "Okay, we go after Twilight and Big Sis!" replied Apple Bloom. "Roger dodger!" her cohorts responded. "Now get off - whoa!" The struggled to without yells as they realized that couldn't keep their balance. The top tier crusaders fell to the ground a bit faster what they have planned. "Uhh! You alright?" Apple Bloom groaned as she held the back of her head. "Uhhhhhhh..." "Hey! They already left. C'mon girls get on the scooter! We got to follow Twilight and Sis!" Apple Bloom jumped to her hooves and picked her fellow miscreants up. The fillies started to chase after Twilight and Applejack. --------------- "Scootaloo hold up!" demanded Sweetie Belle. "This might take a while, you running off won’t help us none!" "But, they went this way... didn’t they?" The scooter stopped, and they looked around. As the sun sat behind the mountains the forest got darker and creepier. "We’d better turn around. It's getting late," offered Sweetie Belle with an expression that barely masked her inner worry. "Aw, shoot." said Apple Bloom while kicking a rock. "I hoped we could get our cutie marks by searching for-" Apple Bloom was interrupted by a thick rustle from a nearby bush. They looked towards the side of the road with wide eyes. "Um, he-hello?" Apple bloom called out. There was another rustling sound from the nearby thicket. "Twilight?... Applejack? Is that you?" More rustling, still no answer. Without warning tow glowing yellow orbs emerged from the weald, and following suite was the head, then the body, of a reptilian creature. For a brief few moments the fillies were petrified and unable to move, and then they yelled. "HEEEEEEEEEEELP!" the three girls screamed in perfect unison. To the girls’ credit, the ferocity or which they screamed momentarily stunned the reptile. But it did not last long, the beast quickly recomposed itself. As a white flash illuminated the dusky sky the reptilian started to slow approach the fillies; its huge scaled body and wide-spread wings made it look even larger, its forked tongue shot out as if to taste their fear. A trickle of flames began to lick its lips. It hissed as it snapped its jaw at them. "P-Please...L-Leave us alone!" Apple Bloom begged; her voice quivered as her body did much the same. The three girls held each other as they believed their final moments approached. They waited with bated breath for the death knell to sound. In the dying light, they could saw something else slowly heading their way from behind the reptile. "RRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGGHHH" bellowed the new entity in a tone somewhere between a war-cry and a squee of delight. The reptile turned towards the deep hold and flinched at the sight. The new creature casually waked towards the larger beast. It struggled to maintain its balance as it stopped flinching. Taking advantage of this opportunity the three fillies quickly dashed behind a fallen tree and intently watch the proceeding battle. All they could tell was that it stood on two legs and did not look friendly. The being was tall by pony standards, standing at what might have been six feet or double the height of the average mare. From its robust figure it probably weighted somewhere around 200 pounds. Weird clothing covering all of its body. Its outfit was mostly black, a shield symbol decorated the creature’s chest. A bag was swinging between strange stumps at the end of its arm that almost looked like claws. As the little fillies gaped somepony dared to break the silence between them. "W-What's with its h-head?" asked Sweetie Belle as she stared agape at the being in incomprehension. There was a swirling black mass where the creature's head should have been, two orbs shown through the swirling blackness; one of murderous crimson with a serpent-like slit pupil, and the other a hollow and ghastly white without a pupil, both glowed of their own accord. On its forehead, blood slowly dripping down from a scar, where was a horn on the left side between its long black and lumpy coat. The horn was oddly shaped, and made of a shiny metal. The creature stopped before the reptile. In the span of a few tense seconds the forest was completely silent, even the wind held its breath. The two beasts locked eyes and regarded one another. The only sound made was a heavy south of hellish breathing originated from the strange being. Slowly, the creature started to reach down to its waist. It pulled out a sharp metal object from underneath its clothes. It fit into the creatures claws perfectly, as if it was made specifically for it. The object was violently shaking; it drooped the pack on its back and charged the reptile. The creature reached the reptile at an impossible speed then proceeded to shack at the side of the beast, but the reptile quickly turned its head and snapped up on the being’s upper leg. The two monsters froze as they realized they had each other in a rather unfavorable position. It was a tie-up for both of them. The shadow creature's upper leg was in the beast's huge mouth and the sharp blade was lost under the reptile's thick skin. With an ear-slitting snap of bone and a howl from the shadowy creature the reptile frantically started shaking its head, try to tore off the creature's upper leg, but only managed to twist it and break the bone. The creature pulled out the now glowing knife and stabbed the beast once again, but now on its neck. The beast released the creature, then it gouged the creature's chest. The shadow create pulled its knife out, then took a few cautious steps back as if it hadn't even phased by the attack. The reptile opened its mouth and spat some vaguely acidic liquid onto the creature's head, but only managed to hit the shadowy mask. The shadows went up in a great conflagration. The creature began clawing at the shadowy mask, and in the moment the reptile turned around, spread its wings, and took flights as fast as it could away from the creature. As the shadowy mask was tore from the creature it tried to jump after the reptile to grab its leg, but it was to no avail. The injured beast managed to escape, leaving a very pissed off creature to stare at it from the ground. "GIRLS?!" somepony shouted. The three fillies jumped in surprise as they turned to face the new interloper. "SIS? TWILIGHT?" shouted Apple Bloom in a tone somewhere between relief, and sheer panic from being caught. As Applejack and Twilight galloped towards the fallen tree, they did a quick survey before their eyes were accosted by a most ghastly visage. The three fillies turned around and followed the mares’ gazes, the remaining creature was slowly plodding towards them with grim intent. The broken, and shred, leg that hung useless looked beyond agonizing, but the being didn’t seem to notice. But it approaching them was not was scared them. Was terrified them was the huge, and daemonic smile plastered across a smile far to wide and toothy to ever have good intents. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Huge help and edited by Crushric Please leave a comment, tell your thoughts about it and/or do a review and a rating. Questions and criticism are welcomed. (Morale Booster :) ) MLP:FIM is owned by Hasbro and DHX Media Vancouver!