Song from Previous Chapter:
"Paint it Black"
Artist - The Rolling Stones
This will be the day we've waited for.
This will be the day we open up the door.
I don't want to hear about your absolution;
Hope you're ready for a revolution.
Vanessa slipped on her leather jacket and exited her house, walking along the path and across the farm until she approached the barn, the farmer, Jim, feeding some horses. He had long grey hair with a thick grey beard and grey eyes. He wore a grey shirt and over-shirt with blue denim overalls and brown boots. Jim turned to Vanessa as she approached. "Ah, Miss Hazel, what can I do ya' for?"
"Jim, I need to go into the barn and have a look around." Vanessa informed him, walking towards it, but he stood in her way.
"I'm sorry, nobody can enter the barn, our lords orders." Jim told Vanessa.
"Jim, get out of the way." Vanessa told him with a frustrated sigh, trying to move past him, but he was persistent.
"I cannot let you enter the barn. I do not want to hurt you." Jim warned her.
"Look around! Everyone wants King Taub off his throne, you and me both, whatever is in that barn can bring him down. Now move." She ordered him, and he sighed.
"I'm sorry, Vanessa." Jim grabbed his pitchfork and swung at her. She pushed it aside with her telekinesis, punched Jim in the face and kicked him in the chest, knocking him out.
"Sorry, Jim." Vanessa said sarcastically, walking over his body and pulling at the door, but was bolted, chained and padlocked shut, with a plank of wood to keep it shut. She pulled on the lock, but it wouldn't move. She moved back and looked at the left side of the barn, a window sized hole in the wall. Vanessa moved back and vaulted up the wall, reaching up and grabbing onto the bottom of the hole.
She pulled herself up and climbed into the barn, landing on a raised platform. The inside of the barn was pitch black, but the sounds certainly made her curious. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a flash light and turned it on, looking down at the floor. Her eyes widened as she covered her mouth with her other hand.
"Oh no."
THE XIAO LONG CHRONICLES
VOLUME 3 - EVERYBODY LIES
CHAPTER SEVEN
DAY 21
David followed Lexus and two knights into the throne room, walking along to the opposite side of the room, Lexus sat down on his throne and looked down at David with a glare.
"Explain to me why a herd of infected are outside my community. Now." Lexus demanded.
"...Me and Alex were looking for Vanessa's younger sister, she went missing earlier after we found a grymm inside her bedroom. Speaking of which, why was one there?" David asked him.
"Excuse me?" Lexus asked.
"Well, a person dying inside a child's room would never happen, especially in a community with a couple of hundred citizens, so someone planted a grymm inside a child's room. Someone with influence." David narrowed his eyes.
"Preposterous! There is no proof!" Lexus yelled at David.
"Proof? I know you don't like me, or my friends, so you wouldn't rick hurting me, so you hurt someone close to me." David accused, Lexus gritting his teeth in anger. "You son of a bitch."
"ENOUGH! For your crimes against Cydonia, you and your team mates are banished from Cydonia. You will all be out of my community by first light." Lexus commanded. The two knights glanced at each other worryingly.
"But...the grymm..." David stuttered, shocked.
"If we're lucky, you'll draw them away." Lexus got up from his throne and approached David. "And I hope that they get you, and tear you all apart while you're still alive." David looked at Lexus lacking any emotion while Lexus looked at David with a smug grin.
David punched Lexus right in the nose, knocking him back while the knights grabbed David by his arms. David shoved them off and walked over to Lexus, who lay on the ground, holding his bleeding nose.
"You're going to regret crossing me, you're going down Lexus, and I'm gonna make sure you pay." David threatened, storming out of the room. The knights walked over to Lexus, helping him to his feet.
"Are you okay, my lord?" Hugh asked.
"I will once David is gone."
"You cannot be serious!?" Alex exclaimed. "He's banishing you when there is an army of grymm outside? That's suicide!" David sighed, rubbing his eyes as he sat in his sitting room in the house next to Anna, with Alex, Indiana and Vanessa apposite them.
"It's what he said, trust me, he wants me out. You two shouldn't be coming with me." David said looking at Anna and Indiana.
"We're a team. We wouldn't let you stay outside in the wilderness on your own, even if you ordered me to stay." Anna assured him with a small smile.
"What an asshole, basically giving us the death sentence." Indiana muttered.
"King Taub is an asshole. Nobody wants him as the king, even Linda doesn't, but what can we do?" Vanessa asked.
"Adele told me about a possible lead. I was going to tell you, David, but we got preoccupied. She told me that people think something is going on at Jim's Barn, nothing goes in and nothing comes out. She believes that Lexus has something to do with it." Alex informed them.
"If there is something, we can expose him and kick him off his throne." Indiana realised.
"Okay." David spoke up, standing to his feet. "We aren't going to figure this out by sunrise. Me, Anna and Indiana will leave Cydonia and find somewhere safe. You and Vanessa will search the barn, and if something is there, use it against Lexus. If there isn't, find something you can use. I'm counting on both of you, but we're doing this for Cydonia."
"For Cydonia." They agreed.
"It's going to be sunrise in a few hours, we should get rest. Hopefully we'll be back in these beds in a matter of days." David said, the rest of them getting up, Indiana and Anna walking upstairs, after Anna gave David a quick kiss, and Alex and Vanessa went to the door. "Vanessa, a moment." Vanessa stopped and re-entered the sitting room, taking a seat next to David. "I...want to tell you I'm sorry I couldn't find your sister." Vanessa sighed.
"I'd be lying if I said it was alright, because it's not, I'm honestly terrified. But you and Alex risked your lives to find her, and almost died in the process. I have hope that she is alright, but, I want to thank you for looking for her." Vanessa told him, leaning over and giving him a kiss on the cheek, blushing a little. "Thank you, for everything."
"N-No problem." David answered, stuttering a little. "It's, umm, late. You should get home."
"Okay. I'll see you around." Vanessa told him with a small smile, exiting the house. David sighed, leaning back on the sofa. Getting to his feet, he walked upstairs and entered his bedroom, collapsing onto his bed and instantly fell asleep.
DAY 22
John pulled open the chain link of the fence, dozens of grymm growling and roaring at the gate. He recoiled a little, raising his assault rifle.
"Don't fire that weapon." Alex warned his brother.
"Sorry, I just, I'm not used to these things yet." John told him.
"Trust me, you never get used to them." Alex walked up to the gate, looking at the decayed, grey face with black veins spread across it's body with tattered clothes.
"You think that they can survive out there?" John asked.
"God, I hope so." David spoke up, John and Alex turning to see David, Anna and Indiana approaching the gate, each with a set of supplies. "As soon as we're gone, go to the barn, find something."
"I will. So will Vanessa." Alex assured, David nodded back at him.
"How are you going to get out? We can't open the gate." John reminded them.
"We're not going through the gate." Anna told John, and started climbing the wall. When she reached the top, she leapt several dozen feet away and sprinted into the forest before the grymm noticed her.
"Huh." John noted, looking at the 15 foot high wall. Indiana proceeded to climb the wall and leap off, slightly less gracefully, and ran into the forest.
"I'll see you soon, man." Alex told David, patting him on the shoulder. David leapt onto and climbed up the wall, leapt off and ran into the forest after his team mates. Alex sighed and walked away from the gate as John closed the chain link on the gate, Alex was stopped when Linda approached him.
"Alex, may I have a moment?" Linda asked him.
"Of course, my lady. How may I be of service?" Alex asked Linda.
"I want you to track David and his friends, and try and lead them to Skyfall." Linda requested.
"It's not necessary. I was told by a reliable source that there is something in the barn, it might be able to take down King Taub." Alex informed her.
"Alex, I'm sorry to tell you this, but there is nothing there. If there was something in the barn, I would known about it." Linda told Alex. "Their only hope for survival is to go to Skyfall. Please, ensure they make it." Alex bowed lightly.
"Yes, my lady." Alex complied, leaving for his house to get supplies. He returned a few minutes later and climbed the wall, leaping down to the other side and ran into the forest.
Vanessa slipped on her leather jacket and exited her house, walking along the path and across the farm until she approached the barn, the farmer, Jim, feeding some horses. He had long grey hair with a thick grey beard and grey eyes. He wore a grey shirt and over-shirt with blue denim overalls and brown boots. Jim turned to Vanessa as she approached. "Ah, Miss Hazel, what can I do ya' for?"
"Jim, I need to go into the barn and have a look around." Vanessa informed him, walking towards it, but he stood in her way.
"I'm sorry, nobody can enter the barn, our lords orders." Jim told Vanessa.
"Jim, get out of the way." Vanessa told him with a frustrated sigh, trying to move past him, but he was persistent.
"I cannot let you enter the barn. I do not want to hurt you." Jim warned her.
"Look around! Everyone wants King Taub off his throne, you and me both, whatever is in that barn can bring him down. Now move." She ordered him, and he sighed.
"I'm sorry, Vanessa." Jim grabbed his pitchfork and swung at her. She pushed it aside with her telekinesis, punched Jim in the face and kicked him in the chest, knocking him out.
"Sorry, Jim." Vanessa said sarcastically, walking over his body and pulling at the door, but was bolted, chained and padlocked shut, with a plank of wood to keep it shut. She pulled on the lock, but it wouldn't move. She moved back and looked at the left side of the barn, a window sized hole in the wall. Vanessa moved back and vaulted up the wall, reaching up and grabbing onto the bottom of the hole.
She pulled herself up and climbed into the barn, landing on a raised platform. The inside of the barn was pitch black, but the sounds certainly made her curious. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a flash light and turned it on, looking down at the floor. Her eyes widened as she covered her mouth with her other hand.
"Oh no."
On the floor of the barn were dozens of grymm mindlessly walking around the floor, which turned and growled at Vanessa when she turned the flash light on. She aimed the flash light at each of them, counting them silently as the got closer and reached for her. When she finished counting, she realised that this is what will bring down Lexus.
"I've got to tell Alex." She told herself, reaching up and exiting the barn through the window.
David, Anna and Indiana walked further away from Cydonia and through the dense forest, which due to the build up around Cydonia, was quite devoid of grymm. Any grymm that had been unfortunate enough to run into them was swiftly decapitated by Anna. While Indiana led the way, David stayed back with Anna.
"How you doing?" He asked her.
"All things considered, we're lucky to be alive. Although, I am going to miss sleeping in a warm bed at night." Anna joked lightly. He smirked too.
"And...what about your arm?" David asked, and her facial expression dulled.
"It hurts, it always does. Not as bad as when I passed out, but, David, it always hurts." Anna told him, looking at her greying skin, black veins spreading from her wound. David took a hold of her hand.
"Hey, we almost failed once and a miracle came along. It'll happen again, law of averages, you know?" David asked her, and she smiled a little, leaning on his shoulder a little as they continued walking. Indiana glanced back with a sigh and continued walking. Out of nowhere, a gust of wind blew past them, blowing the trees and bushes.
Ahead of them, a black portal started appearing, Indiana's eyes widened in fear.
"Grab onto something, now!" Indiana yelled, running over and wrapping his metal arm around a tree trunk. David and Anna ran over to a pair of trees, grabbing onto them as the portal widened and pulled them towards it, the trees and bushes forcefully pulled towards the black portal. "Hold on!"
David pulled on the trunk of the tree, pulling himself around to the other side so his back was to it, leaning against it as he gasped for breath. Anna attempted to pull herself up, but failed and slipped, forcing herself to wrap her left arm around the trunk. She screamed in pain and let go of the trunk, falling towards the portal.
"No!" David yelled, reaching out to her. He aimed his arm at the portal and telekinetically shut it before Anna reached it, she fell onto the ground, screaming and crying in pain as she clutched her infected arm. Indiana fell to the ground, sighing deeply in relief, all his friends alive. David got up and ran over to Anna, holding onto her to try and ease her pain. Indiana looked at where the portal was, and was beyond shocked at what he saw.
A woman, looking to be about 17, lay on the ground, unconscious. She had ginger hair and cyan eyes, she wore a pink vest with a white sleeveless leather jacket with a pink skirt, white leggings, white trainers and orange fingerless gloves, the clothing looked to be too small for her age. Next to her lay a sniper rifle, and on her arms were a pair of white gauntlets.
It was Samantha.
"Holy fuck." Indiana muttered to himself, quickly getting to his feet and running over to her, checking for a pulse. "David, get over here!" Reluctantly, David left a crying Anna and ran over to Indiana, and was shocked to see Samantha in his arms as Indiana got to his feet. "She's alive, but weak. We need to go back to Cydonia."
"Anna's in serious pain, we do need to go." David agreed.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Alex asked, shocking David, Anna and Indiana as he sat on a tree stump.
"Fuck, man, stop doing that!" David yelled.
"Whoa, calm down, calm down. Come on, we need to get back to Cydonia." Alex told them, David and Anna running over to Anna and helping her to her feet while Indiana picked up Samantha bridal-style, the five of them heading back to Cydonia as fast as they could.
Vanessa ran over to the gate, sweating heavily after running around Cydonia up and down. "John!"
John turned from his watch tower and looked down at Vanessa. "What?"
"Have you seen Alex?!" She yelled.
"Yeah, Linda asked him to follow David and his friends, try and lead them to Skyfall. Why?" John asked her. Vanessa sighed angrily, stomping her foot on the ground.
"WHAT!?" Vanessa exclaimed. "What about exposing King Taub? I can't do that on my own!"
"Wait, you're doing what?" John asked, confused.
"We're trying to bring down Taub, but with Alex gone, how am I supposed to-"
"OPEN THE GATE!" Alex yelled, interrupting Vanessa.
"W-How? There's grymm all over it." John stuttered, not knowing what to do. Vanessa opened the chain link fence on the gate, dozens of grymm growling and reaching for her. Vanessa took a deep sigh and raised her arms, telekinetically pushing the grymm apart so the gate was clear. Vanessa turned to John.
"John, open the gate!" Vanessa yelled at him, holding her arms out. John leapt down from his watch tower and pulled open the gate, Indiana running in first with Samantha in his arms, followed by David and Alex with Anna, who was still in severe pain. John quickly closed the gate as Vanessa lowered her arms, breathing heavily. John closed the chain link fence as the grymm pressed back up against the gate.
"Absolutely incredible." Doc was astounded as he looked at Samantha, who was unconscious on a hospital bed wearing a hospital gown. "You say she's 13?"
"She is 13. I don't know why she looks like this. It's like, she's aged years in a matter of weeks." Indiana told him, dumbstruck.
"I just-I can't explain it. Physically, she's perfectly healthy. Not dehydrated, malnourished or, well, anything. She's just older." Doc said with a small laugh. "If all is well, she should wake up on her own, hopefully soon. All we can do is wait."
"Okay, thank you, Doctor." Indiana thanked him. Doc got up and entered the next room, where Anna lay on the bed, David sitting next to her. Across from them, Vanessa sat on one of the beds, with Alex next to her.
"How bad is it, Doc?" David asked him.
"Anna has fallen unconscious because of such severe pain. She will wake up soon, I drained as much of the infection as I could, but the severity of the pain could be damaging to her mentally." Doc informed David.
"Thank you." David thanked, looking back at Anna as he held her hand, not noticing Doc leaving the room.
"She'll make it." Vanessa assured him.
"She will." Alex agreed.
"Thank you, both of you, but when Lexus finds out we're here, I don't doubt he'll kill us." David told them regrettably. Vanessa gasped in realisation.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you!" She exclaimed. "The barn, I went and searched it, it's filled with grymm, dozens of them. King Taub has likely been keeping them in there for some reason."
"What?" Alex asked quietly, not believing it.
"That fucking idiot." David held his hand against his face. He groaned as he rubbed his eyes. "Alex...Vanessa...gather the citizens of Cydonia at the barn in six hours, including the king. I need to make a statement."
"Wait, what?" Alex asked, confused.
"Just...do it." David pleaded, the two glancing at each other, but leaving the hospital. He looked down at a hand squeeze, Anna slowly waking up. "Anna, are you okay?"
"...I don't know." Anna admitted, David pulling her up and hugging her while she hugged back, rubbing her head comfortably into his chest. "David, I-I'm not sure if what I saw was...real...but, I saw...Samantha..."
"It was real. She is back." David told her, and she smiled on his chest. "But, she's different."
"How?" Anna asked, looking up at him.
"She's aged. About four years." David told Anna, and she looked at him, surprised.
"But, that's impossible. She's been missing for a few weeks at most." Anna said to herself out loud.
"Come and see for yourself." David offered, getting up and helping her to her feet as the two entered another room, Indiana sitting next to Samantha, who was still unconscious. Anna approached Samantha, looking curiously at the aged friend she thought she lost.
"So, this is how our team comes back together." Anna noted. "The dark reunited."
"Anna, Indiana, Vanessa told me she checked the barn. It's full of grymm." David told them, both of them shocked. "I don't know why they are there, but I think Lexus doesn't fully understand what they are. The people need to know that Lexus is insane keeping them here, and that he can't keep the people safe. I need to inform the people. You in, Anna?"
"Without a doubt." Anna told him with a small smile.
"Indiana?" David asked.
"No, I need to stay here in case Samantha wakes up. I imagine she'll be confused." Indiana told them, and they agreed.
"Let's move out. Time for a revolution." David told them, and he and Anna left the hospital. Indiana looked down at Samantha, taking her hand.
Alex burst into the king's throne room, walking across the room and reached the throne, where Lexus and Linda looked at him curiously.
"You're back already? Skyfall should take several days to get to." Linda told Alex, confused.
"Change of plans, they had to come back, their missing team mate turned up." Alex informed them.
"They WHAT!? Get them out of my community this instant!" Lexus ordered.
"We know about the barn, King Taub." Alex said, and Lexus smirked a little.
"Is that so?" He asked.
"Lexus, what is he talking about? What abut the barn?" Linda asked Lexus.
"He's delusional. There is nothing there." Lexus lied.
"Oh yeah? Well, David is going to make a statement in a few hours to kick you off that throne. Prove him wrong." Alex dared.
"My pleasure."
Indiana sat next to Samantha, still processing what exactly happened to her, why she is like this. He immediately looked down at her when he heard her groan a little, her eyes slowly opening.
"Samantha?" He asked cautiously, she turned her head towards him, narrowing her eyes slightly.
"Indiana?" She asked, confused.
"Yes! It's me! You're really here-" He was stopped when Samantha shot up and captured his lips with her own, wrapping her arms around his neck to prevent any possibility of his pulling away. After the initial shock, he slowly returned the kiss until they had to let go, their bodies demanding oxygen. "That was...interesting. What happened to you?"
"Indiana, I've been trapped for four years. When I was pulled into the black portal, I was just...nowhere...but everywhere at the same time. I never felt hungry, or thirsty, or tired, or bored. I just...let time pass. I had four years to grow, and think about...things...and I realised something about a year ago. I realised how important you are to me, more than David and Anna, you are so important to me. The thought of seeing you again is what kept e going. Then, the portal reopened, and I escaped. Indiana...I've missed you...so much." Samantha admitted, tears coming to her eyes.
"Samantha, I'm broken, I always have been since I got this metal arm. When I lost you, I just...lost it. I didn't know what to do with myself, it was my job to protect you. I just turned to alcohol, trying to remember my past life to replace my current one, because I couldn't bare to think about the loss of you. When I saw the portal again, I had to make sure that David and Anna didn't fall in, and instead you came out. Samantha, I missed you." Indiana told her, and he couldn't help herself, lunging forward and kissing him again, which he returned in full. She grinned as she pulled him up onto the bed so he was on top of her, deepening the kiss. Samantha stopped the kiss and looked him in the eye.
"I love you, Indiana." She told him with a huge grin.
"I love you, Samantha." He returned.
"Kiley." She corrected. "Samantha is my mothers name. Only the most important people to me know my real name." She reached down and lifted off her hospital gown, pressing her bare body against him as they kissed again.
"You must all be wondering why I called you here." David yelled from in front of the barn door, the citizens of Cydonia standing further back, listening to him. "Outside these walls are infected humans, we call them grymm, and their only purpose in life is to kill us, turn us into them. Now, these walls are a miracle, it keeps us all safe, it keeps our families safe, our friends safe." David turned and pointed at the barn door. "But behind these doors are the creatures we've tried so hard to keep outside our home, these creatures are within walking distance of our home, they can kill us in our sleep. He thinks that thin wooden doors will keep dozens of monsters at bay? They won't."
"These people in the barn are Cydonians." Lexus spoke up. "Sick people who need help, who need to be cured. If you kill them, you're killing my people."
"You know, King Taub, I don't think we've met yet." Indiana spoke up, walking next to Kiley while dragging a grymm's body. "I'm a man who thinks that you're full of bullshit." He threw the body onto the ground, which growled lightly as it stood to it's feet. "These things, they're not sick, they're not people. They're dead!"
"They are sick! You can't kill them!" Lexus yelled.
"Oh yeah?" Indiana raised his assault rifle and fired at the grymm. "That's a dozen rounds in the chest. Could you take that? Could someone who is alive take that? Why's it still coming!?" He raised it and fired more shots. "That's it's heart, it's lungs, why is it still coming!" He fired and hit it in the head, killing it. "Those things, are dead."
"He's right. The grymm in that barn are a threat, a threat that your King has been keeping a secret, even from his own wife. How can you trust this man when he lies to everyone he knows?" David asked them, who all glanced at each other. "Me, my team, we've been out there, we've fought the grymm, and the Grimm, and the White Fang. We can defend this place, keep this place safe, keep all of you safe. Once you've dispersed, we'll deal with these grymm in a calm and orderly-wait, what are you doing?" David turned to see Indiana walk up to the doors of the barn, and started banging on it. "Indiana, what are you doing!?"
"They need to see, David. See what these things are." Indiana slammed on the door again, and ripped the bolt off. He took out the plank keeping the doors together and smashed the door a couple more times, moving back and taking out his assault rifle. "Come on." The doors opened and the grymm started coming out, a couple at a time. Indiana fired at them, short controlled bursts to hit them in the head. Kiley ran over and raised her sniper rifle, shooting them too.
"Damn it." David muttered, summoning a dust pistol. He turned to the Cydonians. "Stay back!" He turned back to the barn and fired his pistol, Vanessa running forward and firing his revolver, Xander then joining in with his machine pistols. As more and more of the grymm flooded out, the people got more, and more afraid of what King Taub had done, and what David and the others were doing. About a minute later, they stopped firing, all of the grymm dead. David turned and glared at Indiana, who gave him a hard look, but knew what he did was right. Kiley lowered her rifle, looking over at David too, Vanessa and Xander doing the same.
"What's happened here today, this minute, this second, is humanity showing that they aren't afraid of the grymm. We can fight them, kill them, keep them away. King Taub would rather you hide behind some wall and pretend the outside world doesn't exist, but it does. The outside world is hard, harsh, and hazardous. If this barn opened any other time before we arrived, you'd all be dead. And the thing is, you should be. You can't survive in this world, not on your own. I've never killed any of you, I don't even think I've ever killed a human, but..." David glanced at his friends and back at the Cydonians. "How many of you do I have to kill to save your lives?"
"David, grymm incoming!" Kiley warned, raising her rifle. David turned to the barn as a final grymm walked out, walking over the piles of dead grymm. It took him a little while to realise, but that grymm wasn't any ordinary grymm. Vanessa knew too, and tears came to her eyes. Her sister, Chastity, growled as she slowly walked towards them, intending to bite them, and eat them. Kiley aimed her rifle, but Indiana pushed it aside, telling her not too. Vanessa looked at her revolver, one bullet left, and aimed it at her sister. She shook a little, trying to aim right, but couldn't do it, breaking down into tears. Alex walked up behind her to comfort her, but was surprised when she hugged him, crying on his shoulder. David, knowing he had to, walked over to Vanessa and took the revolver. He walked up to Chastity, cocking the revolver, and aimed it, taking a moment to adjust the aim.
BANG!
The child grymm fell to the ground, David lowering the revolver as everyone remained silent, except Vanessa who was still crying.
King Taub's reign had ended.
Cydonia's story is just getting started.
Welcome to a world of new solutions.
Welcome to a world of bloody evolution.
In time, your heart will open minds
A story will be told, and victory is in a simple soul.
So, that is that. Team DARK is reunited, King Taub is down, and Vanessa's sister has been discovered. What could possibly happen next?
You'll find out soon...
Just a note, I have created a wikia based on this universe that you can use to find out about the characters, locations and most importantly, physical appearances.
The website is: the-xiao-long-chronicles .wikia wiki/ Main_Page
And remember to follow, favourite and leave a review, and I'll see you all in chapter eight!
