Woods of Regrets

I woke up looking at the dull sky, trees littering the view of mine. I tried to speak, but no words came out of my mouth, as if I was mute. I sat up, looking at my surroundings. The woods around me were thick and crowded, but some gaps where trees did not grow. Pine needles littered the ground around my legs and the scent of fresh dew caught my nose. The sky was dull and grey, where no spots of blue could be seen. Even the sun did not show. A short breeze gusted through the wooded area and I wrapped myself in my sweater some more, shivering. My hair was up in a bun, my eyes shifted unsettlingly. I had no memory of how I got here, or anything of that matter.
Trying to speak again, I managed to croak out 'Hello?' before realizing my throat was the cause of the muteness. Getting up, I brushed pine needles off of my legs, my cut off shorts exposing my mid thigh. The sweat on my skin stuck to the pine needles and made the removal make me shiver, as the wet skin made contact to the brisk air around it, no longer covered by the wooden barrier. I walked, trying to find a source of water, as I did I began to think.
My name is Emily Rothoburg, I am seventeen years old, and I am a senior in high school. I have a mother who works at a bookstore, and a dad who works at a realty company. I like to run and write poetry. My favorite band is Of Monsters & Men, and I love the fall. And I can't seem to think of anything else about myself, crap.
I look around me, these woods seem endless, and the breeze is killing me. How did I get here, and where am I? I walked a little forward beginning to see a clearing in the woods. I picked up the pace, making sure to be careful of where I stepped, not wanting to trip in my Toms. As I reached the clearing, I saw a rippling creek near the opposite end. I quickly sprinted over, suddenly craving water like it was oxygen. Reaching it's bank, I knelt down to cup water into my hands. Almost lustfully I drank the water by the handfuls, not stopping till I was full on the wonderful liquid.
I glance around, suddenly feeling vulnerable in the open space of the clearing. The feeling I was being watched grasped at my mind uncontrollably as a chill ran down my spine. I the steam was almost silent, and the breeze wasn't strong enough to cause the branches to sway from its force. This place really was too quiet. Nothing happens in the passing minutes, and the tension I feel lessens a bit. I stand up, but I'm struck with a sudden realization.
The pain in my head is unreal, I look around me seeing that the car is smashed to pieces. The throbbing
in my head makes it hard to focus my vision or my thoughts, and I try to move. I'm restrained, and see my seatbelt is still on. That's when the engine caught fire.
I open my eyes screaming, what was that? I had fallen in my strange hallucination. I look over at the creek, which is still rippling slowly. Only a girl is sitting at the bank. Not drinking from it though, but staring at me cautiously.
The girl's dark black hair was tangled and matted, her eyes seemed dull and grey. The breeze had picked up, and the sky had darkened. The scene chilled the me to the bone. Slowly standing up, both the girl and I never stopped looking at each other, till the girl broke the transfixation first. Running like a banshee, the girl sprinted back into the woods. Not being able to help myself, I ran after.
Who was she? Why was she frightened of me? These thoughts kept running through my head as I ran after the girl. Her dark hair meshed with the oncoming darkness of night, and the woods became longer and shadier as I continued to run. Eventually she got lost in the darkness ahead of me, and I halted my pursuit after the mysterious young girl.
I glanced around me, seeing that I have lost the way I came. I sit down slowly, waining sleep because of my tired legs. The darkness frightens me though, and I wish I knew where I was. The lurking feeling of slumber crept up to me though, and soon took over.
When I woke up it was light again, and I glanced up at the sky. Still littered with the high tree tops, the sky was blue now, cloudless and beautiful.  I began to sit up, but the sounds of birds stopped me. The forest sounds natural for once, and the sounds were warming to my heart. The change of mood in the mysterious forest was really helping me with my sudden appearance in it, and also my fright. The shock of not knowing had faded away with the night, and now it seemed like a bright new beginning for what I could make of it. I stand up, brushing more of those annoying pine needles off my legs and sweater. That's when the images in my head come back.
The engine caught fire and I'm rushing to get my seat belt off.
"Zeke! Izzie! Are you okay?" I franticly get the restraining object off of me, and look at the back seat. The sight is sickening, the amount of blood caused me to begin to throw up right where I was. The whole back of the car was crushed, the semi truck that had rolled onto us smashed it to pieces.
I awoke, crunched into a ball again, tears running down my face. I wipes my tears and try to settle myself.
"Are you okay Miss?" A small voice from behind me catches my attention, and I whip around. A small boy in shorts and a striped shirt was staring at me. His black hair was messy and tangled, his brown eyes like chocolate orbs. I pause for a second, looking at him, then slowly nod my head.
"Were you crying?" I nod my head again. The little boy folds his arms and pouts a bit.
"Well, being sad won't get you anywhere, so try to be happy. My sister doesn't like it when you're screaming." I just stare at him when the memory comes back.
A little boy was smiling at me, a little girl holding his hand as they walked with me.
"Ely, Izzie and I don't wanna leave yet!" The boy let go of his sisters hand so he could fold his arms and began to pout. I smile, and kneel down next to him.
"Well, being sad won't get you anywhere, so try being happy. We got to see the zoo today, but it's six o'clock now and we have to go home." I look at him hoping he'd give up his childish protests of wanting to stay at the zoo.
"Miss? Miss, are you okay?" I snap out of the memory, but I won't respond to the boy, I just keep staring at him. He looks exactly like the boy I saw in my flashback.
"No, I'm not. But that doesn't matter." I look at the boy some more, why was he here? How did I know him? The faint rustle from a tree behind him alerted me to another presence. A little head with long matted black hair appeared from behind a tree.
"Is this your sister?" I motion to where she was. When she realized I had seen her, her head ducked  behind the tree once more. The boy instantly was on guard, and stepped in between where she was and I.
"Yes, and she doesn't like to talk to people, so leave her alone." He tightened his arms around his chest and made it clear that he wasn't going to move unless I acknowledged what he said.
"I won't go near her, unless you say I can, or she wants me to." The young boy seemed pleased with what I said and relaxed slightly, but was still on guard.
"Do you know how I got here?" I know it was a stupid question, but these two children are the only two people I've seen since I woke up in these woods. The boy gave me a toothy grin and nodded his head.
"You're here because you have to remember and forgive. That's what the woman in the suit said to Izzie and I." A woman in a suit? So there is an adult here too? Why hasn't she come to help us? And Izzie, the name of the girl in my reels of recollections I'm having. I'm guessing he was addressing his sister. Does that mean these are the two children I saw in my vision? I squatted down so he and I were eye level, and motioned him to come a little closer.
     "I'm about to ask a very silly question, but is your name Zeke?" The boy looked at me strangely and nodded vigorously, "Then I think we have met before. My name is Emily, is Izzie your sister behind the tree?"
Izzie's head popped out from behind the tree again, looking at me very closely as her brother and I talked. She didn't seem very trusting, or maybe she was just nervous.
"I've never met you before." Izzie’s voice was quiet and gentle, the opposite of her brothers loud and hyper tone. Zeke looked at me closely, then his eyes opened up a little wider.
“No, no, Izzie look. It’s Ely.” I stare at Izzie as she contemplates what he has said.
“Hmmm, maybe she is. The lady in the suit was nice enough, so Emily probably is too.” With that, Izzie walked out from behind the tree, and stood next to Zeke, grabbing his hand.
The most intense pain I have ever felt poured into my head, and I fell over. The two little children in front of me gasped as they faded away into the nothingness of what I saw in my fainted dreams.
The traffic was insane today, so many cars were merging into different lanes in hope of moving faster, only causing near accidents. That’s when it happened. We started to pick up speed when we needed to suddenly stop again. A driver too close to another hit the car in front of them and started a domino effect of pile up on the freeway. I couldn’t steer away and I could hear my little siblings yell in the back seat.
“Hold on guys!” With that I hit the car in front of me at around twenty miles per hour, and the air bag deployed, knocking me unconscious. I awoke to a head ache and gurgled sounds. I tried to get out, but I had forgotten that I was wearing a seat belt. Fumbling with the strap, I saw the engine begin to catch flame in front of me.
Finally managing to free myself I turned to help my little siblings. The back of the car was crushed, with no room. Blood littered the back of the car. I vomited seeing the horrifying sight of what minutes ago were my six year old little brother and sister. I turn away, feeling tears streak down my face as I struggle to escape the vehicle. Not managing to use the handle, I scooted myself out the newly opened window of my car. I slid onto another car’s hood who hit the side of my car head on, breaking the window.
Struggling to walk off the wreckage, a man found me and began to help me out. I look back and see that a semi-truck had flipped from the crash, landing on my car and a few others. The tears pouring down my face made my eyes burn, and the adrenaline coursing through my body was beginning to dissipate as the threat of death disappeared. As the man finally got me to a medic, I fainted, watching the horror around me turn black.
I opened my eyes to see I was in a clearing now, Zeke and Izzie were holding a woman with red hair’s hands.
“We understand you couldn’t have done anything, Ely.” Zeke looked at me sadly.
“It’s not like you would have known.” Izzie let go of the woman’s hand and hugged me, Zeke following behind her.
“It wasn’t your fault Ely, and we still love you. Thank you for taking us to the zoo.”
With that, my little siblings went back to the woman with red hair, and they all began to walk away. As they moved further away, the clearing became blurred, and disappeared into whiteness.
I opened my eyes in a white hospital room, the sterile light above me seemed as bright as the natural sun to my sensitive eyes. I look over to see a nurse with red hair is cleaning up the table in the room, setting a pot of flowers on the table as well.
Being sad won't get you anywhere, so try being happy. The words stuck in my head as the nurse realized I was awake, and went to get the doctor. I’m sorry Zeke. I’m sorry Izzie. I know it wasn’t my fault. Thank you for letting me know though, that you don’t blame me for something I would have blamed myself for. I love you too.

End

Padauk and Willows Investigation: Shadowed Man (Updated 18/2/2013)

Day: 01

The Briefing

     It's been the first day of Noah and I's investigation. We were hired by the town of Chao to look into the missing children. Six kidnappings in the last three months. They town blamed the local legend, but officials just swiped it under the rug. My team was commissioned to investigate the local legend, and to search for the missing children. The town is on the outskirts of a forested mountain. Mount Zenforth was neither big or small, but it's fame came to the rare species which live on it's threshold. Three animals and four plants that are unique only to this mountain. I glanced out the window of our land cruiser, admiring the mountain top. It's peak was basted in the rural colours of autumn. The sky seemed to share this beautiful scheme and looked as if reflecting the leaves. 

     I spotted a black dot contrasting against the goldenrod leaves. A large oak blocked the view for a second and we bent around a turn. As we turned back around the winding mountain road, I gave myself a quick glance to the area that spot was. Nothing but the beautiful scenery in sight. What could that have been? I know I've been sleep deprived, but... My thoughts trailed off as I was interrupted by my tech specialist. 

      "Yo, Kent man, mind telling me why you brought us to a city in the middle of Ohio?" Will asked curiously. I smiled and turned back to face the rest of my crew. Amy was snoozing still, her brunette pigtails askew from the angle of her head. Laura nudged her side. Amy slowly swooned to consciousness, she rubbed her eyes and looked at the dark haired woman. Laura's violet eyes gleamed maroon in the yellow lighting, dark features contrasting with her pale skin. Will's dirty blonde hair was styled in the usual faux hawk he wore with pride. "Well?" He added, peeved I ignored his first attempt. 

     Noah smiled as he gave the answer, "We're here to see if the legend is true of course!" I grimaced. I take back what I said earlier. Mount Zenforth was famous for two things. The rare species of animals and plants that thrived only on it, an a much more gruesome tale. The mountain has a mythology  that has been carried with it since the beginning of man kind. The Shadowed Man, a creature known for stealing children. Raping it's victims, no care for sex or age. Then it's massacres  them, shredding them to pieces. Any trace of them is unlikely, and when there is one, a shoe or finger is the biggest they have ever found.

     I looked back to my crew. This could be one of the most dangerous cases we've ever been on. That is of course if the legend was true, and most of the time, they never were. I laughed a bit, nervously, at Noah's answer to Will and looked the whole crew in the eyes. 

     "Listen guys, we'll be in the town of Chao in about half a hour. We're to investigate the local legend of the Shadowed Man, a creature known for kidnapping children, rapping people, and killing them. At noon tomorrow we will be heading into the forest for a five day investigation. At that time, we will head back to the town, resupply and rest for a day, and return for another five days. We must be careful. People have said to see children running in the forest, but when they turn around, they will appear horribly maimed," I gulped and quickly glanced at all expressions before continuing, "Beyond those paranormal attributes, we have the Shadowed Man." At this Noah swerved sharply and nearly drove off the thousand seven hundred foot drop. He braked and we came to a halt. 

     I switched my attention to the front of the car as we swerved and looked in horror as we nearly hit the side rails. After feeling safe to move, I looked back at my friends. Will look like he about had a heart attack, Amy was glued onto Laura's left arm, and Laura herself look stuck between levels of anger and shock. "What the hell was that for!" She managed to sputter out, the confusion in emotion evident in her words. I looked at Noah, who's appearance faded from the nice usually tan self to a snow white colour. "I-I saw something jump out in the road." Noah stuttered.

     Noah stuttered when ever nervous, scared, or in shock. I smiled and offered to take the wheel for a while. He didn't complain at all, nearly jumping out of the drivers seat. We headed down the road as I continued to tell the others of our investigation.

     "As I was saying, most of our attention will be on the Shadowed Man. He is said to been in all black, but what he wears has changes throughout the generations. He has pale skin that is, dare I say, vampire white," The others snickered as I continued on, "He has no real face they say, but appears to have skin over where it should be. His height ranges from around two to three meters. He is very skinny, giving him a malnourished look. Due to his appearance, he has also been named the Dark Angel, Slenderman, and even Satan himself. One last detail that I still can't wrap my head around is this; the Shadowed Man is said to have tentacle like appendages that are black as well. Some records say he uses them as arms and such, but older legends say otherwise. Those say he uses them to wrap around his victims, or use them as a net as dark as the night." 

     I coughed some, moistening my throat, waiting for any input. I returned to my speal, "They say these appendages are actually used to trap his victims and pull them closer to him. When victims get close to the Shadowed Man, he will shoot these appendages around them, forming a cage that gets smaller and smaller. Forcing his victims to submit defeat or  be pushed closer to him till he can literally grab you. One thing they never really explained is how he hides these appendages. They say he has control whether he uses these or not, you can't just make tentacle arms disappear right?" I laughed some.

The Town of Chao

     I stepped out of our Land Cruiser, and surveyed the town. We were in front of Town Hall, next to the one and only school. It had four, large for this town, buildings. I guess they separated grades by threes still. This town's only economy comes from federal funds for the mountain. A shame really, it was a quaint looking town. It had an old, rustic, mountain village feel. Maybe ten roads in this mountain side town.
     We left our vehicle an entered Town Hall. I guess it was also a town museum, it had a visitor's center with a ticket booth near one entrance. Noah and I kept note of that and went to the front desk.
     "Hi," A blonde behind the desk said, smiling, "How can I help you today?" Noah smiled as he explained how we had an appointment with the Mayor. The blonde got up and showed us where to wait for the Mayor. Her cheery exterior made me hope that all the town's folk were like that, eager to help and polite to strangers. Three men left the office, grumbling.
     "What are we supposed to do now, boys?" One with scruffy scarlet sideburns said to his companions, "With the school closed, how are we gonna fend for our families, our kids!"  The other two men had dark hair and sideburns as well. One with a blue and white trucker's hat responded to his friend with a grave tone. "Won't be any families left if we don't do anything about Him." His friends nodded in agreement. They left the office without another thought, or so it seemed.
     The Mayor looked at and smiled at us. "You must be Padauk and Willows Investigation." His grin quickly faded as he ushered us into the office. "Welcome to Chao," He said grimly, "The town plagued by a demon." We all looked at each other with questioning eyes. The Mayor sighed and sat in his chair. "I am sorry I asked you to investigate this," The Mayor trailed off before continuing, "We were recommend to you for this case, but even now I wonder if it will be too much."
     "We can handle anything!" I looked to my side to see Amy whose face showed pride, "We've dealt with cases like this before." She smiled and the Mayor looked at us perplexed, but also relieved. The Mayor smiled again, this time it seemed much more real. "Well, you will have a room at the lodge right at the edge of the city while you investigate the mountain." He handed us directions to the inn, as well as a map of the city with all the stores laid out on it.
     We got to the lodge right as dusk broke the Sunday sunset. We got our room and brought all our gear inside. No way were we leaving that in the cruiser. Sure, it had reinforced glass and steel frames, but this equipment cost a lot, from Noah and I's pockets. The gas guzzler is what we slept in while we weren't investigating. Even then, can't blame us for being paranoid. We left the inn to get some grub, ending us up at a small grill-n-bar. As we tucked in for the night, I thought about the case we've agreed to do. Where will this lead us? I drifted into a restless sleep, filled with imagery of a tall, slender, man who was chasing the team. Hunting us down, one by one.

Day: 02

A Symb⊗l

     I awoke to hear one of the girls screaming. I jumped up and looked around. Will was in his bed, looking around in shock, Laura was looking at Amy, who was screaming. Noah managed to still be sleeping, but he could be stabbed ten times and wouldn’t wake up. Amy finally calmed down when Laura and Will started to sooth her. I got out of my sleeping bag and walked over to here. “What in god’s name was that for?” She had tears still running down her petite face, I felt bad. “Oh, Amy, come on. I’m certain whatever it was, was a nightmare.” She just shook her head and pointed to the wall nearest to Noah.
     We all looked over to see a giant ⊗. I ran over to the wall, overseeing the mysterious symbol. It seemed to be written of some kind of paint. “Did any of you do this?” I looked at my crew. They had no idea what this was, I made sure. I wanted to see if it would happen. I didn’t expect to see one so soon though, the others shook their heads. We all looked at Noah, dozing still. Will went to the bathroom as I mumbled to myself. He came out with a cup of water, and dropped it on Noah. He woke up in a start, he hated the cold.
     "Noah, I need you to be honest, since you're the only other one who knows what that is," I pointed at the wall next to him, "Did you have the nerve to put this there?" He looked over, and became very pale."What is it?" Laura squeaked. I looked the others right in the eye, "Something Noah and I have been investigating for a long time. Didn't you ever wonder why the rest of the old team left?" Will and Laura nodded, Amy just stayed blank. She was the only member still with us, after the breaking point in our investigation two years ago.
     I sighed, sitting on the edge of Noah's bed. "Two years ago, Noah, Amy, and I were part of another investigation group. We were working on a case, very close to here." I looked at my crew, dismay in my eyes, "The investigation ended with two of our members missing, and never found. One member was killed, and the body autopsy showed he had been raped. He had been strangled by something rather large, like a giant thick rope..." Will was staring wide eyed, "What does that have to do with that symbol!?" Noah answered this time, "The creature we had been following, left that symbol everywhere. We... well, Kent and I even saw it..." Amy looked down, "There was notes and messages everywhere. We saw spirits of people telling us to run because He was getting near. We didn't realize it till later, that our team member was one of the spirits putting the notes and telling us to run away while we could."
     Laura and Will were staring wide eyed, shock written all over their faces. Laura was the first to speak though, "You knew we would be going after this thing, and still decided to come here?" I looked at Noah, he himself looking at me. "Well, sorta. Amy, Noah, and I didn't exactly know what the creature that attacked us was. It was not what we were looking for when we went to investigate. We were there to look into the spirits telling people to run away..." I trailed off as Noah spoke up, "The only thing we knew is that if we saw that symbol, we'd be in trouble." Amy looked at the others, "It's why I started screaming to be honest, because it meant He- it, came in here."
     Will stood up, "Well, I think it is just challenging us to take it on. It knows we're here, and what we're here for. I know we'll be fine. Know, not to be off subject, but I'm starving." Amy and Noah nodded in agreement. "That diner we were at last night did sell breakfast, we could stop there before we head prepare to head out," Laura noted. We all agreed, wanting to end the subject of the ⊗ and move on. We all got went to our beds and got dressed. We really didn't care if we got changed in front of one another, we were so used to seeing each other. We didn't have feelings for one another.

Departure

     Breakfast had gone by quite well, everyone in high spirits considering the literal rude awakening. We went back to the hotel room and got our stuff ready to leave. A process we had mastered long ago. Withing twenty minutes, we were completely ready to leave. "Laura, will you drive this time?" I looked at her, and she nodded. Noah got in the passenger side. Will and Amy still wanted window seats so I was stuck in the middle.
     It would take us about two hours to get to our investigation site, so I decided to close my eyes. Nightmares of past memories never give you great sleep. Amy asked for some music, and Noah fussed with the stereo, probably messing with his phone so it'd play music on the speakers. Some after Halestorm was playing through the speakers, lulling me into a deep sleep.
     I feel someone nudge me. I half open my eyes to see Will face above mine,, he looks a bit flustered, but over all a bit peeved? No, he was just staring blankly. That's when it hit me, Will face was above mine, along with his shoulders. I fell in my sleep. I shot up quickly, "Sorry man." I rubbed the back of my head, apologetically. "Its fine man, just don't go falling on me again." He smirked a bit, but was still a bit red in the face.
     "And way, we're here Kent. You fell on me probably ten minutes ago, but Amy said not to wake you." I looked at him awkwardly, man, why did these kind of things only happen to me- I was cut off by what Will said next, "Besides, Amy said it looked kind of cute, you sleeping with your head on my lap." I glared at him, jokingly, but Amy will get pay back for that.

The First Night

     I looked over at Kent, I tried not to show it much, but I really liked when we'd share those awkward moments. Those moments with the involuntary contact. Like in Brazil when he completely tripped, and fell on me. I fell too though, and we landed, him on top of me into a bush. Amy whistled to that one! Or when in the asylum, something tried to push me down the stairs, and he caught me... With a giant bear hug, my face in his chest. Amy was the only one who knows I like him, she herself likes Noah.
     After that story, I kind of don't want to be here, but I got to be brave. We can't let down all these people. They expect us to find something. To explain why bad things are happening. I got partnered with Kent to go set up the cameras. No one is allowed alone, so that means a team of three, and a team of two at all times.
     As we were walking to where the last camera would be placed, we heard something from a little ways down the trail we were on. It sounded like a woman screaming for help. I look over to Kent, but he's not where I last saw him. I began to worry when I felt something grab my right arm and pull me down. It was Kent, phew. We hid behind a bush, as the thing making the noise got closer. I felt our legs touch as he wiggled a bit to get comfortable. Then it came into sight, a woman. She had auburn hair, and pale skin. She was in jeans and a plaid shirt, running in our direction. "Please! I heard a voice, is anyone here!? Please help me! He's almost her-"
     Suddenly, the moon's light went out, the stars vanished from the sky. We couldn't see anything in front of us, and when we could, she was gone. Replaced by a figure. A new person was in her place, a tall man. He wore a black suit, and the back of his head was pale and bald. His hands looked bony and frail. I almost squeaked, and reached to grab Kent's hand in fear. I found it and held on, him tightening his grip around mine. He looked at me and mouthed, "Do not move." I looked back at the figure.
     He was just standing there, when he finally spoke. "I know you're near." His voice seemed to echo and trail off, and sounded like a hollow soul. I held onto Kent's hand more, when the figure turned around, looking in the direction we were. His face had no mouth, eyes, or even a nose. Where his eyes should have been, the skin sank in some. "Somewhere very close. I'll get you this time boy, I won't make another mistake this time. I've learned~" He seemed to playfully say the last words, as if he knew we were in the bush. With that he grunted, "I'll play with you later though, I have other guests to attend to."
     I've never seen Kent so worked up during an investigation. He put the camera right on the trail, and went straight to our base camp. When Amy saw us, still holding hands, running at them, she knew something went wrong. Noah was the first to speak up though, "What happened?" Kent finally let go of my hand, gasping for air. "I-It's definitely him," was all he could manage to say before leaning on me for support. The rest of the night was calm. No spirits, no Shadowed Man, not even a spooky sound. We told Noah, Amy, and Laura what had happened, and they said we were lucky to get out alive.

Day: 03

Disappearance

     When we woke up it was early noon, around eleven. I looked around, Will was sleeping rather close to me, Amy doing the same. Laura was next to Amy. Where was Noah? I nudged Will awake as I got up. "Hey, want to get Amy back for earlier yesterday?" He smirked a bit, nodding. "Okay, I'm gonna wake up Laura, then we're all gonna start screaming that he's outside the car, got it?" Will nodded again, and I slowly reached my arm over Amy to nudge Laura. She woke up slowly, yawning. I whispered the plan and she smirked. I looked back at Will, and winked. We all started shouting, "Oh god! Here's here! Get the keys come on, quickly!" Laura was screaming bloody murder that he's about to reach the car as Will shouted he can't find Noah and the keys were gone. Amy woke up screaming, freaking out. Then looked outside and saw nothing.
     Amy went blank for a second, before slapping me right across the face, and threatening to do the same to Will. We all started laughing, when it hit me what Will had said. "Hey, where is Noah, or the keys?" They all looked around and we got out of the land cruiser. "Where did he go...?" Amy quietly questioned herself, as Will looked with her the west side of our camp. Laura and I checked around the  east side, but jumped when we heard a loud thump. We ran back to the camp, Amy and Will arriving at the same time.
     A giant ⊗ was scratched into the land cruiser, and a note next to it. The words "No eyes" repeatedly written all over it. "Okay then, someone is keeping watch as we sleep from now on." I looked down, I didn't think he'd attack us so soon. "Also, Will, you and I are team one, Laura and Amy, team two. We aren't allowed to separate from each other's view at all, even bathroom breaks guys. We'll find Noah, don't worry. I promise." "Just because we may find him, doesn't mean we'll find him alive!" Amy screamed. She was obviously worked up already. "Look, I bet we'll find him by tomorrow, he can hold his own." They all nodded. "We should spend the rest of the day investigating, and no investigating at night time." Will stuttered some as he spoke.
     The girls didn't want to go out of the campsite, so that left Will and I to search. We were heading down the trail from before. As we walked, I couldn't help but ask, "Hey Will. Last night, you grabbed my hand, were you that scared? Cause I was thinking, if this is too much to ask all of you, we can find Noah and leave."  Will glanced at me as we continued walking. "Well, yeah, for the most part. He just appeared out of no where, and was... so creepy. I can see why Amy never talked about it..." I smirked a bit, "You guys are so close, aren't you? You don't, you know." I glance over at him, but Will stopped dead. "What? I didn't mean to offend you..." He turned red some, and just ran ahead of me. "H-Hey! Will, wait up, we can't get separated remember?" 
     Will didn't stop running though, and I ran after him. He stopped as he got to the end of the trail, it now turned, and started down a hill with a snaking motion. I finally caught up to him, grabbing his shoulder to turn him around. His cheeks were a bit damp, like he had been crying. "Will... I didn't mean to upset yo-" I was cut off. I didn't realize how close we were to the edge of the path, and the soil gave way under our weight. I didn't let go of Will, and I moved some so he'd land on me instead of hitting the ground. I was hanging on for dear life, as was he. Falling felt like an eternity, yet a second all at once. 
     Suddenly the time lapse ended, hard. I yelled, the air knocked out of me as I did so. I could feel the hard soil under me. I looked at Will, his eyes were still clamped tight, hands holding onto my chest. He looked up at me, but quickly got up. "Are you okay!? You shouldn't have done that!" Will tried to help me up, but his attempt was cut short because of the bad pain in my ribs. "Ow! I think I fractured a rib..." He slowly helped me up, supporting me by the waste.

Separated

     I looked up at the trail, it was a good couple hundred feet above our heads, having not made it to the bottom. The incline was about eighty degrees, not way were we climbing it. Even more so because of the pain in Kent's ribs. "Well, we're not climbing that obviously... I'm sorry I got us into this mess Kent." All he did was smile at me, "Not your fault man, I'm the one who upset you in the first place. Lets just use the walkie to contact Laura and Amy." I nodded a bit, taking out my walkie, but the screen was completely cracked and no light was on. "How about yours then?" Kent chuckled some, but his walkie had fared worse them mine, the whole front was broke in, and the antenna was in two. 

     I sighed, looking at Kent desperately. "It'll be alright Will, the girls can take care of themselves, and so can we."  It was going to get dark very soon, and we would be out here for a while by the looks of it. "Who knew things could go so badly so early..." I mumbled to myself. Kent looked downhearted the instant I said that, "Maybe we should just set up a little camp for ourselves..." Crap, now I made him feel bad. I do as told though, and we find a nice little area hidden in the bushes. I slowly help Kent down, but don't drop my hand from his waist.

     "Looks like we'll be here till sunrise," I whisper. Kent nods at me, "I'm really tired..." Must be because of the ribs. He leaned his head on my shoulder and closed his eyes. "Um, I'll just keep watch then." Kent nodded, and slowly I could feel him relax. I looked at where we were sitting. Our backs were against a tree, everything around us was surrounded in bushes. We were sitting in one of the larger bushes. I glanced over when I heard a rustling in the bushes next to us. "Holy shit!" He was right there, staring at us. Kent looked up in fright, and I spoke in a low whisper, hoping I didn't give our place away. 
     "Noah, how did you find us here?" Noah frowned a bit, "I was running from... well you know. I thought I should hide here, and you were here." Noah whispered to us faintly as we heard more rustling. The air got cold, and the forest quieted down. The barely visible moon now disappeared from all eyes.  "Come out, come out, where ever you are. I know your near, Noah... Why can't we just be friends?" I felt Kent grab my hand, and my side. I gulped, and Noah was breathing quietly, but extra fast. "I guess I'll just attend to my other guests... I'll be back Noah, for you and your two friends..." We all froze solid. He knew, he had to know. The wind came back, and the faint rays of moonlight returned to us. I let out a breathe I didn't even know I was holding. 

Screams in the Early Night

     

Chronicles of XV: Pandora

Chapter One

     I looked up in the now forest green sky. A smile crept up upon my face, I love seeing our two moons in the sky. They're both full tonight, contrasting with each other. The ever pale lavender and ravishing royal purple consumed the sky of blue jewels and green robes. I stopped at the corner light. I looked down, seeing the multiple levels of the city. The buildings, with sidewalks, were built on top of each other. Our vehicles used our moons gravitational pulls to 'fly,' along with Sonosaphian technology. There was two vehicle industries on Zentura, Sono Waves and Grav Tracks. They use the same technology, but originally used opposing ones. I work for Sono Waves, as an industrial worker. I've been living here for a couple years now. I, unlike most of this world's inhabitants, am a human. One of my best friends, Riamu, was from No Where. I had crashed at his place for a while, and boom. Entered through my dreams. Apparently it happens quite often to animals around those from No Where. I eventually decided to move there physically cause Earth, and that dimension, weren't working for me. When the uprising happened in the Kingdom of Zaturnerax, Riamu dragged me along to Zentura.
     We have been living together for about a year now. We have this, strange to say the less, relationship with each other. We're kinda like lovers, in the sense that we kiss, share a bed, live together, and have pet names for each other. Unlike a relationship beyond that, we're just friends. No sex, no expectations of sex, no sexual fantasies of each other. Asexual, that's the word. Life here has been... Nice. My life at home is peaceful, Riamu and me are completely comfortable together, material and emotional wise. Work is tiring, but worth it, I get paid fairly, and my coworkers are funny beings. Beings, how funny, I've gotten so used to not saying people, cause people means humans and my coworkers were far from human. That didn't mean they weren't, by definition, humane. They are all really nice and funny, I'm accepted. This world is accepting. That's what makes it so much more pleasing. My thoughts are fast, like any ones, and the light changes, the cross walk forms. Its a bridge made of pure energy, glowing as blue as the stars above us. I get across and make my way down to my apartment building when I hear the siren. My eyes open wide as I run to get inside for safety. Acceptance is nice, fair pay and a roommate whom you got along with better than anyone else is too, but the one down side of this, and the other Daemon run worlds, is the Gavialent raids.
     A Gavialent is a species similar to that of an angel, but not as sweet. Most are of the mind that they are a higher being than others, looking down upon them. They enslave many weaker and submissive species. Daemons and Gavialents have been at war since they were created in this vast universe. They were both 'born' onto a world that no longer exists. Their fighting and war ravished the planet, corrupting it, and in the end, destroying it. It's name was Goden. The species had evolved around each other, competing for resources, and when they started to evolve to great beings, began to rage war. Different beliefs and morals. I guess that's why Earth has so many wars on it. Gavialtion bombs could be heard outside, I quickly went up stairs to see Riamu looking relieved to see me. His bright blue eyes held relief and joy in them, but a touch of sorrow. His arm reached behind him and rubbed the back of his neck, caressing the short, fine, black hairs on it. I give him a smile as he gets up and hugs me. I smile again, his hugs have always held a soft spot in my heart, since they were rare until we moved here. He released me from the embrace, and held onto my arms, looking at me. "What?" I say, and he snickers. He smiles and leans in, pressing a soft kiss on my lips. "Just worrying about ya was all." With that he let go of me to sit back down.
     Eventually another siren goes off, but we don't completely notice it, we're distracted by laughing and eating our food. Another thing, Zentura has no televisions. Beings talk and hang out during meals. They use their imaginations to entertain themselves, or read a book. Stuff like Humans did before T.V. He grabs our dishes and puts them in the sink, and I get up to head of to bed with him. I strip of my soiled robes and into crisp clean pajama bottoms. I slip in next to Riamu, curling next to him. I feel his arm wrap around my waist, and his lips brush against my forehead. I swiftly fell asleep in his arms, whimsically dreaming of Earth and No Where, my old family and friends.
     I awakened with a start. I glance at the windows, there is barely any light fluttering through them. I look the clock, 13:66. The time difference here was odd, an extra hour and ten minutes a day compared to Earth and No Where. I slump back down, careful not to stir Riamu. It doesn't work much, as he grabs in the cold midnight air for my missing presence. I'm not one to complain, I quickly return to my niche in his arms. That dream was horrifying. A normal being would call it a nightmare, but with what I've seen and been through, I say otherwise. My life was all but perfect on Earth. And, the wars and battles in No Where could cauterize your eyes. This was high on my rector scale, but not at it's peak. I snuggled into Riamu's embrace and sigh. I hope I get some worth while sleep the rest of the night.

     I could feel hands tight around my arms. I tried tugging my arms to get free, but my hands were bound behind me. I couldn't see at all, the blindfold over my eyes seems to be quite effective. My thoughts are running, where am I? What's going on? How did I get here? All I remember is going to sleep with Riamu, then I awoke in a cell. My mind flashes back in time. The walls were musty, covered in drawings, and I could hear voices echoing through the halls outside of my cell bars. I heard footsteps coming closer, or were they further? I can't tell. It's dark, the only light from candles outside my cell's enclosure. Closer, yes, closer. The voices are coming closer, I get up and go to window of metal bars to see who it is. The beings were in robes of black, or was it dark grey, and red, blood red perhaps. They bore masks of Daemons faces, similar to that of the ancient Japanese demons faces in style. The eyes were blacked out, or did they even have eyes? They stopped at my cell, still facing as if they would continue walking. 

     "You have been chosen as the sacrifice for our lord, Ataksuki.  You should feel blessed to be slain for such a magnificent being." With that the three robed figures turned to face me. I fell backwards onto the stone floor. One waved his hand in front of the cell's bars and they began to move over, opening. I scurried backwards and up, slamming against the wall. They entered the room and it seemed to become colder and darker, as if the heat and light were being devoured by their very presence. All in one instant, I lost my breathe completely, falling to the ground with a silent scream. My world became foggy, then shady, then nothing. 

     I snapped back to the present as one tugged on my arm, telling me step up. I did as told, fearing what they could do. The air, the heat, the light. They were scary. I climbed up three steps and walked out into what sounded like a stadium. I could hear voices all around me, chanting something. "May the red liquid be spilled at the ripening of a quarter decade. His life as he knows it will be slain, to resurrect the life of our Lord. His blood will be spilled, so he may be branded with our Lord's crest. He will lose his mind and soul to become our Lord's new host, and with that he will be gone. May our Lord Ataksuki rise with the fall of another."

     I could feel my eyes widen as I began to understand what their words meant. I was going to be killed, sacrificed, to bring back their 'Lord'. I struggled to break free from my bondage, but my attempts were futile. I was brought up another few steps and knelt down. They took off my blindfold and I began looking around me. I saw another being in matching robes, except the boarder lines were white, speckled in the crimson red. This registered in my head, and I tried to scream, but they gagged my mouth with the blindfold. I glanced up at the man, as he shuffled with something in his sleeve. He began to pull out a glimmering object, and at full view I realized it was a dagger. Intricate this dagger was, it looked ancient, and was crested with rubies. At least, they looked like rubies, I remember seeing flowers that looked like those in No Where. The flowers were like roses, the petals made of red diamonds, and the stems of black steel barbed wire. Beautifully dangerous, Riamu got me a ring that was made of one. The man knelt down next to me, his mask of blue fire and shadows gleamed in the light of the moon. Then it hit me. One moon. One blood red moon. The robed man next to me started chanting with the others now, and suddenly I howled. The intense pain in my forearm was unbearable. 

     I screamed again, but it soon became a gurgle compared to the chanting. The lights that were too bright, the sounds that were too loud, the pain that was too real, soon became numb when I felt something else. Darkness, death, could it be you? I struggled to remember everything. I couldn't think. I felt like a scared animal, surrounded, trapped, and injured. I noticed something glimmer in my view, it was the ring Riamu gave me. I wore it on my ring finger, not cause I thought it meant anything like that, but because that is what seemed right for it. Riamu, where was he? He was with me, is he safe? Another ruby glimmer and a pain so unreal that I didn't scream, I shrieked at the intense feeling. The ebony flames around me began to consume me and I fell into darkness. 

     I woke up screaming, wrestling around myself. Riamu jumped back, ready to fight someone or something, but only saw me. He frowned, walking over to my breathless body. I was gasping for air, tears trying to break free from my hazel eyes. He held onto me, caressing my dark black hair, shushing me into a soothed state. I felt my eye's beg to release their precipitation, and I complied. I was bawling into his shoulder. Eventually he hushed me enough to breathe normally. I moved back some to look into his eyes. He looked back, staring intently, then leaned in to kiss my nose. "It'll be alright Pan, it was just a nightmare." I could feel my eyes water up again and he brushed the pre-shed tears away. He laid me onto the bed again, and curled himself around me. I clung to his presence. I know he'll ask what had scared me so much in the morning, even if it was my birthday. My birthday, I had almost forgotten, it was today wasn't it? I was turning twenty five today... "May the red liquid be spilled at the ripening of a quarter decade." I shivered, and held to Riamu tighter. Sometimes I loved this big lug, even if it wasn't the conventional form of love. He is always there for me, and hopefully, always will be. I don't think I could deal with the past and these dreams if it wasn't for him. He understood them. He shared my dreams. I slowly began to nod of to sleep when I heard it again. "You have been chosen to be sacrificed for our Lord, Ataksuki." My eyes flew open. I wasn't going to sleep the rest of the night.
     My eyes left like lead. I hadn't slept at all last night since the dream, and wasn't about to have a repeat. I could feel myself nodding off again and shook myself awake. "No, I have to stay awake. Riamu is making me my favorite breakfast. Have to stay awake." Every time it was the others birthday, we'd fix the other their favorite breakfast, and dote upon them the whole day. It was cheesy, but it was nice. Today he promised to take me out and around the city, see the little shops an such. I'm so excited, but I don't wanna ruin it by not being coherent. My eyes are closed, but I can tell Riamu has stopped cooking. I hear a plate slide in front of me and I open my eyes. I see Riamu sit down as I smile. Swedish Pancakes. My family has made them for generations. It was like a family recipe by now. I coated them in syrup and began to enjoy the delicacy. I will enjoy this day, as I always do. Just Riamu and me, walking together and exploring like we used to. The memories.
     I think back to No Where. The Dark Wood forest, the Ebonic Castle, and everyone there. I can still imagine all the places and faces. I remember Rex, Sooki, Fu, and Zeta. Zero was always tailing us with Zen and Pasha. Those three would always stalk us! Until of course... When the rebellion to that tyrant of king, Riamu and his siblings father, happened. The king was killed, along with the queen. Riamu didn't stay for long. He didn't want the power. Rex stayed, but had Zeta take the others back to earth. I don't know what happened to anyone else beyond that. I shivered. The cruelty the rebels had... They would kill anyone in their way, like savages.  I tried to block the thoughts and think further into the past. Riamu taking me to see his little brothers and sisters. He introduced me to the family a very long time after we knew each other. He never wanted to come to No Where, he seemed to hate it, then it seemed to change suddenly. I questioned why of course, and confronted him about it one day in Dark Wood.
     "What's going on with you, Ri?" I looked at him pleadingly. He shrugged me off, "Nothin' man." I looked at him with a raised eye brow. "You're lying. I can tell. You hated even mentioning this place, but now you love coming here. We live here now for god's sake! Together!" He looked at me with hurt eyes, and I cringed. Did I hurt him, oh no, please no. I quickly ran over to him and hugged him. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." I kept nuzzling my head back and forth on his neck. He looked at me and finally spoke, "It wasn't you. No reason to apologize, my Dear." He kissed my forehead and caressed my cheek. I remembered how hot my cheeks felt.
     I chewed on my last bite of pancake and smiled. Today Riamu and I get to mess around and have fun. I love the weekend like days. They're not really a weekend, we just have work schedules that give us three days off. Four days of ten hour industrial work, then three days in between to relax. Riamu and I shared two days, and took the other as our 'Me Day'. Riamu took my plate and smiled at me, his blue eyes shining. His black hair seemed so perfect and soft today. I grabbed my jacket as we headed out to enjoy the strip mall and it's offspring of hole in the walls and stands. We walked down the dark grey side walk holding hands. We spun around when we heard someone scream. A girl had fallen of the ledge, but she was just suspended in midair, near the cars. She slowly began moving toward the sidewalk again, and was back on land. What an invention, I began to think, force fields that slowly repels things back. Deaths were too common back a couple hundred years ago cause people would fall off a ledge like these ones.
     In order to reduce the death toll of their building style, they had to invent a way to keep people from falling. Willingly or not. Anything could break railing in this world, so a force field was the only option. The very first try reflected beings back to fast, causing injury and death. They were eventually able to realize how to slow down this process with a still fast, but slow reflection. It only took about thirty seconds, but was still a slow pace. All cars, when parked on the side to pick someone up, had to use a technology that is as impressive. It opens the field slightly, but has one formed around the car doors. These fields fuse until broken away and they return to there solid form. All vehicles have force field technology around them, as to stop people from jumping out of them while on the road. There is one catch, the lanes closest to the side walk have there force field off on that side of the car. Beings could jump out, and go through the force field to end up on the side walk again. Car's didn't stop, you jumped.
     During a bombing, these force fields are completely useless. The Gavialents have specially made their bombs to go straight through these fields. Luckily, most of the city has a much strong, but thin force field around every building. One minute after the bomb warning goes off, also known as right before the first bomb explodes, the doors remain open. After that, the doors lock, no going in or out till the siren rings again. All those outside are stuck there. Riamu and I had to face that scary fate once or twice. The force fields come up around the buildings, engulfing them in their protective blanket.
     We continued walking, the scene over with.We headed down to the strip mall, an outside and inside bizarre. Its a wonderful place, full of laughter and fun. My favorite place to go there is this hole in the wall antique store. That is the first place, the third place, the seventh place, and the last place we go. The items thy have there constantly change, so if you want something, better get it then. We go inside the small building for the last time, smiling at the shop owner. He is this little purple man, with small spikes sticking out of his head and arms.  The tips of these spikes are a dark blue in hue. He smiled back, and welcomed us again, commenting how, 'Didn't I just see you both a hour ago?' We all chuckle a bit, and I go wondering around this wonder of a shop.
    I stopped when I saw something that struck a cord. The dagger, the dagger from the dream. The rubies embedded in it, the designs engraved into it. I picked it up, but cringed as I dropped it. I accidently cut my finger, and now the blood dripped on the blade lightly. The shop owner nearly jumped out of his seat, next to my side. Riamu was already helping me with the little cut, when the shop owner looked me straight in the eye, saying, "I am so sorry for this." The next thing I knew I was on the ground. The purple shop owner's clothing changing into a dark grey robe. The blood red trim seemed to reawaken the fear inside me, and Riamu stepped in front of me, but he flew backwards. He landed next to me, purple-blue spikes in his chest. He can shoot them? What the hell is going on? I was frozen with a fear I never knew I had. With a simple step over Riamu's limp body, the robed shop owner was above me, the dagger butt raised up, and hit me in the head. The force was so intense. How was anything this strong? It felt like my head would crack open when I faded from consciousness.