Secrets of the Fortress 'Survivors'

by John Victor

  SECRETS OF THE FORTRESS II survivors

  By John Victor

  Copyright 2015 John Victor

  Smashwords Edition

  Smashwords Edition, License Notes

  Thank you for downloading this ebook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favourite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

  Thanks to God Almighty for seeing me through this book and to my family for their support throughout the period of writing the book.

  CHAPTER 1

  Evalle shut her mouth immediately as she remembered that no one was around to help her. She tiptoed towards the door in an attempt to close it. Goose bumps were all over her skin. She remembered what her mum always told her about fear.

  “It will cripple you till you are defenseless.” She said to herself, as she got closer to the door. She dropped her feet on the floor and ran to close the door. She stopped as her hands touched the doorknob.

  I am doing exactly what it wants. It wants me to back off. I must face it. Or else, it will cripple me until I am defenseless.

  She slipped in through the tiny hole between the door and the wall and it slammed shut behind her, forcing her to look back in fear. The door had disappeared. She quickly moved away from the spot she was.

  The room was dark and cold. She held tight to her skin, as the goose bumps seemed to increase. Her bare feet moved from left to right in the cold substance, in search of direction. The closer she moved towards the light, the more it seemed to be fading.

  The place had the stench of rotten flesh. Evalle covered her nostrils to prevent them from being destroyed.

  She hit her leg on a hard substance and fell. Her back hit the floor and the liquid she was walking in, got into her mouth. It tasted of blood. She immediately stood up and spat into the pool of blood.

  * * *

  Emily and Donald had been walking for over an hour. They decided to rest. Emily removed her heavy bag pack and placed it on the floor.

  “Where are we going to sleep? I’m really tired.” Emily said as she fell to the ground.

  “There shouldn’t be any dangerous creatures out here. We will just pitch a tent. It’ll be fine”

  “But we don’t have any materials. You don’t just pitch a tent with palm fronds and bamboo sticks.” She chuckled.

  “Oh that? I know how to make a tent. Do not make fun of me. I have some materials here. They are in my bag. Took it when I was escaping from my dad.”

  “You are really God sent. Always prepared. Could you please bring them out? I’m starving.”

  “I’m also starving. We could make do with some fruits, for today.”

  “Whatever, just set the tent. I’ll fetch the fruits.” Emily said as she stood up and walked away from him.

  As Emily walked gently in the forest, she heard rustling in the trees behind her. She looked back in fear of being followed by a strange creature. She saw nothing. She increased her pace as she felt her adrenaline rising in her blood.

  “Oh lord, help me.” She said as she brought out the rosary she kept in her pocket and hung it on her neck, It was getting darker but and the path was getting narrower. She had not still gotten to a place where there were good fruits. All she saw were dried trees, young plants and shrubs.

  * * *

  What kind of place is this? This is just like a warehouse of dead people. Blood everywhere. Who is doing this?

  “Hello, anybody here?” she yelled. “Hey, what is this place? Come out if you are hiding. I’m not scared of you.” Evalle said as she crossed her arms over her breasts. She did not find the light she once saw and wondered if she as hallucinating.

  Evalle sensed a strong power surge around her. Before she could turn to look, she hit her head on a hard substance and fell to the floor as a great wind sent her flying. "I don't think I’m ready for this kind of ta. . ." She caught a glimpse of a shadow from a distance and sought to check it out.

  As she stood up from the floor, she felt her muscles tighten and her bones weaken.

  I should have lived a normal life. I do not know how I got myself in this mess.

  She continued walking towards the shadow that was moving farther away from her. She increased her pace.

  “Mom, you said I have a great destiny. You died because of it. I don’t know what is happening no. Speak to me mum.”

  Evalle didn’t hear any voice nor see her mom. She was limping slowly.

  “You think your mother will come to your aid now? Stop dreaming.”

  Evalle shrieked at the sound of the voice. “Who’s there?”

  * * *

  “I think I have to go back now. It’s getting very dark. Emily almost turned to go back when she saw a tree afar off. It had lot of fruits on it and there were baskets of fruits on the floor. “This is certainly strange. I am starving. I am tired. I could not have come here in vain. Donald would blame me for the rest of his life.”

  Emily started walking towards the tree. “My goodness gracious, it is so large. I’ll take enough to fill us for a long time.” She noticed something else, as she got closer. Everywhere was dark apart from the spot where the tree was.

  She shrugged her shoulders and moved on. “It seems this Donald guy has brought me so much luck. Maybe I am the one that carries the luck. Whatever.” Emily was getting more tired and hungry as she continued to walk. The road never seemed to end and the tree looked like it was moving away.

  Emily was too weak. Her powers drained. “I have never been this stressed in my life. Maybe it’s because of that silly demon.”

  She was stunned by what lay in front of her. “I thought it was still far away. How did it get here? I thought there was a tree.” She picked up the large basket of fruit and placed it gently on her head. She moved graciously, with speed.

  On getting to the tree she left Donald, she placed the basket on the floor. The tent had been pitched. She smiled happily as she entered the tent, hoping to surprise him with her returns. As she slipped into the tent, she didn’t find him. She rushed out immediately, checking all corners for any signs of him.

  CHAPTER 2

  “I’m not scared of you.” Evalle screamed. She felt a warm breeze behind her neck. She looked back in fright and swerved her hands in order to disperse anything that was there. She felt a gush of pain as her hands dropped to her side. Everywhere was dark so she couldn’t see her palm.

  Two circles of blue light came on in front of her. She looked at the hand where the pain was coming from. A black substance was dripping from it. “Jeez, what is this?” Evalle became annoyed. Wind started blowing around her, thereby engulfing her.

  “Oh, now you are ready to fight? I’ve been expecting you. It has really been a while. I’ve been watching you since you were very little.” The hoarse voice whispered behind her ears.

  Evalle made no mistake of serving her hands anymore. The two bright circles had faded away, thereby leaving her in darkness.

  ”Who are you? You have no right to pry into my life.” Evalle yelled, still ready for battle

  “You think?”

  Evalle started hearing many voices. Screaming and begging for help. “Oh God, I’m in hell.”

  A figure started appearing in front of her. It had the shape of a woman. Everything seemed clearer. A lady was there.

  “Were you the one talking all this while?” Evalle asked, looking surprised.

  “No, that was just a part of me.” She said, as light glowed everywhere, revealing exact copies of her
. They were all over the place.

  * * *

  Emily went back into the tent. “If this guy is playing a prank on me, I’ll kill him.” Emily sat down on the deflateable mattress. She took a bite of one of the fruits and placed it back in the basket. ”I was very hungry a while ago, now I can’t eat without him.”

  She stood up and paced around the room. “Why did I let him follow me? He might be in danger. Oh God, save him.” After some minutes of waiting, Emily set out to look for Donald. She put on her dark colored boots and carried a small knife, which she slid into her pockets.

  She opened the door of the tent, thinking of what direction to take. Emily directed her powers towards her vision. She tried to look around once more for any signs of him. Then she saw something. Footprints. Leading away from the tent.

  Emily wanted to count the number of foot that came there. They were more than she could imagine. She immediately began to follow the footprints. She hoped it would lead her to the captors. Her hopes were crushed as the footprints began to fade.

  When she got to the end of the footprints, she stopped. “Where could they have gone?” She then saw the most shocking the she had ever seen. A very huge building fifty miles away from where she stood.

  “What is that kind of thing doing in the jungle? I’m sure that’s where they took him.”

  * * *

  “An army of you?”

  “If you say so. Each of us possess various powers. No matter how hard you try, you cannot defeat us all.”

  Evalle stood a better chance of fighting this army, rather than just wasting time, talking. She shoved a wall of power at the woman, who called herself Titania, which knocked her backwards. She noticed that the army stood on the same spot they had been since she saw them.

  Titania attacked, rushing at her and hitting her with the long tail Evalle never saw.

  Evalle stood up immediately with the aid of her hands. She raised her hands and sent another wall of magic. Titania dodged it. The unexpected happened. The other creatures came alive. Evalle opened her mouth in surprise as they all charged at her.

  Evalle immediately protected herself with a strong, indestructible wall. The army of Titania hit the wall very hard, in order to destroy Evalle.

  She sat on the wet floor, thinking of what to do. A voice spoke to her. “You can do it, just imagine anything. Believe. Instruct your powers, they will obey.” As the voice faded, Evalle stood up with determination.

  “No one that ever tried to kill me got out alive.” She roared in a loud voice. The army continued hitting the wall and lashing it with their tails. Evalle disengaged the wall and hit the creatures with full force. She looked at her hands in amazement. ”This has never happened before.”

  With this, she walked forward, full of courage.

  * * *

  Emily looked at it again to confirm she was not seeing things. The house seemed to be old. Emily remembered that she left her map in her bag. “I’ll check on it later.” She started walking fast towards the house, even though she knew her legs might not carry her there.

  She had been feeling pains in various parts of her body, all of a sudden, she felt refreshed. ”Maybe it was the fruit.” She said as she continued moving. “I knew those fruits were divine.” She was getting closer to the house and she could see it better.

  Much bigger than she thought. She walked hurriedly towards the door and pulled the knob. Locked. She tried to peek through the windows. Everything was dark. She began to move round the house in search for another door.

  Emily found another door and pulled the knob and the door came open, making a loud creaking noise. She quietly tip toed inside and looked for a switch. “I don’t think anyone is in this place.” There was no switch.

  She continued moving in the dark when her leg hit a hard substance. She stretched forth her hand and felt a wall in front of her. “Dead end.” She turned back towards the door she left open and slipped out, shutting the door carefully behind her.

  Emily continued walking, touching each window as she moved. As she pushed another window, it moved. “Ah, finally.”

  CHAPTER 3

  Titania looked at her in surprise. “How did she just do that? She is powerful. I will not fall by her hands.” She looked at her army, scattered all over the floor. Lifeless. She felt massive power leave her body. “There is an ancient magic, one which no man has ever used. I unleashed it three-hundred-years ago, on an army of rebellious soldiers.’’

  With that said, she disappeared. Evalle looked around. She saw nothing. She continued walking in the dark, the cold leaving goose bumps all over her skin. “I am trapped. The coward could not face me. I need to leave this place.” She whispered to herself.

  Evalle walked around in search for a door. No door. The voices she heard earlier grew louder. Screaming for help. “Where are they?’’ She paced around the place that seemed to have no end but looked the same. Darkness.

  She sat on the floor and stretched her legs in the pool of blood. “I’m stressed. What is this mission about? Who is this Titania woman? How did she know about me? Obviously, she pried.” Everything seemed to be passing through her mind. “I’ll give her a good beating until she decides to back off.”

  The husky voice whispered behind her ears. “I’ll really love to watch you try.”

  “What are you? Stop meddling into my affairs. You sneak into people’s thoughts. What a wistful power.” Evalle said as she looked back and swerved her hands. Nothing happened.

  “I don’t have time for that shit.” The voice whispered again behind her ears.

  “I am not ready to play pranks with you. Show yourself.”

  Titania appeared in front of her, wielding a long, golden sword. The sword began to fade into the darkness. ”Not ready for you yet.” She whispered to the disappearing sword.

  Evalle immediately sent her a blast of power. Titania appeared behind her and landed a blow to her head.

  * * *

  Emily hopped and climbed the window. Jumping into the house, she hit the floor, landing on her back. “Ouch, didn’t know it was that far.” The lights came on in an instant. Emily immediately rolled under a dark cabinet.

  She felt a large hand grab her neck, another one covering her nose. Everything went black. Emily began to remember the day she was taken away from her father. “What is going on?” She thought. She couldn’t open her eyes. She could not think again. She felt nothing. Darkness swept her mind.

  Emily opened her eyes and found herself high above the ground. She saw that she was tied to the ceiling and someone was beside her. “Hey, who is there?”

  “Emily, is that you?”

  Emily could recognize the voice like the back of her palm. “Donald, I’ve been looking for you.”

  “Who are these people?” he whispered.

  “I don’t know.” Emily said.

  Emily and Donald could hear someone speaking in a strange language. They both looked back. Darkness. The sound of a woman crying came from another corner of the room.

  “What is this place?” Emily asked.

  “Shh. . .” Another voice said, beside Emily.

  They shut their mouth as the lights came on. They were blinded by the light. As their eyes adjusted to the light, they could see hundreds of people, in the same position as themselves. Emily and Donald looked at each other in fright.

  She discovered it was only her and Donald’s eyes that were not covered. Emily looked in front of her to see the face of their captors.

  * * *

  Evalle stumbled forward. “What is she doing? How can she do that?” Evalle launched herself at her. Titania jumped and swept Evalle off her feet with her tail, the spines piercing her skin. Evalle yelped in pain as she hit the ground. “How are you doing that?”

  “You wanna know? Then take this.” Evalle’s head hit the floor as Titania kicked her in the face.

  She saw herself go into another place. It was very bright and the sight almost blinded her.r />
  Someone was sitting on a chair. Evalle saw that it was a woman and moved towards her.

  “Where am I?” She said, still, walking towards the woman.

  “In the land of the dead.”

  “Dead? Who are you?”

  The figure turned, facing Evalle. She opened her mouth as she saw her mother, for the second time after her death. “Mom!’’ She rushed to hug her mom, who immediately signaled to her to stop.

  “Do not touch me. You should not make contact with the dead. You are not supposed to be here. Titania is a five-thousand-years old war goddess. She cannot be easily defeated. It seems to me that you under rated her.’’

  “You have to return. She knows your every step because she can read your thoughts. You have to figure out how to defeat her.’’

  “So, that was why she could defeat me and I could not do anything. Why did you not answer me when I called you at first?” Evalle queried, looking disappointed.

  “You didn’t need me then. I can’t find all the answers for you. You have to do many more things on your own.’’

  * * *

  Emily opened her mouth in terror as she saw what stood in front of them. She looked at Donald who seemed to be doing the same thing. “These people are not humans.’’ Emily whispered.

  Donald seemed to nod his head in approval. The creatures had long tails that curved under their bellies. Large arms and feet that bore sharp claws. Emily looked again and tried to direct power to her eyes.

  Her powers were not functioning. She tried again to see if she didn’t do it well. Same outcome. She wanted to scream for help. “Donald, I can’t use my powers.’’ The creature was staring at both of them.

  “What? How come?’’

  “I don’t know, but this is really bad.” Emily said as she tried to slip her hands from the chains. The only creature remaining in the room opened its mouth and its teeth revealed. Long and sharpened.