X Chapter 21 X
Warning: Language, Violence
A/N: A short read to tie up a loose end and keep you all interested. Enjoy.
South of camp... at the river...
Veeda hovered above the reeds, searching, calling for her sister. Her feet and tail dangled, grazing the thawing red stalks as she went. Mild winds announced spring's early return that year.
"Celle!"
No one answered her.
"Celle! Please come out!"
The wind was seemingly her only company.
Veeda made her way up and down the river, combing the endless sea of reeds on both banks. She didn't notice the sky brighten and return to its usual blue hue. Her attention was dead-focused on finding her sister.
Minutes, and then hours went by without any sign of Celle. As the sun began to retire under the western horizon, Veeda started to lose hope. Her voice was hoarse from calling Celle's name over and over. Still, she persisted, even after sunset. The chilly, late evening air sent shivers down her tail. On and on, she called that name.
"Celle! ...Celle!"
She had almost convinced herself that Celle had gone back home when a sudden rustling in the reeds startled her. Veeda reeled around to look. But the noise cut out before she could see where it was coming from. Seconds passed and she heard more rustling, this time towards the river on her left. Her head snapped to the source.
"...Celle?" she sounded, with a tinge of fright in her voice.
Through the darkness, she could just see something run between the reeds. It was a short, humanoid creature with upright hair. The spectre person disappeared as quickly as they appeared. Veeda's chest rose and fell as her breathing hastened. She heard tiny movements in the surrounding brush, as if there was more than one creature hunting her. Veeda's hair stood on end.
They got closer and closer, until they seemed almost right beneath her feet. Fearing a hypothetical monster that might've been skulking in the dark, the young saiyaness attempted to fly up and blast the ground beneath, but not before a torn and tattered glove erupted out of the foliage. It closed in a fist around her tail. Veeda yelped in excruciating pain as she was violently yanked down into the sea of red stalks.
Before she could react, she found herself pinned, face down in the cold mud. The creature had woven its arm under her chin, putting her in a headlock. Veeda struggled hard to get free, throwing elbows and kicking. But whoever or whatever this thing was, they were far too strong. After a protracted struggle, Veeda ran out of steam and gave up.
"W-who are you?! Let me go!" she shrieked.
A familiar voice answered. And it terrified her.
The stranger chuckled menacingly and jeered "Well looky what I found... The runt is out on her own. And after dark no less... Tsk tsk!"
Tercres' voice made all the color drain from Veeda's already pale face, and aside from terrified whimpering, she became catatonic. Tercres' mouth stretched into a cruel smile. He dug his fist hard into her ribs, causing her to spit.
Tercres hissed in her ear. "You're still a sniveling newborn, I see. What a disgrace!"
He conjured up a big loogie, and spat it in her unkempt hair, rubbing it in with his fist. Veeda started to cry and tremble uncontrollably. Her display of hysteria made Tercres feel a conflicting mix of both giddy and angry. He loved to taunt and break his victims, but this was just pitiful. Especially since she was saiyan like him.
The twisted child held his finger next to her eye, where a pinpoint of purple light appeared at the tip. Again, he hissed in her ear. "Shut the fuck up, you little piss-baby! Or should I take one of your eyes?"
The sight of his ki, its color, its intensity, took her back to that day he attacked her. She relived the entire ordeal in vivid detail. An itching sensation on her scarred belly arose. Veeda began to bawl louder. The crotch of her pants became soaked with urine.
"Please don't hurt me! Please! ...PLEASE!"
Tercres brought his finger closer to her face, laughing as he did it. He moved it to and fro, bringing it closer, then taking it away again, taunting her. The young girl's squirming and wailing made for great entertainment. He delighted in it.
Soon, Tercres got bored and took his finger away. Veeda fearfully awaited her fate, smushed into the dank mud while her captor mulled it over. She felt his arm slide out from underneath her chin, but she didn't move because of the fear; her eyes had locked shut during the torturing. Tercres' voice crashed through her eardrums and her eyes snapped open.
"You know... You're not even worth killing. Just get out of my sight, you utter disappointment!"
Veeda just laid there, facedown in the muck while Tercres stood over her. Her inaction angered him, thus he jabbed her in the face with his dirty, worn boot.
"I said go! Go before I change my mind!"
This time, she took his invitation, taking off like a bolt of lightning into the pitch dark. As she did, the lingering odor of her urine wafted into Tercres' strong saiyan nose. "She really is a piss baby!" he thought, snorting and laughing.
As Veeda faded into the distance, so did Tercres fade into the reeds. Somewhere, there was something edible that needed a good stalking and mauling... "I'll get my revenge, Pinach Everyone has to sleep..."