by C T Scribe
10
Chapter 10
The tall man raises his glass to eye level, as if searching for the mysteries of the universe in the cup. He looks at the woman behind the counter, and then back at his glass. He grunts, “you sure this will be strong enough for me?” A loaded question. In all his years he had never been to this particular bar. Intel is somewhat spotty on the recreational places for his kind. Recreation isn’t a top priority in his line of work after all, but the tall man knew the benefits of the right cocktail. The lady, beaming at him with an overly enthusiastic grin, leans closer to the counter and whispers, “trust me that’ll do ya.” The accent thickly coating her words gave him hope, albeit a small amount. He couldn’t recall the last time her heard the ancient tongue. The tall man recalling it from a time long forgotten, just like he was. To the average human it sounds slightly Irish, but being capable of hearing more frequencies than most he noticed the other tones as well. If the speech wasn’t a strong enough indicator, the lady behind the counter lowered her glasses during the whisper revealing a swirl of gold in her pupils. This was definitely his kind of bar. Without hesitation the tall man tilted his head back, and consumed the entire glass in a single gulp. “Thirsty are we,” the lady questions as she half cocks her head to the left.
“I need another drink.”
“No big fella, you need to just sit there for a minute. Oh, and eat the nuts.” The lady behind the bar kept tilting her head from side to side as if studying him. Although this was his kind of bar, he didn’t feel as if the bartender understood what kind of drink he needed. He felt nothing special from the drink he gulped down. He’d been in the field for months this time. This particular beast eluding him repeatedly had become an annoyance. His strength was low. He hadn’t consumed since he left base. Physically he looked to be in perfect health, but he could feel the damage to his mana as easily as he could see an open wound. The beast found him first the last time. Attacking him in the city, the tall man couldn’t use his usual weapons. Not with that many people around. All he could do was run, and hope the beast chased him away to a less crowded area. When he got the beast to a desirable location he realized his mistake. The entire event was a set up. He found himself facing 5 larger beast. He was surrounded and outnumbered. With guns blazing he was able to flee. Barely making it out of then den alive, and taking substantial damage. The tall man had survived worse odds, but he wasn’t prepared for the ambush. He hadn’t sensed the other beast auras. He was getting sloppy. He wasn’t fit to fight in his current condition. His skin healed on it’s own, but the energy flowing beneath it was disconnected throughout his body. The infection each bite wound contained spread through him fiercely. At this point if he didn’t get the right drink, his next fight could be the end of his exceptionally long life. Lost in thought the tall man grabbed a handful of nuts from the bar, and shoveled them into his mouth. They were salty, but they tasted like regular ordinary nuts. He leaned forward annoyance showing in his beautifully lined face. “Look here lady,” but before he could continue his breath was taken from him. His body seized. Small tremors barely noticeable to most, but he felt them all over his body and underneath his physical form in his energy. As he seized he felt his energy stitching itself together. Like an old woman knitting his pathways and channels. He felt his strength returning to him. It took a little more than 10 minutes for the tremors to stop. The lady behind the bars head still tilted and still grinning.
“Did that do the trick there big fella?” She knew the answer. Silently thankful the tall man nodded. “You know it’s all about the peanuts with that one. If you don’t listen you don’t deserve my talents.” She still grinned as she leaned closer to him. “Do u have my payment?”
“How much?”
“The standard fare I suppose. It should be more, but I did forget to say who I was before serving you.” With a thin long finger she points to a plastic name tag that has one letter on it, a capital M. The tall man chokes on his own spit at the infamous name. It takes a few second before he can compose himself, and stop gasping for air.
“For fucks sake you can’t be thee M! No wonder that drink had such a kick. I haven’t felt this good in years, maybe decades. What are the chances,” asks the tall man.
“Slim, today is my last day. It’s not smart for me to service any one area for too long. But if we meet again there’s a lot more I could offer you for the right coin big fella.”
11
Chapter 11
The sparkle fades and darkens into a forest green color. The monsters mouth now wide open with green ooze flowing over its sharp spiked teeth. The waterfall of acidic chlorophyll sizzling upon impact with the hot path below. A yard from its feet vines encase a woman, but is it Marie? And if it is Marie and she can’t handle this thing, what could I possibly do? I shake the thoughts from my head, and keep running towards the monster. It doesn’t move. It merely grins at me. Taunting me like an old wrestler on TV with insanity in it’s smile. This wasn’t fake. When it attacks the pain will be real. The blood and damage real. I feel the mended bone in my leg. Perfectly healed now, but I can feel where it was once broken. How will I survive another injury? How big will the void grow if I’m hurt again? The black hole feeds from the fear in my mind. I shake the thought as best I can. They linger near the edge of my consciousness as I run towards the monster. It still doesn’t move. I lower my head and shoulder in a familiar move. I jump into the tackle targeting the green monster. Hoping the distraction will be enough to free Mari, and she can save us all. I should be connecting with monster. My shoulder should be driving it into the path in front of me. I should be giving Mari a chance. But that isn’t happening. It moved. As I made initial contact the green monster turned it’s shoulder and leaned. It’s surface, covered in slime was frictionless as I slid right off of it. Staring me down with is singular eye I feel frozen. The green chlorophyll drool burning my skin like acid. There are no songs now. There is no lull. This isn’t a test. Vines entangle my ankles, and me and the girl a few paces behind me are pulled into the woods.
The initial whip of the vine reeling me in cracks my head against the path. I feel a heartbeat in the back of my skull as I’m being dragged roughly through the forest. The forceful dragging through a wooded area is ripping open my skin. I wasn’t fully wrapped like the girl. Every rock, branch, and divot in the path assaults my flesh. I lost my bag on the path. My t-shirt was ripped off in the first minute of me being reeled in. My shorts are barely intact but have holes all through them. Every exposed part of my body is bleeding dark crimson. I’m going to die. The black hole tells me the truth. I know this is real. I’m going to die. No one can save me. And Mari is going to die with me. No, not Marie! I focus on that feeling, of her and I when we dance. Thud, a new gash below my eye makes me squint as I look at the girl being dragged beside me. If I can only free her. I reach my hand out to her, only to have a tree knock it away. A lump now growing at the point of impact. I reach for her again. Unable to get a grip on her slippery vines, I jerk my hand back avoiding another tree . I try again. The monster is nowhere to be seen. If he’s not controlling the vines, then what is pulling u?. I decide not to focus on the terrifying revelation of a second monster pulling us, and focus on the vines encasing her. I grab for them again. This time reaching them. I pull myself closer to the girl. I’m able to get my free hand on part of her vines now. I pull and tug with every ounce of strength left in my arms. They don’t budge. I pull harder. My strength betraying me. The vines slowly loosen, but they don’t unwrap around her waist. I can see she’s still breathing. My heartbeat flutters. There’s still hope. I pull harder and harder at the vines around her body until they all loosen. I get to her face, and yank hard until they loosen. After a few more tugs my stomach drops. Then the black hole laughs at me. Dark hair falls out. This is not Marie. She’s not going to save us. I’m going to die.
12
Chapter 12
Finally restored, the tall man finds himself f
ixated on the prophecy. “Twin beast shall rise, only one shall die, only one shall rise,” was inscripted in the library months ago when he killed one beast. He personally made sure only one shall die rang true, but what is so special about this other beast. The tall man lingered in the bar. Having no assignments tonight, he found a spot in one of the bars abandoned corners, and began thinking things through. His missions the past few months had been strange. Starting with that football game. The magic caster breaking the kids leg, and that unusual rain. Then the beast entering the library. Usually the library, being an entity itself, warded against low level beast. For some reason the library not only allowed this beast, but in some ways shielded it to its inner chambers. Of course there was the prophecy, although that was pretty straightforward he thought. One dead, one to go. He drank a traditional mixed drink as he thought things over. Even chasing that beast into a trap was unusual. He couldn’t sense the other beast until they were upon him. Maybe he’s losing his edge. M had left the bar hours ago. He had the urge to place a tracker on the world’s best mixologist. Humans who stole that title disgusted him. Mixing their liquors and flavoring then brandishing the title mixologist. It was insulting. M, and the few other mixologist left, mixed concoctions that could mend your soul with each savory drop. His cocktail earlier cleansed and restored his mana channels to allow his energy to flow freely. They could give u a drink to combat cancer cells, or to ease arthritis. They understood the body like a mechanic understood an engine. They also understood the earth. The god we live on possesses every cure and poison we could dream of, if mixed properly. During the lost wars mixologist we’re enlisted to create strengthening elixirs and healing tonics. The side with the best mixologist would have the greatest boost to their infantry. That’s why they were targeted. That’s why so few remain. Humans called them witches, but that barely glimpses the surface of what they can truly do. The right potion can let you fly, magnetize objects, or transform your appearance. A dab of this or a drop of that, and they could temporarily make the strongest warrior invincible. Those ancient spirits who spoke to the soil and listened for it’s ingredients, had been nearly wiped out. Most bars that could service the tall man have a standard tonic infused with blood. It’s enough of a pick me up to get you back to base, but what M made for him was a deluxe formula worth a fortune. The tall man’s thoughts drifted. Only one shall die, and only one shall rise. Only one, and only one. It finally hit him like a boxer striking clean to your face. He’s looking for a different kind of beast. The wolf was dead, but what was the other monster hiding in the dark?
13
Chapter 13
It took me a second to realize who the monster had ensnared in it’s vines. This was Claire. I don’t remember her last name, but she’s my classmate. She must have been coming down the other path when she ran into the green spark. If we get out of this, I have no idea how I’m going to explain this to her. The speed of our dragging has slowed considerably. Claire is still unconscious, but I’ve still got a little fight left. My body is weak, broken, and bleeding. I see a rock with a sharp edge coming up. If I time it right, I might be able to pick it up. The flopping around as I’m being dragged isn’t helping. I used my nails to scrape into the dirt to get the rock loose from the ground. Stifling a scream as dirt, rock, and twig jams under my fingernails, but I have the rock grasped tight in my hands. It’s not much of a weapon, but it’s something. The monster finally visible again is approximately 10 yards ahead of me. The vines continue reeling us towards him like fish on a line. We all stop at a tree. The massive oak is linked with more massive trees as far as I can see in either direction. My bloody eye’s tinting the world red, but it’s still functional. I wonder if I’m imagining this. Wonder if the dragging actually knocked me unconscious, and this is all a nightmare. I wonder if I’m dreaming while I’m being slowly eaten by the slimy shiny green monster. I feel the black hole egging me on. For once it’s a comfort. I only feel it’s annoyances when I’m awake. The vines lead beyond the trees. The oak we’re stopped at has been intricately carved from what I can tell. It looks like a door. The monster with its head bent, lowly mumbles as if reciting a prayer to the oak. I start sawing the vines on my ankles. I can’t run from here, but perhaps if my vines are loose enough I’ll find an opening to fight. The monster, so consumed with his words, hasn’t noticed. Most of the vines securing my legs are sawed three quarters the way through before the sparkling green monster finishes it’s prayer, and lifts its head. Looking closer at the giant oak I saw what looked like a door embedded into its base. The door had been carefully crafted. The intricate carvings showed plant like beings in human form on one side. Some were large, some small. The engravings webbed from the doors center, but continued growing the further away from it I looked. The entire border of oak had a story etched into it. On the other side of the engraving stood seven women with what appeared to be armour and weapons. Tye thought to himself how odd these ancient carving would have been to a normal human stumbling across them in the forest. Behind the seven girls were three massive human shapes. Larger than the larger plant species depicted on the other side. And branching off from them were more carvings, but on this side vines had crept up to conceal the rest. Even covered in vine I could tell the engravings stretched on as far as I could see. There seemed to be a story here. A lost history. One that if he made it out of here alive he’d want answers to. Laying down still so the sparkling monster would think the reeling had knocked him out, Tye held tight to his sharp rock. The black hole growing in his mind chanting the words, “your going to die” over and over. It tried to consume his mind. Without his mini sun’s Tye wasn’t sure how long he could fight the void, but he settled on thoughts of Marie as a weapon against the void. Thoughts of grabbing her waist as they danced, of kisses in the pool, of long study sessions, and of her laying atop him while they roughed out ideas for assignments. He couldn’t die before he found her. Lost in these thoughts he didn’t notice the vines turn taut as the reeling continued. The ancient oak door splintered before it swung open. As if breaking a seal of some kind. As he stole glances at what lay on the other side of the door his mind was overrun with impossible images. Plant people or monsters were everywhere. These were the the things from the carving. There was no stench of death. There were no bloodthirsty monsters waiting to kill him. Twenty foot high trees uprooted themselves and walked along as if having legs. Plants rooted in place held hands, and bloomed with color changing petals. More sparkling monsters were scattered about, but they weren’t green like the one from the path. These beings were gold, silver, magenta, lilac, and a multitude of bright colors. The colors seemed to shift and change in a showing of all elegant and non threatening. What looked to be baby trees walked behind the larger trees. Sunflower trees appeared as women in yellow dresses. The air smelled divine. The fragrance intoxicating as I took it all in. The plant world in front of me was massive. As far as I could see different species of humanoid plants moved about happily. Amazed by the things before me, I was dazed into forgetting the monster dragging me to a certain death. Finally the reeling in stopped. The large plants vines I had been connected to this long while, from the path through the woods was not friendly looking. Its large bulbous body contained a giant mouth. The vines were spewing from that mouth which contained rows and rows as razor sharp teeth. Where were the other vines going. Had more people been captured. The black hole resumed it’s chant, “your going to die.” Claire hadn’t moved at all. Saving her had been a child’s dream. As I took in the vastness of this encampment I realized there would be no saving. If I was lucky there would only be running. Even at my quickest pace I would struggle to get away. I found myself listening to the void more and more. “I’m going to die.” chanting the mantra over and over to torment me. At some point while staring at the monster world before me, I gave in. I gave in to the thought. I recited the mantra with the void. I’m going to die.
14
Chapter 14
The green
spark monster finally made its way back to camp. He often spent his time near the paths crossing. Using the time to practice his lull technique, which was considerably weaker than some of the others in camp. He wasn’t nearly as old as the rest. A fact that weighed on him as a warrior. He sprouted a year ago from the ashes of his predecessor. While he retained the old memories, he was uniquely his own beast. Perhaps it was the violence of his past death, but he had an unquenchable blood lust. Everyday watching the humans walk or jog down the path so close to the forest forced him to fight the murderous urges flowing through his stems and branches. The punisher routinely spread it’s vines to accompany him. A reminder of the carnage that awaits if he gave into those urges. The elders believed guarding the path was a good job for him. Seeing humans go about their lives in a nonviolent way might ease the rage dwelling inside him. Over many years the elders were right. He had days where the sight of humans provoked the evil lurking beneath his green translucent skin, but the majority of his days he found peace in his job. More often than not the monster found himself using his lull to stop arguments from those walking the path. A momentary distraction to refocus them on more important things. He wouldn’t admit it, but he found a small joy in the act. Over his five year watch the flashbacks that triggered his rage had subsided. When they came however, his mind drifted to his previous life. As an elite guardian to the hidden forest he had encountered violence often. The memories of his vines binding threats to the forest were etched into his soul. The taste of their flesh as he chomped into them filled his mouth. The feeling of their resistance as he submerged them beneath the soil filled him with excitement. He was a killer in that life. He belonged on the front lines of the war. He longed for the battlefield once more. He didn’t trust these peace times. It was in a peace time he allowed his roots to grow as he entered the mandatory slumber. His limbs had grown brittle from the decades of battle. His leaves refused to bloom. His men were in similarly poor shape. So they decided to enter the sleep state that would allow them to heal and grow stronger. They allotted one member to remain awake as a guard. It was humans who killed his men. It was humans and fire who purged them from the forest. That was over a century ago, but the rage was fresh as the memories poured in. It took that long for his seed to find soil and begin his rebirth. Before he had limbs he had rage. Buried deep in the soul he focused on the revenge he would one day have against those humans. When he finally sprouted the world had changed. The Forever War still raged on, but the ancient forest was now neutral. His kind were now guardians to the great library. He had no outlet for his blood lust. To quell his fury the elders assigned him to this boring nonviolent post. And so he watched year after boring year. Only recently had things grown more interesting. During the past year he took note of a few abnormal humans as he watched the path. The first a dark haired girl gave off a strange aura. The monster didn’t care to meddle in the lives of these humans, but this dark haired girl also had the scent of a familiar. He often caught her dropping pellets on the ground on various paths to and from the library. Ancient hidden places that a human shouldn’t know of. Beast had followed her trails more than once over the course of his watch bringing about destruction and violence. He didn’t care for the greenery in the human world. He could bend the trees and shrubs to his will easily. Their life was beneath him. They were part of a collective that had long since retreated within itself. They chose to sleep instead of fight in an ancient war. They were filth. Even still, he didn’t like beast trampling about the grounds so near the camp. That could cause trouble. Two more humans of note were often together. Their pheromones were strong. The monster could tell, long before they’d realize it themselves, they had bonded in what humans call love. He noticed they were both exceptionally strong. The blonde haired girl was otherworldly strong. She seemed like a being well beyond the station of a human, but her scent gave nothing away. Perhaps she was a descendant of the old ones. Perhaps they both were. Today was different however. Today they had a guest in camp. The woman wore a hood so her features were lost to him. She was an eyesore. In all his lives, the green monster had never seen one like her, and he didn’t care to see her now. He, like many other in the ancient forest, believed them to be dead or myth. He couldn’t deny the treaty terms had been lax for this reason. His kind were to protect the library and guard it from all manner of beast. They were to be the first guardians against new prophecies emerging. Yet a new prophecy began just this year, and they hadn’t guarded the library in decades. So today instead of watching the path he was sent to retrieve something, the dark haired girl. The elders praised him for reporting her. This familiar would be enough to appease the member of the Seven, or so they hoped. Standing here now the green monster felt underwhelmed at the site of her. White perhaps silver hair, short build, and he sensed very little mana from her. Perhaps more than he had at his current age, but not enough to fight the sentries, the great trees, or the elders. Not enough to pose a threat on her own. Perhaps if all seven were here, but with just one member he barely felt she was worth the effort of the recovery. It was fun watching the familiar get drug through the forest. He only wished his vines not the punisher’s were wrapped around her frail human body. As for that boy, the monster was still unsure how he could be seen by that boy. Protecting the encampment took priority. He would also have to die. By some means the boy resisted his lull. That was odd. Even for a descendent of the old ones, the power to fight against his lull was rare. The silver haired girl looked over at him, and then down at his catch. Her face remained blank, but her hand clenched at the sight of the humans. “This is the girl I mentioned elders, the familiar,” the glimmer monster said in his most formal tone. One of the elders waved him off to address the silver haired member of the Seven.