Cumberland (Not A Dream Book 1)

by Amey Coleman

  He paused, and then continued, “She made me fall in love with her, and then cloned me. She then ran extra experiments on me, which made me like this.”

  “What went wrong?” Mason asked.

  “She wanted to know what would happen to a vampire, if the liquid Onyx was put straight into their bodies, versus mixing it on the outside and putting it into a spare body they crafted.”

  I narrowed my eyebrows, “What was supposed to happen?”

  “She assumed it would have made me replicate, like how a starfish can if a piece of their body is cut off. Just like the creatures of Cumberland, when they drink the Onyx,” he sighed, looking upset.

  Mason apologized, “I am sorry, I took too long to get here.”

  I smiled and put my arm around his waist, “It was my fault. Just seeing those poor creatures...”

  Holden cut me off, “It is truly okay. You are braver than I.”

  “Thank you,” I said.

  Mason had a hesitant tone in his voice, “I know this is a lot to ask, but will you help us take down Carolyn?”

  Holden growled in anger, and yelled, “No!”

  His voice echoed loudly in the cave, and he quickly apologized for almost busting our ear drums out. I looked at him and tried to seem sincere.

  I begged, “Please help us!”

  He growled, “Why?”

  I sighed, “If you do, you will find my grandpa at the alternative exit.”

  He stopped pacing, “Brad?”

  “Yes,” I slowly said.

  “That exit is closed off, and guarded by Carolyn’s men. Brad knows a way to hide and not get caught,” Holden explained.

  “Rolf Rolon is with them as well,” I told him.

  “Rolf? Is he still a wolf?” Holden questioned.

  Olivia nodded her head, “Yeah.”

  Holden quickly looked at her and asked softly, “You are in love?”

  “Is that even possible?” she asked.

  He smiled.

  Mason slightly touched his blue wing and asked, “Is this reversible, so you can look normal again?”

  Holden nodded, “I am not sure, but I like to see the good in things, and think of the bright side.”

  “So, in other words, there is not a cure?” Mason questioned.

  I looked back to check on the Blue Crow, and just saw her sitting there giving her babies a bath. Then I noticed a blue hand near my face. I quickly jumped back, and realized it was Holden trying to my Phoenix.

  “How are you not poisoned yet?” he quizzed.

  “I, I am not sure, do you?” I countered.

  He shook his head, and shrugged his shoulders. I just let it go. I will deal with it later, I told myself. Then I looked at Mason, and he just held my hand tightly.

  The baby Phoenix began to squawk slowly. I could tell he was hungry. Before I could ask, Holden already handed out a palm full of berries. The baby Phoenix hopped on his hand and quickly pecked away the berries.

  I asked him, “You do know where the exit is, don’t you?”

  “Yes,” he answered. Then he continued, “But, before I go see Brad, I decided that taking down Carolyn is what needs to be done.”

  The Phoenix hopped out of his hand and flew to my shoulder. He smiled, “I know how to get to her, also.”

  He looked passed me, and asked, “Will the Blue Crow fly us?”

  “Only if you ask her nicely,” I grinned.

  I looked back at the waterfall and imagined what it felt like. It looked soft, and free flowing. My thoughts were quickly interrupted by Holden’s voice, “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

  I agreed, “Yes, very.”

  “Yeah, it was even prettier when I lived in that tree top. The view was breath taking, and I didn’t have to pay a real estate agency a million dollars either,” he chuckled.

  “What happened to the tree top? Why did it break?” I asked him politely.

  “Carolyn took it down,” he solemnly answered.

  “Oh, right, I am sorry,” I said.

  “No one was hurt, luckily,” he smiled.

  My baby Phoenix began to make purr noise, and Holden said, “You have a lovely Phoenix. Egg of Bravery, I presumed, hatched?”

  “Yeah, it was an accident,” I answered.

  “There are no accidents, just coincidences. It all depends on how you handle something,” he assured me.

  I nodded in agreement.

  He continued, “Just to be safe, we need to find Brad and Rolf. We need all the help we can get to take her down.”

  “I thought you just wanted to go to her head on?” Mason questioned.

  “Yes, but she may have more deviant plans that I might think. It is just a safety precaution,” he answered.

  We agreed, and I asked, “Why? Do you feel something wrong?”

  He nodded, “Yes, I always follow my gut. If it says to do one thing, then that means something could be wrong.”

  “My family are in danger?” I began to get frantic.

  “I am not sure about that, all I know is this pain in my stomach is not from being hungry,” he said holding his abdomen.

  I looked at him, “I get those type of gut feelings too.”

  “I know,” he announced.

  Chapter Thirty

  I placed my hands on my hips, and asked, “Where is the exit?”

  I wasn’t for sure about believing him, but at this point, I didn’t have much option. I could tell his intuition was true. If it hurts him that bad, something is not right about it.

  He grumbled, “Behind this waterfall mountain. It is not hard to get to.”

  Mason approached him, “Do you think something bad is happening to her family?”

  He shook his head, “No, I do not think so.”

  Jack sighed heavily, and turned to the waterfall, “We need to hurry, then.”

  “Wait,” I demanded.

  He turned to eye me impatiently, “What is it?”

  “Holden isn’t feeling well, let the pain pass. It won’t take long, I know,” I concerned.

  We waited patiently as Holden crouched down.

  Mason grabbed my hand, and made me face him. He smiled, “No matter what.”

  “I know, I know, you will always keep me safe,” I quoted him.

  He laughed, “Well, that too, but I was thinking that if you gave your Phoenix a name, in case anything does go wrong, he won’t feel alone,” his face quickly turned straight.

  I stiffened my posture, “Nothing will happen to us. All we have to do is prepare for the worst and hope for the best.”

  Olivia stated, “Maybe, naming the Phoenix, is his way of preparing for the worst.”

  Holden stood up, seeming more relaxed, “Mason is on to something, Milly.”

  “What is it?” I questioned.

  “When you give a Phoenix a name, you give it an identity. It will strengthen your bond, you already have the beautiful creature,” Holden answered.

  “Hmmm,” I paused to think, as everyone began to climb up on the Blue Crow.

  “Come on! We got to go,” Olivia demanded.

  “Alright, I am just contemplating a name I have in mind,” I smiled.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “How about, Mayven?” I sucked in my lips, and bit on my lower one awaiting the approval of my friends.

  “It is, different,” Olivia giggled. She continued, “But we will support your decision.”

  I frowned at her answer, and turned to Mason. He looked at me and answered, “It is exactly what I would have picked.”

  Before I knew it, our conversation had quickly led us to the back of the mountain, the waterfall was located. Olivia leaned towards me, “Why did you pick Mayven? It sounds feminine.”

  “It means for someone smart that enjoys passing down knowledge to others,” I smiled.

  “So, a smart-,” she was cut off by Jack, “There they are!”

  Holden laughed with masculine excitement, “Ha, ha. Brad!”

 
I looked down and waved anxiously, “Are you guys okay?”

  The Blue Crow landed smoothly. I quickly hopped off and ran to my parents. I wrapped my arms tight around them and looked up to Holden hug Brad just as tight, if not tighter.

  I heard my grandpa complain happily, “I. Can’t… Breathe.”

  Holden released him, “Sorry.”

  I looked around and asked, “Where is the exit?”

  My dad solemnly answered, “It is barricaded, and I think it collapsed.”

  “What are standing around for? Let’s get it open,” Olivia demanded.

  “With what?” he questioned.

  Mayven began to squawk furiously, so I looked at him, and saw him staring heavily behind us. I looked back and yelled, “Guys! We have company.”

  “A Silver Cobra,” Jack announced.

  I looked closer at it, and noticed the scales of its skin, were made purely of silver. I asked, “Is that a robot snake?”

  Jack nodded his head, “It is Carolyn’s mobile camera. It sees more than the patrol would ever notice.”

  It opened its mouth revealing a speaker. A crackle noise came out of it, following a voice, “You guys are now caught. It won’t be long until I get there.”

  “Carolyn?” I asked.

  “Yes, my dear Milly,” she smirked.

  “You won’t get away with this! You do not have any right running experiments on creatures or humans!” I yelled.

  I looked back at the barricade, and whispered to everyone, “Stand in front of the barricade. We can anger her to smash it down.”

  I picked up several rocks, and quickly began flinging them at the Silver Cobra.

  Carolyn yelled, “Don’t hurt my latest invention!”

  “I am going to make it perish, and you are next!” I threatened.

  “No need to threaten me, you are a special girl, but your knowledge disappoints me,” she cackled.

  “What is everyone talking about?” I asked.

  My mom piped up, “Carolyn, leave Milly out of that!”

  “You didn’t tell her?” she sarcastically asked.

  “Tell me what?” I demanded.

  “We will tell you later,” my dad answered.

  Another Silver Cobra appeared on the other side of us. I asked, “There are two of them?”

  Jack shook his head, “No, that is a real Silver Cobra.”

  “The one we saved?” Olivia asked.

  I nodded my head, “It is.”

  It made a hiss noise. Carolyn’s Silver Cobra cam turned to see the real Silver Cobra. I looked down for more rocks, and demanded, “Now!”

  We each began tossing rocks at the Silver Cobra cam. Mason and Holden tossed the body sized rocks, and caused more damage.

  Holden leaned towards my grandpa, “Brad, why are you and your son and daughter-in-law not lifting the bigger rocks?”

  My grandpa started to stutter, and I looked at Holden for a few seconds, and back at tossing the rocks. I told him, “They are only human. You and Mason are the only good ones here.”

  “Awe!” Holden exhaled.

  The Silver Cobra cam was still distracted.

  I watched as he flew up to the Silver Cobra cam and easily tore its head off. Sparking wires and cords flew around. I looked into the camera eyes, and watched them fade from red to black.

  “That was, fairly, easy. Except the part about my plan for the barricade,” I said, trying to hold back me yelling.

  Everyone nodded and he claimed, “I did not hear the plan. I am so sorry.”

  The Silver Cobra, slithered towards us while hissing. He sat up in front of us and said, “I want to help you. At first, I thought, you guys were just doing it for fame. Now I see, it is because you guys truly care about us Cumberland creatures.”

  “After we free this barricade, we plan to take down Carolyn,” I told the snake.

  “I cannot help you with the barricade, but I will fight with you,” he offered.

  Holden placed his hand on my shoulder, “Milly, I think Carolyn might come here for us. We could use him to help.”

  “Please,” the snake begged.

  I nodded in agreement.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  We tugged at the rocks, blocking the barricade. They were tough to get off, but as a team, we were not giving up. I watched Olivia stop and pull away to wipe sweat off of her forehead.

  “What is wrong,” I concerned.

  She shook her head, “This isn’t going as planned. Why is the snake not helping with this?”

  “He is helping,” I assured him.

  “Helping? How? Keeping watch for Carolyn and her disciples?”

  “Yes,” I said.

  She sighed and went back to pulling at the rocks. Some rocks fell, revealing a square metal object directly behind the rocks. I touched the cold rusty metal and asked my grandpa, “What is this?”

  “It looks like a door,” he answered with confusion in his voice.

  “She must have installed a door and blocked it off with rocks, so it couldn’t be found,” Jack answered.

  The Blue Crow picked at rocks and continued to pile them off to the side, with us. The rocks began to get heavier, but I didn’t seem to mind too much. My focus was to get my parents to safety.

  We finally removed the last few rocks, and I asked Rolf, “Has this always been here?”

  “I am not sure, it is new,” he sighed.

  I looked closer at the door, and there wasn’t a window to peer through. I looked for a door knob, and saw where it should have been is now welded shut. I punched the door in frustration, and walked away to breathe.

  I could feel myself wanting to cry as I said, “I failed. We will be stuck here forever. The Sun is setting.”

  Mason tapped me on the shoulder, “Hey Milly, don’t be so hard on yourself. Besides, look what you did.”

  I turned around and saw the door sit agape. A dimmed light shone down a flight of curvy stairs. As Cumberland was getting darker, the light was getting brighter.

  “Home!” I exclaimed.

  I heard the roar of an engine coming from the trees. I looked to see one Land Patrol truck pulling up in front of us. The snake apologized, “I am sorry, I didn’t see them coming. You guys should go, now.”

  “No, we are not finished here,” I determined.

  Carolyn and her two body guards piled out of the vehicle. The Silver Cobra quietly slithered away, and I told the Blue Crow, “Take your babies, leave! Be safe.”

  I could feel Mayven hide in my shirt, trying to sit still.

  Jack hollered out, “We warned you, Carolyn!”

  “Well, I have a surprise for you,” she smirked.

  She pulled out a huge barrel, from behind herself, and shot it at us. I covered my face, and felt something heavy land on me. I looked up and noticed a net was encasing us. On the sides were heavy metal balls.

  I tried to push up on the net, to free us, and the balls quickly grew spikes, and grounded themselves in to the ground. I could see the sky darkening, as Carolyn circled us.

  She chuckled, “You guys are never leaving here,” and then she slammed the metal door shut.

  “You can’t make us! We will get out of here,” I yelled.

  Holden snapped with a roar, “You will get what is coming to you!”

  She tilted her head back and cackled, “Yeah, we will believe that is true.”

  “Why are you doing this? Just leave the creatures free, and leave Cumberland,” I demanded.

  “Why would I do that?” she countered.

  “They have done nothing wrong to you!” my grandpa snapped.

  “Fine. I will tell you,” she said.

  “Good,” I told her.

  “When I was a little girl, I saw these creatures roam around. No one believed me. I got picked on at school for it!” she began to get upset. She continued, “Then, as I got older, I joined the CIA. Later, there was an elite group there. Very top secret. More so than the Alien Division, which is a j
oke by the way. It was the Cumberland Division. I learned everything, and took over,” she began to laugh.

  And then instantly became serious, “Now, I can see these creatures whenever I please. But then I learned about Vampires, because of Holden. He was my first Husband, after Mason was born.”

  I shook my head, “That is horrible. You are horrible!”

  She laughed, “You are too nice, Milly.”

  I squinted my eyes at her, and began to breathe rapidly. I asked her, “Were the parents that raised me clones, too?”

  “Yes. Your mother was first, because I wanted to marry your father. But he was too upset, so I brought her back as a clone. She was never presumed dead, only missing.”

  “What about my father?” I asked her.

  “After your clone mother sacrificed herself for you, it was much easier to marry him. I had two daughters of my own. Ones I made using cloning, of course. And I learned about his life insurance policy. I made him disappear here too. They were both prisoners here. But then I learned that you were listed as his beneficiary.”

  “You are a witch,” I claimed.

  She continued, ignoring my comment, “Anyways, I brought him back, as a clone. I wanted him to change the name on it, but the clone refused. They both developed a soft spot for you!”

  “Not my fault!” I screamed.

  “Well, nevertheless, his clone sacrificed himself for you, as well. It is fine, though. You don’t know who you really are, but they do. Their blood came in hand with my research,” she cackled once more.

  Chills ran down my spine, causing me to ask, “Why don’t you just disappear?”

  I heard a noise coming from the trees, and it instantly caught everyone’s attention. Out of the tree tops, the Uffington White Horse appeared. He swooped down, while releasing the talons on his hooves. He kicked, as he lowered towards us, and cut the net free.

  “Yeah! Now that is what I am talking about!” Olivia stated with excitement.

  The Uffington White Horse quickly disappeared on the side of the Onyx Waterfall. We stood there, ready to fight.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  We stood there, watching the sky get darker. I eyed Carolyn carefully, and she screamed, “No!”