LAMENT OF PURGATORY (ASHWOOD CHRONICLES #1)

by Brandon Chandler

Dominic scoffed and went back to dusting himself off.

  “Why did you guys leave me behind?” Brianna demanded.

  “That wouldn’t have happened if this dude never wandered off,” Dominic said brazenly.

  Ethan stopped pacing. “I left because you talked me into going.”

  The two of them began to argue amongst each other, with Dominic antagonizing Ethan and the lanky teen trying his best not to let his aggressor get the best of him. Brianna stepped in-between the boys eager to stop the quarreling, but somehow became part of the dispute. The trio wrapped up in their dispute didn’t notice a one-arm man groggily approaching them.

  “Why are we fighting?”

  Instantly, Dominic summoned Jezebel and took aim at the stranger followed by Brianna doing likewise with her wand.

  Yawning, the new arrival raised his hand in defense.

  “Easy now kiddos,” he said soothingly.

  Dressed out in; Greek sandals, Black baggy pants, and a blood-stained, sleeveless white tunic, the man was met with Ethan’s untainted distrust of him. The fact that the guys face was rapidly healing itself in front of his eyes didn’t help with his untrustworthy appearance either. Not to mention the stump where his arm used to be had also sealed itself shut.

  Ethan began to gawk and point at the man.

  “Y-you’re that dead guy...h-how?”

  “Yeah so...you should be used to seeing people dying and coming back to life.” The man said now observing Ethan suspiciously. His green fox like eyes looked towards Dominic and Brianna.

  “Who are you kids?” he took a step closer. “I can feel heat coming from you.”

  He smiled devilishly hopping up and down excitedly, “you kids are alive...I have to know are Jnco jeans still popular?”

  The slender but toned man appeared to be in his mid-twenties with black hair that hung to his shoulders, stubbed cheeks, and tanned skin. A tribal tattoo starting from the center of his forehead ran down his high cheekbones and sharp chin, coiled around his neck and ended at his left forearm.

  “Don’t come any closer,” Brianna shouted as the tip of the wand began to hum with energy.

  He gave her a charming smile. “What makes you think I can’t overpower you, little witch.”

  Everyone became silent, the tension between them began to build.

  When the quietness felt as if it were about to reach its climax, the man chuckled. “Relax kiddos; this is a safe place.”

  Ethan chimed, “you were dead moments ago.”

  The man’s enthusiasm melted. “As a permanent resident here, I will always be resurrected when I die,” he said as if his statement was old news.

  “Those creatures that attacked me were known as remnants; the souls of those that have been here so long they lost their will to survive. Once that happened, they became mentally crippled and experienced endless suffering, eventually evolving them into hideous beasts that prey on other inhabits. The more souls they consume the bigger they get, turning into alphas. The smaller ones usually seek out an alpha to lead them until they are big enough to form their own pack...” he paused looking over the dead bodies of the remnants.

  Brianna lowered her wand and the man exhaled.

  “Unfortunately, when you’re completely devoured by a remnant you don’t come back.” He rubbed the area where his arm use to be.

  “I’m sorry,” Brianna said apologetically.

  Expecting the man to accept her apology, she was instead met with him trembling aggressively and sweating. He held his breath, leaned to the right and with one loud grunt a fully-grown arm exploded from the stump. Covered in a white secretion, Ethan felt himself becoming nauseous. Even Brianna and Dominic had trouble looking at the slimed limb.

  “The name’s Atticus by the way,” the man said extending his newly equipped hand towards Ethan.

  He turned his head and began to dry heave.

  Offended, Atticus turned his attention towards Brianna, “how did you kids end up here?”

  Brianna fiddled with her wand for a moment. Then deciding to bypass Atticus’s questions she asked one of her own. “Do you know where the closest warden’s estate is located?”

  “Of course, I do,” Atticus said charmingly. “And you kids are in luck, you happen to be not far from his most luxurious estate.”

  “Awesome,” Brianna said happily.

  “It’s about a day’s journey from here though.”

  Ethan felt his heart sink. “What about finding Kori?”

  Brianna took one of Ethan’s hands into hers and with her other hand rested the tip of her wand against his chest. The baton glowed pink for a moment before dimming out.

  “We can have the warden locate and bring her and Hayden to us then we can all go home together.”

  It was either her bright green eyes or the motherly reassurance in her voice, but Ethan found himself abnormally calm.

  “You didn’t bewitch me, did you?” he asked softly.

  “No,” she said lowering her wand. It became a wooden ball once more and she placed it in her pocket. Brianna released Ethan’s hand.

  “I promise everything will be ok.”

  Ethan nodded as if he was at peace with the world.

  “Can you guide us there?” Brianna asked the older man.

  He rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he considered her request. He even paced back and forth for a few seconds, stopped and then snapped his finger, “why do you want to go see such an asshole.”

  “So, we can ask him to send us home” Brianna said abruptly.

  Atticus strolled over to her and attempted to place his mucus crusted arm around her shoulder, she, however, ducked the friendly gesture with an over-exaggerated chuckle.

  Insulted, Atticus lowered his arm.

  “I know someone whose way less of a dick that can get you guys home.”

  Brianna scoffed, “you’re trapped in a prison world, which must mean you have done something awful when you were alive...why should we trust you?”

  “Do you not know what realm you’re in?” Atticus asked with raised eyebrows.

  Brianna glared at Dominic who returned the stare with unremorseful eyes while still aiming at Atticus.

  “No, we were reluctantly dragged here, without knowing its name.”

  Laughter from behind triggered Atticus to look in the direction of Ethan. The young teen had now taken refuge on the forest’s floor sitting with his legs crossed. He swayed side to side smiling goofily at his hands as he waved them in front of his face.

  “You’re a sneaky little witch.” Looking away from the peculiarly happy Ethan, he zeroed in on Brianna. “You kids are in a world that was created so a greedy priest could achieve immortality... not everyone here is evil.”

  Brianna scratched the side of her head as her mind recalled tucked away information. “The immortal priest?” she said.

  Atticus shot her a smile, “bingo.”

  “I remember skimming over a summary about him in a lore book. The immortal priest promises to take people to an afterlife of paradise, but instead leads them...to Purgatory.”

  “Bingo!” Atticus shouted again. “Though not everyone here is bad, it’s best to get you kiddies out of here fast.”

  Brianna huffed, “fine. But we’re going to the warden’s estate and not to your friend.”

  Atticus began to protest, but Dominic intervened. “Before you take them anywhere, you’re going to point me in the direction of Elisium City.”

  Atticus folded his arms. “And why would you ever want to go to such a dreadful place?”

  He pointed his handgun towards Atticus’s face. “Do you know the way or not?”

  Atticus laughed exuberantly, “look kid, your little toy won’t have any effect on me because-” His statement was cut short by the sound of echoing gunfire. Seconds later Atticus felt the burning sting of a round blasting into his right shoulder. He cried out in pain dropping to his knees. A stream of blood along with steam like bluish-White light flowed
freely from the open tear.

  “You’re such an asshole,” Brianna screamed at Dominic in disbelief.

  He shrugged shamelessly and readied himself to shoot again. Nonetheless, Brianna hopped in front of him, blocking his shot.

  “Move outta my way.”

  “We need him alive,” Brianna pleaded.

  “Yeah kid, listen to the little witch,” Atticus said mockingly while applying pressure to his wound. However, even with the compression, blood continued to seep through the nooks of his fingers.

  His cries turned into hysterical laughter. “Why isn’t it healing itself?”

  Dominic strolled around Brianna and once again shoved Jezebel into the man’s face. “This beauty can kill souls.”

  Atticus’s laughter came to a sudden halt. “Okay, I’ll show you the way...hopefully, I won’t bleed out before then.”

  Dominic lowered his weapon. “Heal him.”

  Brianna huffed, “I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s quite alright little witch, out of the three of you, he’s my favorite.”

  Chapter-Twenty-Seven

  She was awoken by rough hands shaking her.

  Vision blurry, Kori was able to see the outline of a man’s huge round body and bald head. She tried to push herself from the cozy cuddles of sleep.

  “Get up now.”

  There was something about his freighting voice that rattled her into full consciousness. She sat up blinking as her eyes adjusted to the brightness of the outdoors.

  “Aye youse truly are alive,” the man said leaning in so close Kori could smell his wet dog odor.

  She shrieked and scurried away from him, only to bump into a taller and much slender man with dark stringy hair. They eyed her like hungry predators.

  She cringed, “who are you people?”

  The men continued to stare in creepy silence.

  “O-okay,” she said surveying her background.

  She was in the middle of a bright green prairie that stretched as far as the eye could see. The vast vegetation was beautiful, but at this moment bodies of the dead decorated the lands.

  An overwhelming sense of doom flooded her senses as she gasped involuntary. Several men, like the two who were still watching her, foraged about the field picking through the pockets of the corpses. She looked away from them and her eyes fell on the bulky shadow of a man heading her way.

  As he grew closer, the newcomer’s features became more distinguishable. He was enormous with dark skin and well-defined muscles. Many years of battle scars tattooed his upper body and face and his bald head glistened under the merciless sun.

  “Where am I?” Kori demanded right as the behemoth came to a standstill several inches away.

  Her two silent admirers bowed like cowards.

  “O-oh B-Barakus we were just taking a small break,” the fat one said nervously. “But then this girl, she fell from the sky in a bright ball of light.”

  The slender one nodded with a short gritty laugh, “what should we do with her?”

  Barakus aggressively grunted at the men while flexing his chest, “we’re taking her and the other one to Captain Ares.”

  What does he mean by the other one? Kori eyed Barakus.

  She then spotted who he was referring to. Slumped over his left shoulder like a bag of cement was an unconscious teenage boy and in the other hand, the giant was toting a sword with a long and wide blade.

  He tossed the boy at his feet like a freshly killed trophy. His body hitting the grassy terrain awakened him, and he sluggishly sat up. For a moment he studied his surroundings as if his mind were recalling his past events.

  Palming his face, he groaned, “I’m going to kill him.”

  Kori’s eyes brightened as she squealed, “Hayden!”

  His lips curled and nostrils flared glaring hard at her. “You’re here?”

  “It’s nice to see you too,” Kori said dryly. “Where are we?”

  “A prison world,” Hayden answered coldly. He looked away from her and towards the three strange men surrounding them. “Can one of you point us in the direction of the nearest Warden’s Estate?”

  They exchanged confused glances.

  Kori leaned towards Hayden whispering, “maybe they don’t understand you?”

  He rolled his eyes, “in prison worlds, no matter what language you speak, it will automatically translate to whoever’s native tongue.”

  A deep growl from the massive man caught their attention. “You two are now the property of Captain Ares.”

  The fat man piped up. “But the captain will only make them slaves aboard the ship.”

  “These kids are still alive we can probably fetch a hefty reward for them,” the skinny one added.

  Again, the bigger of the three grunted. “You lowly scum, dare to defy me?” his booming voice echoed through the prairie. “Get your butts back to work.”

  Straightaway both men stiffened and without saying a word rejoined the other scavengers.

  “I can tell you’re not very bright.”

  Kori gave Hayden a worrying look as the harsh words escaped his lips.

  He was standing in front of the giant like a rebellious child, arms folded and all. “I need to know where I can find the closest warden estate.”

  For his part, Barakus didn’t even spare him a glance. He was looking around, making sure all the scavengers were working. Kori had no doubt that he could snap them like a twig.

  Hayden then thrust his right fist into Barakus’s abdomen with enough force the air rushed from his lungs.

  That got his attention-and Kori’s as well.

  With tearful wide eyes Barakus doubled over releasing his sword to clutch his aching stomach.

  Hayden wasted little time to catch the weapon by the hilt. Using both hands, he lifted it above his head and like a medieval executioner brought down the blade onto Barakus’s neck. The giants head hit the ground rolling first, followed by his limp body.

  Kori screamed right as the head came to a pause at her feet.

  Hayden tossed the sword aside, picked up the decapitated head and tucked it underneath his arm. “Let’s go,” he casually said to Kori.

  Maneuvering in between the deceased bodies she found it hard to match his speed and nearly toppled over several of them.

  “Do you even know where you’re going?”

  Hayden slowed his speed to allow Kori to catch up. “We’ll both find out soon enough.”

  The bloody battlefield gradually became less polluted and was soon replaced with a steep rocky incline, leading them to the edge of a wide circular bluff. Hundreds of feet beneath was a beach. Hayden assessed their current location, while Kori made her way towards the bluff’s edge. Her eyes sparkled as bright as the blue ocean below and an unbound breeze rushed over her like the sea bombarding the shore with raging waves.

  After discovering a path leading downward, Hayden glanced over his shoulder catching a glimpse of the ocean wind tousling Kori’s silver hair. At that moment, he realized Kori wasn’t gorgeous in a conventional way. No elegant curls or flawless ivory skin, no piercing eyes of blue. She was average, but in her ordinariness, she was stunning. Kori looked away from the edge and their eyes met.

  “Are we going to at least talk about our situation?” she asked.

  “There is nothing to talk about,” he said dryly.

  “My dude, we are lost in another world,” Kori protested. “Can you at least say this is all a prank?”

  She didn’t receive such pleasure. Hayden switched carrying arms of the head, descending the steep path which ran along the cliff. Kori gave chase.

  “You killed that guy, and now you’re carrying his head like a trophy.”

  Hayden continued to ignore Kori and picked up his speed. He could hear her rapid footfalls trying to match his.

  Eventually, the dirt path curved off onto the beach. The tropical breeze blasted them on arrival, filling their nostrils with the salty air. Hayden came to a standstill followed by Ko
ri.

  With a clenched fist and a reddened face, she shouted, “What is your problem against me?”

  Hayden spun around and fixed her with a glare that was unreadable.

  Kori’s body went stiff.

  In silence, the two of them listened to the whooshing of the waves rolling back and forth from the gritty shore.

  “I don’t want to be stuck here with a girl who always needs saving,” Hayden finally said.

  Kori huffed, “I can take care of myself.”

  “You did a fantastic job at Club Nocte,” Hayden retorted. “Why were you even there? It’s a feeding ground for the supernatural.”

  Kori stared blankly at him. “...What do you mean?”

  Hayden took a moment to answer

  “The bar manager Rogelio have his bartenders serve humans diluted drinks that keeps mortals docile and his DJ plays hypnotic music which also makes them unknowingly subservient.”

  Kori gasped, “why hasn’t anyone said or done anything to stop it?”

  Hayden smirked. “It’s hard to stop something you don’t know is happening.”

  “Why haven’t you warned people about the monsters?” Kori asked.

  “Um because of mass fear and paranoia, imagine if mortals realized monsters existed...actual witch hunts will happen. secrecy allows for genocide not to happen, which is a good thing.”

  Kori pointed an accusing finger at him. “You can’t honestly believe that. People are being used as food!”

  Hayden groaned. “Everyone has to die someday.”

  He sat in the sand with his legs spread apart and placed the head next to him. For several seconds he watched the ocean waves harass his feet by rolling back and forth washing over them.

  Kori pushed a lock of hair from her eyes the wind had blown there, “I don’t think I want your company anymore.”

  Hayden scoffed, “I really wish I could just leave you here. Trust me; I don’t want to carry your burdens along with my own.”

  He dragged his legs into an arch and rested his arms onto his knees.

  Kori joined him and together they watched the ocean and said: “What are you? You, Brianna and Dominic aren’t human, are you?”

  A warm ocean breeze stirred the air around them. Hayden felt his throat tighten.