I was instantly dragged underwater, and was forced down through the harsh currents. My body froze in shock, and I made no immediate attempt to fight off what couldn't be stopped. The water was as dark as the blackest of nights, cold and unforgiving like the winter winds. The sudden power against my body felt like I was being kicked repeatedly in the stomach, tumbling around like I was shoved again down that hill, but with excessive force I couldn't handle. I was knocked breathless and near unconscious. My mouth was wide open, instinctively screaming out in fear and pain. Never before this have I ever encountered my head submerged in water, so I couldn't see the consequences behind this deadly, foolish act. A flurry of bubbles clouded my vision and brushed all over my chest and face. My chest heaved and constricted tightly now empty, aching my lungs. My lips grew numb and a deep shade of red. The tingling cold spread out through my lower body, stinging my toes and fingers. My thin fur did absolutely nothing to keep my skin warm, and the water-soaked right in. Only when my brain demanded a replenish of air did the icy pain reach its peak. My eyes shot open, stinging with the cold, and I looked to the distant, filtering sunlight. The dimmed rays looked far away from where I floated. I was somersaulted and log-rolled several times before I gained the leverage of my limbs to swim.
I unraveled my curled form, and I clawed desperately towards the surface. My head broke through, and I was hit with a chilling breeze right in my face. I inhaled sharply, filling my shriveled lungs with a thousand pricking needles. I called out to Ash, screaming for his help.
Through the fog of my vision, I could make out his blurred, black splotch of a body. He had leapt down from the overhang, and was charging across the rocky beach. My ringing ears made out his terrified shrieks, making him sound echoed and far away. I could feel my energy be drained from my arms and legs as I tried with all my might to stay above the cruel waves, feeling my body sink under by some unknown anchor. They splashed around, slapping painfully against the surface. My toes curled repeatedly, tension and panic surging through my veins. The fur on my head matted, soaking in the freezing touch and immortalizing its chill upon my scalp. The cold was so intense it felt like it was burning.
My pained screams reached my brothers alerted ears, fueling his determination and doubling his speed. The uneven terrain faltered his footing, stealing his balance and near spraining his appendages. His eyes never left mine, keeping me focused and assured that I wasn't alone. Again and again I called to him, or to anybody, to save me from this death trap. With all his might, he tried to keep up with the swift currents. In comparison, he dwarfed against the river. But I could see in his eyes that that wouldn't stop him. His hairy arm was half reached out towards me. I could also see that he was hesitant and cautious about his timing. If he did it too early or fast, no doubt that with his speed and off-balanced state, he would crash-land into the rocks and be put out of commission long enough for me to wash away completely out of his reach.
But he had to try.
The tension was killing us both, and my agonizing screams wasn't making anything easier either. But I couldn't hold them back; this was far too much for my young mind and body to handle without a fuss.
A rapid forced me under once again, and I was enveloped over my head. My wide opened mouth took in all the water it could without warning, and filled my nose and throat. My eyes squeezed shut in pain, and a violent cough shot through me. A second flurry of bubbles surrounded my face, leaving me to submit to defeat. I was rushed through white waters, sucked down and under further in waterfalls and whirlpool vortexes so far that light barely penetrated the surface. I was trapped in a terrifying, dark, freezing twister.
I knew it wasn't a good idea to leave the village.
I knew what we were doing was wrong.
And I now knew what father was saying how unpredictable and dangerous this seemingly harmless place could be.
And the only one's to blame for all this was ourselves.
I was left breathless and exhausted. My mind wandered off into a dream-like state, making images form in the cloudy shadows. The light above me fluttered around my eyes and the rocky bed beneath me, letting a haunting warmth spread throughout my body. I couldn't make out what was real or fiction anymore, letting my hollow husk of a body drift away from the pain. I found that if I didn't fight, the freezing temperature eased its way into a soothing embrace. I completely ignored the feeling of my lungs burning, ready to burst, letting my nerves numb to everything around me.
Just floating away, going with the flow...it was relaxing.
Feeling serene take over...I allowed my eyes to droop close...
Just as I braced for the frightening feeling of cold, hard stone to be my resting place...
I drifted off into darkness.
The solitude comfort of my thick lined sheets embraced the curled up form of my body. A gentle flittering ray of sunshine flowed in from the window to my right.
Feeling the bright warmth dance across my closed eyelids, I was nudged out of sleep. The sweet smell of my lavender-scented air wick spray wafted around the room. With a deep inhale, I took it all in. Filling my sinuses with the floral impression, my mind eased itself into consciousness.
Fluttering my eyes open, the bright white walls of my room reflected the sun, making the room give off an angelic glow. My toy-box was overflowed, and stuffed animals along with my barbies splayed out disorganized along my carpet floor. Turning my body onto my side, the first thing I noticed was that my Dalmatian, Rex, was napping on the foot of my bed.
With a giggle, I gave a small squeaky kiss. His ears perked up to the high-pitched noise, and his head slowly rose from his front paws.
"Hey boy" I called over to him.
He recognized my voice instantly, and his tail started to wag excitedly. Patting the spot next to me, he got up and stumbled awkwardly over to me. His large paws sunk into the mattress like a sponge, and he took his time. Flopping down to where I patted, he rounded his back against my stomach. He begged for a belly rub, and I happily obliged. His back leg twitched and kicked around happily, whining with enjoyment.
"Who's a good boy, huh? Yes, you're such a good boy!" I smothered him, praising in a baby voice.
He panted with a doggy smile. Yeah, he was my boy.
Then, both of our heads turned to the sound of my door slowly creaking open. A manicured hand slipped in around to grasp the door frame, and a pair of chocolate-brown eyes peered in. Moms white dazzling teeth showed with a cheerful smile, and she waved a good morning. Smiling back. We heard a second pair of footsteps waltz up behind her, and she turned to see Dad in his morning blue robe. Giving his wife a one-armed hug and kiss on the head, he took a sip of his steaming black let out a content sigh as the hot beverage traveled down his throat, feeling the caffeine flow through his body and wake him up. His eyes widened a fraction, and he welcomed me to this new morning. Returning with Mom back to the kitchen, I was left alone with Rex once again. His long tail swished across the surface of my sheets, smoothing the wrinkles flat. I jumped from my bed down to my carpeted floor with a gentle landing. Going to my bathroom that was connected with my room, I flicked on the light. Stretching and letting out a yawn, I opened my eyes to my reflection in my mirror. The overhead lights casted a soft glow upon my pale complexion, shining stars in my sapphire eyes.
I smiled to myself. Reaching over to grab my toothbrush, I turned on the tap with my other hand. Turning to squeeze a tube of paste upon the tiny bristles, I suddenly felt a draft sweep its way into the petite dwelling. A shiver ran down my spine, but I thought barely anything of it. Looking around, I saw that the window was shut, and the door was closed. Shrugging my shoulders, I ran the toothbrush under the water. But when I looked at the mirror again...I noticed something spooky.
The edges of the silver eclipse were browning with rust.
Placing my hands upon the sinks porcelain counter, I leaned up squinting my eyes to get a closer look to see if I was just seeing things. The metal was corroding. With a hesitant hand, I grazed my fingertips upon its new colouration. The surface was rough and gritty like sandpaper. But as soon as I touched it, the reflective shine shattered with an imploding crack! A spiderweb pattern shook the mirror, and reflected me dozens of times at once. I felt like it was straight out of a house of mirrors. The high-pitched break startled me and sent me back to the floor on my backside with a loud yelp. I slide a few centimeters across the tiled flooring and with a now aching head. Slowly picking myself off the floor, shaking like a leaf with hitched breathing, I cautiously inched my way back upright. Speckles of blood seeped through my paled skin, making them look like freckles. My hundreds of eyes stared back at me, frightened and confused.
The faucet suddenly started to shake, and the plumbing inside the wall units began to enact haunting sounds. The sound shook me to my core, sounding very similar to a person groaning in pain. Feeling vibrations ripple with a vibe almost paranormal through the drywall, I could feel that draft become more concentrated and real. The chilling air formed around me in a shivering embrace, like somebody was holding me from behind. The deep rumble traveled through the hidden plumbing system. I followed the sound all the way across the upper ceiling, a full three-hundred-and-sixty degree turn around with widened eyes, all the while the room would rot and peel away on its own, before the sound returned my attention to the protruding faucet. The silver head shook around violently, before spewing out a nightmarish fluid.
Instead of water...it shot out splattering blood!
A scream tore through my throat, ripping apart my vocal cords like tissue paper. The building pressure grew and grew before becoming too much for the appliance to handle. The silver head shot off its base like a rocket, and through the ceiling. The blood came spewing like a geyser, spreading its deathly color all across the once white surface. The wretched liquid dripped off like rain, staining everything it touched.
Thick...warm...red...blood.
A second scream exploded from my lips, and I rushed out of the room. Slamming the door behind, I ran through the house. Behind, I didn't notice its white paint job peel away and the wood rot and yellow with age.
Calling for my parents, I didn't get the terrified responses I expected.
"We're in the kitchen dear!" I heard Mother call out.
But in her voice...she was calm and well collected.
Bolting into the kitchen with sweat dribbling down my face, I saw them acting as if everything was normal. Dad was cross-legged in his favorite chair at the head of the table with a buttered bagel in one hand, and a folded up copy of San Francisco Chronicle in the other. Mother was over a steaming oven, stirring what smelled like a bad batch of oatmeal. She was humming to her own tune, adding this and that to her culinary creation. Dad looked up from his paper only when I said his name. His eyes stayed perfectly calm when he saw me in my terrified state, even when I started to explain what just happened.
Through the whole ordeal...his face never faltered.
"That's real interesting dear" he said nonchalantly before returning to his paper.
I couldn't believe my ears. When I tried to get through to Mom, she barely even gave me a side glance or spark of interest.
Suddenly, that ghostly presence returned. The chilling arms embraced me, and I could feel a sickly vibe plague the atmosphere. Dad went for a bite of his bagel. But when his teeth crunched through the toasted bread, a swarm of flies flooded out of his mouth. Those that managed to crawl into his gullet found their way out through his nostrils! Buzzing around in a black swarm cloud, they carried a decomposing scent that made me wretch. Trickles of blood started to flow out of his nose following the disgusting insects appearance, dripping on the yellowing table-cloth.
Wait, yellowing table-cloth?!
Looking around anxiously, I could see the kitchen rotting away just like the bathroom! Dust covered every surface, nook and cranny. The walls and ceiling started to slowly open up, showing water stains and flitering in cycling sunlight. Outside, I finally noticed the sun repeatedly rising and setting. It flew over the sky and changed from light to dark so fast it felt like I was trapped in a twister. The more and more I was spun in this merry-go-round of horrors, the more the house changed. The food that was out overflowed with maggots and flies. Our crystal clear windows became dusty and cracked, some even shattered like the mirror. Furniture was riddled with dust bunnies, stains, and rotted as carpenter ants and mice made nests out of the wood and wool filling.
I couldn't believe my eyes.
What was going on?!
It was like...everything was dying!
But why weren't Mom or Dad at all afflicted by it?!
Suddenly, I heard the doorbell ring. Rushing to it, I ripped the door open. Hopefully, whoever it was, could help me understand this.
Looking up to the visitor, I saw it was Edward!
But...he didn't look OK. Looking behind him, I saw his parents rush out of the car and up to the front porch. Dreyfus had John in his arms, his face as white as a sheet. His son was hemorrhaging up violent fits in sneezing and coughing, splattering out blood upon the ivy strewn sidewalk. Letting Maddy and Dreyfus through without question, I stopped and stared out upon my neighborhood.
The streets and homes looked completely abandoned! Fires were spread out across the yards, emitting powerful stenches of the grave. Stained blood splatters smeared the inside of walls from through the front windows. They all resembled the insides of my home. Toys and furniture were thrown out across their yards, rusting and bleaching in what looked like years of sunlight.
Suddenly, I saw movement in one of the windows. A shadow danced across the back wall as if fleeing for their life. He turned out to be a young boy, almost my age. His dark brown hair was matted upon his scalp in a thick coat of gleaming sweat. His eyes were sunken in and held dark, sickly rings. His body was so white he almost looked transparent, shaking and terrified. He bolted from his front door with blood smeared on his hands, but it wasn't his. Screams enacted from the home he fled from, masking his own as he ran down the street. A hand reached out from the doorway, weak and caked in fresh dripping blood. An aggressive looking man snarled out profane and threatening curses at the running child, promising to haunt him in hell! He didn't look any better than the boy, actually, he looked worse. Blood streamed from his nose and mouth, some even coming from his eyes! He held a tight balled fist, holding it as long as he could in the air like he was declaring a word of a god, before he flopped down upon his front welcome mat...dead.
My eyes stayed widened with absolute terror, never taking them off of the presumed father of the boy. How could a father do that to his son?!
How could anybody do that to a boy?!
The boy fled across the park with his hands covering his eyes. But what he didn't realize...was that he charged straight into the communal pond. He screamed with all his might...as he was enveloped by the water.
I gasped, and jumped from my porch step. But as soon as I started to run, I felt a grizzly hand grasp my ankle. It held me in place with its clammy fingertips digging into my flesh. Whining at the sudden aching pain, I tried to pull away. Not moving an inch, I looked down to my captor.
I didn't think I could've screamed any louder.
Dad...was crawling on his hands and knees...tangled in his own vomited up innards...
His nose was gushing red, his eyes blank and near lifeless. His once peachy skin was beyond pale, and his clothes were tattered and stained with his own blood. He resembled a zombie!
"You...can''t...save him. No-Nobody...is...safe..."
With widened, terrified eyes, I kept trying to rip my leg from his grasp. Tears stung my eyes and my throat burned with scream after scream. His grip only tightened, painfully shifting my bones and cracking the joints with an iron fist.
"Let me go!" I cried.
A devious smile spread on his lips.
I could now see and hear the boys drowning cried. The splashing of the water sounded as clear as day in my ear. It was loud, and almost sounded as if I was next to it. His screams echoed in my ears, and I could almost feel him right next to me.
"Help!"
My head snapped up, and my eyes locked on the frightened child before me. His arms flailed wildly around above him as he tried to keep his head above the water. His desperate screams sounded animalistic, and shrieked with absolute fear.
"Don't leave me here to die!"
My eyes shot open and I bolted upright with a start. I inhaled a sharp gasp which was followed instantly by hysteria panting. A layer of sweat caked my shaking, paled body. My chest trembled with fright as my heart beated a mile a minute. A salty, sticky stream had stained my cheeks.
Was I crying in my sleep?
Wiping the dried tears from my face, I noticed how my hand was quivering. Bringing it closer to my face, I held it against my chest with my opposite hand, sucking in a breath. That single gasp shot into my nose, and it hit me like a sack of bricks. I felt an aching pain explode through my head like a blossoming flower, making me cry out and my gut churn sour. My body lurched forward, and a wretch rippled through my stomach. Hot steaming bile leapt into my throat, and burned the raw, fleshy back of my mouth. I gagged with pain, and spat the sickly stomach acid into the ground in a wad of saliva. The dry sand soaked the spit up like a sponge as I panted, trying to cope with the pounding head ache. My hands squeezed my temples like a melon, digging my palms into the tender nerves. The pressure felt like my brain was gonna pop, but the ache was overwhelming.
I've never felt a more hammering pain in all my life.
Beneath my palms, I could feel my head go moist with cold sweat, and my skin burn hot. My teeth chattered as if I was freezing cold, sounding like a woodpecker. I could feel the back of my throat scorch with each breath I took, making them sound wheezy and cracked. Suddenly as I started to get up, a second wave of dizziness washed through me, and I was forced over on my hands and knees. My stomach emptied itself right into the mud, steaming with a putrid scent. I wretched out every last drop it had to offer, arching my back and sucking in my gut in sync like a cat would do to throw up a hairball.
"Oh my gosh..." I groaned.
Clutching my left arm around my lower gut, I felt it tighten with wave after wave of stomach cramps. Rolling over on my back, I grinded my teeth together, crying out through them. Soon enough, my mouth opened up wide, and a near deafening scream tore my vocal cords apart. I opened my eyes, and the first thing I noticed was the tree branches hanging over me. Their...their colors were much more vibrant than they should have been. Not only them...but everything I looked at. The bushes and rocks all swam in this invisible whirlwind, melding all onto one watercolor scenery. I could feel flies buzzing in my head, hearing their distinct aggravating hum. A bird perched itself in front of me, and once it opened its beak, I thought I went deaf.
Its chirp sounded like a nails on a chalkboard shrill, clawing at the insides of my brain. I blocked my ears with my hands, but it didn't help at all. With a growl, I chucked the first thing I felt at it. A fat gray stone 'thunked' against the thick redwood trunk, leaving a dent in the wood. The bird instantly spooked, taking flight into the sky with panicked cries. The pain subsided once it was out of earshot, and I stumbled back upon the steady hold upon my chest, I eased out my breaths, drawing them out to calm my nerves. I didn't have the slightest clue what was going on with me, but I didn't like it at all. The slightest movements from either plant or animal were amplified both by sight and sound by this unknown state of mind I was paralyzed in. Blood rushed through my veins swift and hot, heating my skin with a feverish fire.
Shaking my head, I tried to distill my sanity. Crawling over to the river's edge, I splashed handfuls of cool water upon my face. The flames extinguished only partially, but it was the first sense of relief from this illness. Spreading the water up and down my arms and legs repeatedly as if I was applying lotion to myself, I felt my cindering skin cool back to a semi-normal temperature. A sigh slipped through my parted lips, hanging my head back on my shoulders with ease. A gentle breeze blew in from the west, chilling the already cool touch. I felt refreshed, washing away not only the aches and pains, but also the many smudges of dried mud and sweat that clogged my pores. A vibrant sensation washed over me with the waters healing touch, and the pain subsided.
Without warning however, a sense of déjà vu plagued my mind. Feeling the cool touch of the water was invigourating...but it all brought back a dire memory...
"Help me..."
Snapping my eyes wide, I slapped off the dripping liquid and scooted away from the shore. A flash of red stained the entirety of my arm, emitting the strong putrid scent of death.
"Don't leave me..."
The look in that boys eyes...the absolute terror and fear...
It...it all felt so real...
"Ahh!"
Like he was here now...
Wait!
I reopened my solemn eyes with a spark of realization, snapping my head upright. A distant cry echoed in my ears, ringing like iron bells. Whatever was happening to me, I felt an animalistic enhance in my hearing. That must've been why I snapped at the close bird before! Getting up, I could hear a voice shriek out, bouncing off the low canyon walls. I couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from, but it sounded close.
Very close.
Turning my body around to inspect the whole environment, I kept looking side to side. It was strange. They would call out once second, be silenced, then cry out again. A second string of déjà vu wrapped around my mind, and I knew exactly where they were.
Whirling my head around, my hair flicked behind me in a fan-flare, face paled, and eyes focused on the white water rapids.
There...bobbing out of the waves...was a hand!
A nightmare transformed into a psychedelic trip from Magic Mushrooms D8
What's gonna happen?!
I got a concept cemented down for foundation and development for her encounter with the apes :D How she'll meet n greet, how she'll react, and how she'll cope. This is the longest chapter so far, but I have something else already written that will be published as a chapter that's more or less longer :D
STAY TUNED!
And remember. *Beats fist on chest*
"APES. TOGETHER. STRONG!"
"KNOWLEDGE. IS. POWER!"
"APE. NOT. KILL. APE!"
ALL HAIL CAESAR!
Lol XD ALSO, on another note, this was updated right before my 16th birthday :D Yay! Oct 6th is my actual day of birth, so I guess finally getting this chapter done and posted is like my own little early birthday present to myself and you guys XD If that makes sense...meh.
Staying up late on a school-night for YOU GUYS! :D THATS HOW MUCH I LUV U!
Rate and Review! 3
