Well, I'm now ready to make the next installment on my continuation of Dead
Souls. I'm guessing that this chapter will be one of the last, if not THE
last. I'm not the least bit upset that I haven't gotten many reviews, in
the end, all that matters is that I was able to get up the guts to write
for the benefit of other freaks like me. I have enjoyed writing this story
more than anything else that I've ever written, including my novel, which
was much more tiresome. I hope that those of you who have been reading this
story are enjoying it as much as I've enjoyed writing it. Stay well, and
keep in mind the true meaning of Christmas, as well as the holiday spirit.
As Tiny Tim so aptly put: God bless us, everyone!
Writing for HIS glory ALWAYS;
Dante/TME/Brian/Isildri
Disclaimer: If I owned it, I wouldn't be scrambling for money to buy Christmas gifts with, now would I? No, I do not own Spirited Away. This is a FAN FIC, and being a fan of your own work is kind of weird.
*~*
*Hello*- sounds (Hello)- author's notes {Hello}- thoughts "Hello"- speaking "HELLO"- commanding/loud voice
*~*
*CRACK*
With a loud snap, the whip fell upon the shoulders of the limp figure, drawing yet another streak of fiery red along the already raw and bleeding back.
*CRACK*
Again the whip fell upon the boy's shoulders, yet he made no sound, despite the intense pain. All around him, he could here the whistles and roars of the crowd that circled him, watching with glee as the whip rose and fell upon his bare shoulders.
He had been hoisted up by his wrists, hanging there, his torn back dripping blood onto the already stained flagstones. Even as he braced himself for another impact of the whip, a voice rang out from the other side of the room.
"ENOUGH." The voice was commanding, and everyone in the room hesitated when it rang out. "UNBIND HIM AND TAKE HIM BACK TO HIS CELL. THAT WILL BE ALL. YOU ARE DISMISSED."
The guards proceeded to lower him down to the ground, paying no attention to his wounds. The figure of a boy stooped over him.
"I'm sorry. I didn't want to have to be the one to do this to you. If it were up to me, this wouldn't be happening at all." He paid no attention to the voice, however. He merely shrank away from the hands that were pulling him roughly to his feet. He could not stand on his own, the pain from his wounds was far too great, and this was only the first of many torture sessions that he had to live through. He knew that he wasn't going to survive an eternity of this with his sanity in tact.
They took him back to his cell and dumped him unceremoniously onto the floor, not even bothering to put him on the lumpy cot that constituted his bed. He rolled over off his back, hoping to relieve the pain. He knew that if he stayed on his back, it would stick to the floor and make moving that much more painful.
"Bastards."
"I know what you mean."
Startled, he tried to hoist himself to his feet, but instead let out a cry of agony and dropped back onto his stomach. Looking around, he saw the familiar figure of a young woman standing in one corner.
"I didn't mean for them to hurt you that badly. I told Knoma to take it easy with the whip, but he must have realized that by doing that he would be attracting unnecessary attention to each stroke."
"Why should you care?" The boy's voice was flat and emotionless.
"I don't," she said simply. He did not believe her however, and that only made him all the angrier at her.
"You couldn't care less if I died. In fact, it would probably make you happy, because it would mean that you could stop keeping your end of the bargain."
"Thinking about going back on it, are you?"
"Never." The tone of the boy's voice was final this time, and he rolled over onto his side so that he was facing away from her, which signaled the end of the conversation.
"I'm going to have my healer look after those wounds. We wouldn't want for them to become infected, now would we? I have a different torture in mind for tomorrow. I'm sure that you can't wait." She turned and walked out of the cell, her footsteps receding as she headed back up the stairs.
"Bitch." He began to crawl toward his bed, but before he could reach it he passed out.
*~*
"We're here." The eagle began his decent, and Chihiro rubbed her eyes sleepily. It was late, probably past midnight, and the moon was full above them. She looked forward and saw a massive tower off in the distance.
"Is that the tower?" she asked.
"Indeed it is." This time it was Nami who spoke. The eagle was almost on the ground now, and before he landed he released Nami so as not to crush him upon touching the ground. Once safely down, Chihiro slid off his back and bowed low to him.
"Thank you, Aki, for rendering us such an invaluable service. You flew magnificently, and the way that you outwitted those birds was ingenious."
There was a twinkle in his eye as he accepted the praise graciously, then made ready to take off once again.
"I wish you all luck on your mission, Chihiro, and hope that you one day find where your heart belongs." With those words, he jumped onto the wind and soared away.
"He's quite a character, that Aki." Chihiro looked at Nami. "Are you ready?"
He shimmered, then seemed to spring upward until in the place of the fox was a human boy.
"As ready as I'll ever be."
They proceeded on to the gate, but when they reached it, Nami threw out an arm to stop her.
"There's an evil spell laid on these gates. Unless you can break it, I wouldn't suggest that we try to force our way through."
"What do I do?"
"First, summon your power."
Chihiro removed her hair tie and formed a triangle with it using her first, second, and third fingers. She concentrated completely on her love for her friends, but mainly on her love for Haku, and shut her eyes as a small whirlwind of air and light gathered around her.
"Now, take the hand with the tie and PUSH."
She did so, and there was a mighty blast of wind and light that left her and rammed into the gate. For a moment, Nami could see a dark shadow illuminated, but then it dissipated.
"Excellent! You did it!" He took hold of the handle and pushed the door open, noticing that the writing that had been on the door had vanished along with the shadow.
They proceeded on to the tower, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, but they both knew that if Jumari hadn't already known of their presence, she sure as heck knew now. The commotion that they had made at the gate was too great for her to ignore.
The door opened on its own accord and admitted them in. They found themselves standing in a massive hallway, at the end of which was a simple yet elegant elevator.
"So, what do we do now?" Chihiro whispered to Nami.
"We find Haku first. He's bound to be around here somewhere." Nami looked at the elevator. "Let's not try that until we absolutely have to."
Just then, the sound of footsteps echoed on the stairway to their right. They wheeled around.
*~*
Hee hee hee. I just love ending in a cliff hanger. Their so much fun to write, and they leave readers wanting to read more. I guess you could say that I'm evil. Well, until next time then!
As Tiny Tim so aptly put: God bless us, everyone!
Writing for HIS glory ALWAYS;
Dante/TME/Brian/Isildri
Disclaimer: If I owned it, I wouldn't be scrambling for money to buy Christmas gifts with, now would I? No, I do not own Spirited Away. This is a FAN FIC, and being a fan of your own work is kind of weird.
*~*
*Hello*- sounds (Hello)- author's notes {Hello}- thoughts "Hello"- speaking "HELLO"- commanding/loud voice
*~*
*CRACK*
With a loud snap, the whip fell upon the shoulders of the limp figure, drawing yet another streak of fiery red along the already raw and bleeding back.
*CRACK*
Again the whip fell upon the boy's shoulders, yet he made no sound, despite the intense pain. All around him, he could here the whistles and roars of the crowd that circled him, watching with glee as the whip rose and fell upon his bare shoulders.
He had been hoisted up by his wrists, hanging there, his torn back dripping blood onto the already stained flagstones. Even as he braced himself for another impact of the whip, a voice rang out from the other side of the room.
"ENOUGH." The voice was commanding, and everyone in the room hesitated when it rang out. "UNBIND HIM AND TAKE HIM BACK TO HIS CELL. THAT WILL BE ALL. YOU ARE DISMISSED."
The guards proceeded to lower him down to the ground, paying no attention to his wounds. The figure of a boy stooped over him.
"I'm sorry. I didn't want to have to be the one to do this to you. If it were up to me, this wouldn't be happening at all." He paid no attention to the voice, however. He merely shrank away from the hands that were pulling him roughly to his feet. He could not stand on his own, the pain from his wounds was far too great, and this was only the first of many torture sessions that he had to live through. He knew that he wasn't going to survive an eternity of this with his sanity in tact.
They took him back to his cell and dumped him unceremoniously onto the floor, not even bothering to put him on the lumpy cot that constituted his bed. He rolled over off his back, hoping to relieve the pain. He knew that if he stayed on his back, it would stick to the floor and make moving that much more painful.
"Bastards."
"I know what you mean."
Startled, he tried to hoist himself to his feet, but instead let out a cry of agony and dropped back onto his stomach. Looking around, he saw the familiar figure of a young woman standing in one corner.
"I didn't mean for them to hurt you that badly. I told Knoma to take it easy with the whip, but he must have realized that by doing that he would be attracting unnecessary attention to each stroke."
"Why should you care?" The boy's voice was flat and emotionless.
"I don't," she said simply. He did not believe her however, and that only made him all the angrier at her.
"You couldn't care less if I died. In fact, it would probably make you happy, because it would mean that you could stop keeping your end of the bargain."
"Thinking about going back on it, are you?"
"Never." The tone of the boy's voice was final this time, and he rolled over onto his side so that he was facing away from her, which signaled the end of the conversation.
"I'm going to have my healer look after those wounds. We wouldn't want for them to become infected, now would we? I have a different torture in mind for tomorrow. I'm sure that you can't wait." She turned and walked out of the cell, her footsteps receding as she headed back up the stairs.
"Bitch." He began to crawl toward his bed, but before he could reach it he passed out.
*~*
"We're here." The eagle began his decent, and Chihiro rubbed her eyes sleepily. It was late, probably past midnight, and the moon was full above them. She looked forward and saw a massive tower off in the distance.
"Is that the tower?" she asked.
"Indeed it is." This time it was Nami who spoke. The eagle was almost on the ground now, and before he landed he released Nami so as not to crush him upon touching the ground. Once safely down, Chihiro slid off his back and bowed low to him.
"Thank you, Aki, for rendering us such an invaluable service. You flew magnificently, and the way that you outwitted those birds was ingenious."
There was a twinkle in his eye as he accepted the praise graciously, then made ready to take off once again.
"I wish you all luck on your mission, Chihiro, and hope that you one day find where your heart belongs." With those words, he jumped onto the wind and soared away.
"He's quite a character, that Aki." Chihiro looked at Nami. "Are you ready?"
He shimmered, then seemed to spring upward until in the place of the fox was a human boy.
"As ready as I'll ever be."
They proceeded on to the gate, but when they reached it, Nami threw out an arm to stop her.
"There's an evil spell laid on these gates. Unless you can break it, I wouldn't suggest that we try to force our way through."
"What do I do?"
"First, summon your power."
Chihiro removed her hair tie and formed a triangle with it using her first, second, and third fingers. She concentrated completely on her love for her friends, but mainly on her love for Haku, and shut her eyes as a small whirlwind of air and light gathered around her.
"Now, take the hand with the tie and PUSH."
She did so, and there was a mighty blast of wind and light that left her and rammed into the gate. For a moment, Nami could see a dark shadow illuminated, but then it dissipated.
"Excellent! You did it!" He took hold of the handle and pushed the door open, noticing that the writing that had been on the door had vanished along with the shadow.
They proceeded on to the tower, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, but they both knew that if Jumari hadn't already known of their presence, she sure as heck knew now. The commotion that they had made at the gate was too great for her to ignore.
The door opened on its own accord and admitted them in. They found themselves standing in a massive hallway, at the end of which was a simple yet elegant elevator.
"So, what do we do now?" Chihiro whispered to Nami.
"We find Haku first. He's bound to be around here somewhere." Nami looked at the elevator. "Let's not try that until we absolutely have to."
Just then, the sound of footsteps echoed on the stairway to their right. They wheeled around.
*~*
Hee hee hee. I just love ending in a cliff hanger. Their so much fun to write, and they leave readers wanting to read more. I guess you could say that I'm evil. Well, until next time then!