Sorry this uper late, I have no excuse guys I should of put more time into this, next semester at University will not be as consuming as this one. But you know, YAY a new chapter!
"The world is full of the dead; we are cursed to live a half life or no life at all."
"He said what?" Eleanor's eyes are wide in disbelief, her brown hair in slight disarray from waking up just minutes ago. Holding a napkin to her mouth she holds back the morning sickness threatening to overtake her body.
Veronika covers her face with her bandaged hands and sighs. Through her fingers the air escapes then is inhaled slowly. "There has got to be a purpose for this change, today before dusk I'm sure that purpose will present itself. In the mean time I think I'll get us ready for our sudden departure." Standing up from the seat she took on her Eleanor's bed, Veronika leans down and places a change of clothes on the blue blanket. "No worries"
Eleanor frowns slightly and takes her baby sisters hand, squeezing it gently she pulls Veronika on her knees so their eyes are level. "Veronika, you almost died yesterday, slow down, we have time if you need to talk about-" As soon as the older woman finishes her sentence she places her hand gently on the red heads cheek. The soft manner of that hand placement allows her pinky to drop down and brush against Veronika's neck.
Like any natural impulse Veronika's body jerks away quickly enough to catch both women off guard, and pulls her into an ugly memory. The sudden feeling of Hades hands around her throat crushes her lungs. The same raw fear picking at her nerves pushes her body against the hotel room's sick yellow wall.
Eleanor sits frozen on the bed her ashen face mirroring a forced expression carved on a statue. "What's happening to you?"
"Nothing, my neck is soar from being jerked around like a rag doll, riding a hound is not a smooth ride." Veronika stands; she fights the throbbing pain in her head that begins to numb her. Taking a breath she relaxes her shoulders and steers her feet to the room's door. A sound of a body shifting on the bed's mattress quickens her pace. Knowing what is coming Veronika hopes to lessen her sister's stinging words by creating a larger distance between them.
"You always make things worse!"
Veronika opens the door and slams it shut; leaning against it she tries to groan but instead utters a miserable choke. Holding her coat against her body she walks down the hotels wooden steps, the owner looks at her from behind his desk, she pulls up her hood and turns away. Outside, heavy air greets her with a harsh breeze, Veronika rushes past the few people on the street, wooden stands filled with fruit, vegetables and other produce stand in the center of the town. The wind sweeps up Veronicas red hair and covers her face. Quickly she makes a gesture to move the strands, her face clearly showing her annoyance. Walking over to a friendly looking woman, she buys a granny smith apple and nods in thanks to the older woman.
Finding an empty bench was not difficult. No one wanted to be near the large white tent where the gods reside, its disgusting beauty is too much for a human to take in visually she supposed. A few meters away a fruit vender laughs with a customer and hands her a bag of golden delicious. Veronika watches for a moment, a simple interaction between strangers. Trying to concentrate on the race proves harder than expected, to live the experience of expecting the unexpected is far from simple. "A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees" she mumbles. This sucks. Her fingers graze the smooth surface of the granny smith apple, a guilty pleasure for her hands and mouth. Yelling catches her attention, looking up she spots a woman shouting at the fruit vender while holding up a bag. Thankful that she is pulled from her thoughts, Veronika stands while tossing her apple in her hand. Approaching the angry woman her pace quickens when more people walk to the vender beginning more arguments.
"Look at this, such a disgusting-"
"How could you sell us this-"
"I demand my money back you-"
"Bastard, how stupid do you think we-"
In a harsh movement the woman stands between the vender and angry crowd, three identical cloaked men stand before the other people. More riders. "Move woman, our business is with him not you" the tallest of the three spoke with a stern tone, the rider on the right steps closer to Veronika.
"Or, perhaps it is" His companions look at one another but make no move to stop him. He paces in front of her and taps his finger on his guns holster "I hear you were the first to come to the check point, in fact you came a day early." He stops and looks at her hand; the vibrant green skin of her apple is punctured by her nails causing the juices to drip down, smoky and bitter. "I heard that this could very well be your doing."
Doing? What the hell is he going on about? "Wait" not realizing the apple slipping from her grip, the realization in Veronika's mind clicks as the fruit's weight hits the ground with a empty thump "You son of a bitch, your blaming me for this!" her hand does a sudden swipe in a presenting motion to the venders rotting food.
"Wake up girl, think about where you are, what we are doing, who we are up against. Look around and try to explain this to yourself. This is unnatural, and let me be clear when I say, nothing out of the ordinary happened to the rest of us, just you. Now look." The rider points behind causing Veronika to turn , opening her mouth slightly, she stares at all the produce stands, people are backing away, some that were eating the food are on the ground vomiting black vile. Covering her mouth she turns away. The stench is unbearable. It burns her throat as she breathes in, the food is somehow spoiling too fast to be natural and the blame, the blame is screeching in her ears. The rider stands inches away from Veronika's face a smile twists into place, he takes her chin in his hand "You are going to pay for this soon enough."
Veronika jerks away, her back twists in an awkward position while trying to stop her body from the heaving motions beginning in her stomach. Ignoring the stares from the crowd in front of her, she regains her composure and stands straight. Staring into the man's eyes she steps forward and grabs the man's face in a rougher manner then he did to her. "Say's the fool who will very well fall before the morning." Veronika gives his cheek a good pat and jumps back before he has time to grab her hand.
"You little-"
"Afraid? Typical really, men twist themselves with their fear. Now if you will excuse me." Veronika turns on her heel and walks towards a stone building and disappears behind it, now out of view, she leans against the building's wall and lets a breath escape her mouth. Had she not been holding this in she knows too well she would have lost her composure again, after the smell of the rotting food and blame. Veronika bites her lip "Damn it all" her mind is blurred, food will be impossible to obtain now with this sudden event. "Oh my god, what is going on" She steps forward and leans on a wooden fence, looking off she thinks, calming her nerves. "I'm going to pay, explain this, just look" Veronika picks at the wood; it chips away easily under her nails. She stops and looks up. "Two gods are riding with us, fruit rotting, and the swamp. Of course, why didn't I think of that before?"
Running, Veronika makes her way to the inn and surprises the innkeeper; he stares at her with wide eyes as she points a finger at him. "You! Go get the woman in room three, right now!"
Eleanor is quiet, as the two women walk together. Veronika looks back at her and watches as she looks away, obviously still angry. Sighing, she no longer looks back; instead she looks at the line of hounds.
Jake is sniffing the air and turns to her. The small stubbed tail wags quickly as she approaches; he receives a scratch under the chin. "Hey boy" She looks forward, a tree front stands erect, tall and old, even by the distance she sees the thickness of the trunks and the wild undergrowth.
Eleanor climbs on the saddle and secures her self, she looks up and opens her mouth in surprise, she leans over and grabs the reign. She whips it slightly to hit Veronika's head.
Annoyed, Veronika turns rubbing the sore spot "The hell you do that for? I know you mad, but really beating your baby sister?" Eleanor glares then points to a platform, Veronika looks up. The gods stand, they look over the railing, the appearance of their gaze is unsettling and make the group of people look away from them. The robes they wear hide their armor, once and awhile their movements show hints of bright metal.
Veronika spots the one god she is looking for, Hades form hiding in the back, a black cloak covering him. A man in the group below begins shouting at the riders his voice fades out, Veronika stares at the Olympians, memerizing their faces.
"You two, Look sharp, we start soon!" The man addresses the two woman, Eleanor frowns and looks at Veronika who pays no mind to his warning.
Watching Hades stand among the other gods, in their magnificent armor was like watching a wolf stalk among grazing sheep. He faces the east as dusk slowly takes the sky; the sun dips into the earth creating a blaze on every cloud, how long must you be in the dark to miss the setting sun and rising moon. Veronika finds it hard not to stare at him, while the other gods look down on everyone else; Hades takes in his surroundings for his own benefit, with a longing she herself cannot relate to. The banished Olympian steps back slightly to separate him from the other immortals and looks directly at her. Veronika eyes dart away, the feeling of his glare on her are a force pushing into her skin, and out her stomach. A sudden snarl breaks through the noise of riders and gods. Two creatures are lead to the lineup of riders. Wildly swinging their heads, black tongues stream out her their mouths through the rows upon rows of teeth. The creature's oddest feature is their identical movements, completely in sync with one another as if one mind is shared between them. The men leading them to the line of riders stop and kneel in respect as Hades and Apollo walk down the platforms stairs.
Hades mumbles "move" to one of the men kneeling near him. The man scrambles away, and cowers slightly. Hades mounts the hound, he pulls at the riding gloves he wears, and takes hold of the reins. The odd hound's head quivers strangely and gurgle's a liquid in its throat as if sick. The god pulls up his hood and stares forward.
Apollo sits on the other hound nearby, looking around; he keeps his hood down, his black hair neatly done. His youthful face, bright, with a hint of excitement behind his eyes, he holds the reign's tightly.
Eleanor pats the saddle, Veronika climbs on and ties herself to it for safety, she takes the reins away from her sister. Eleanor leans over and whispers into Veronikas ear "We're going to have to be a lot more causious, if we want to survive."
"Absolutely" Veronika watches the hooded figure on the hound, Hades head turns slightly, though she thought there is no way he could see her from the corner of his eye, he knows she is watching.
Jakes body jerks forward, the gun shot went unnoticed to Veronika, she still stares at the God, the sun finally sinks into the earth. Nightfall blankets the air, but still she stares, though there is nothing to stare at anymore.
Death is a stranger which runs among them, they will all die.
The quote "A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees" is from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: Proverbs of Hell. Copy right to him. Also I'm a fan of Blake's Poetry so you will see more quotes from his work.
Oh, I sense the tension. Review guys, the more you review the more power I have! Plus, I want to know how you feel about how the story is moving along and such.
REVIEW. REVIEW. IT.
Dude. I need a Beta so badly... I have no strength for editing.
