Chapter 4
January 1, 2009
5:00 a.m.
Aiden and Daniel continued passed the tower without looking back. There wasn't time for that, not when the sun of the Earth was going to begin rising. They stumbled upon a path that lead to who knows where. But they followed it and came upon a lake surrounded by the village of the Embalmed. Slowly they walked on the outskirts of the village and prayed that they wouldn't get caught. But soon after they got half way around the lake there was a snapping of a twig, the sound of which attracted the attention of the entire tribe.
They ran. They ran like their life depended upon it because it did. This one time Daniel permitted Aiden to look back and behind them she saw the Embalmed close behind. The creatures were of a nature Aiden had never seen before. Their eyes were red as the blood Daniel offered to the Tree of Knowledge. The skin that was attached to their bones was grey with patches of brown and black. They were in essence the rejects of Lorraine. The entities that the Lores' didn't want to associate with. They were demons. Demons who didn't want to be disturbed.
"Daniel!" Aiden screamed over the sound of snapping twigs and crunching leaves.
"Aiden, hurry, run go leave this place before they catch you!" he exclaimed
"I can't leave you Daniel. I won't. Not now. You need me as much as I need you."
Quickly Daniel did the only thing he could think of that would save Aiden's life.
"I don't need you!"
And with those four words Aiden's hear was as smashed as the leaves they were running over. She stopped for a split second and looked behind her. Daniel was quickly being surrounded by the Embalmed. She continued running until she heard Daniel scream. When she heard his pain she stopped and turned and ran back with all the strength that was in her body. Upon arriving at his body she saw that the Embalmed had every intention of coming back for her. She picked up his body and together they stumbled back out of the forest, passed they tower, and out of the gates.
When Aiden couldn't support his weight anymore she dropped his body in the Valley of Shoal. It wasn't until then that she realized that Daniel was barely holding on to the life he had retained while exiting the Shadow Land.