The Black Monster: The Beginning

Part 9

Ok…it's been way too long since I've updated this, I've had this chapter written for quite a long time and just haven't gotten around to updating it. School, work etc has kept me busy, so here it is...after long months past, the next part of my story.

"Zieg" Rose whispered, "We have to help him."

"Pitiful human," the wingly boomed, thrusting a foot into the young mans chest, "get up."

The man shivered on the ground clutching his stomach with his eyes shut tightly. Another swift kick and his arms found themselves onto the ground beneath him, hoisting himself up. Shaking he was able to get to his feet. The man kept his head bent as the wingly stared him down.

"Go"

He did not move.

The back of the wingly's hand met fiercely with his face almost sending him to the ground.

"Zieg!" Rose grabbed his arm, "help him!"

Zieg shook his head to clear his thoughts. He nodded to her and she stepped back.

"Hey," he called out.

The wingly turned to look and a sneer came across his face. He knocked his victim to the ground and began to stride towards them.

In a flash Zieg was a 'dragoon' holding his own grin as the wingly froze in horror. His shock was soon masked by his pride. He broadened his shoulders and continued forward.

Zieg shook his head and held his ground, waiting for the right moment to strike. This wingly was very arrogant and stopped less than a foot away from Zieg. Almost nose to nose they were.

"Interesting trick…human," the wingly snarled, "but highly doubtful."

"Really?" Zieg replied, raising his eyebrows"

With a flap of the wings he was hovering above the ground, "doubtful huh?" He thrust his sword into the winglies chest.

"Damn egotistic son of a bitch," he seethed, "you have control of us no longer."

The wingly's mouth was agape in shock and he soon fell backward, sliding off the point of Ziegs sword. The breath washed out of the creature and Rose looked on without regret.

She swallowed. She did not feel sorry for the wingly. She had just seen that wingly murdered by her secret love and felt nothing for it. The wingly deserved it…in her mind. Torture and murder has been committed by winglies for a long time for no reason. Zieg had reason to kill this wingly…to save a life.

Rose looked ahead to where the young man sat trembling. He did not look up at them, rather just wrapped his arms about his knees and dropped his head, scared still. The threats and torture a wingly performed could drive a human insane. She prayed that it would not happen to this man.

Slowly she found her way forward. Still he did not look up. Beside him now she stood and turned back to Zieg who was out of his creature form. He nodded to her and started toward them, leaving the corpse of the wingly behind. Rose turned her gaze to the young man. She placed her hand upon his shoulder and he shuddered violently. Scrambling away from her he attempted to stand.

"Wait," Rose called calmly, "we're not going to hurt you."

"How do I know that?" The young man called back, his youth now more evident in his voice.

"Because we're humans, I've helped you," Zieg said, standing beside Rose, "now boy, if you want to live you should come with us."

"Is that a threat?"

"It's a suggestion."

"I'm sure you do not want to be attacked by another wingly," Rose paused, "come with us where you will be safe with more of our kind."

The young man turned his head, "I don't know if I can trust you."

"It's your choice," Zieg said and continued to walk forward, "we'll be on our way now, chances of winglies roaming these forests is still great."

Rose gasped. Was he just going to leave him? She trailed after him.

"Zieg…Zieg we can't leave him here."

He turned around, "if we linger any chances of our race's survival is but a thread on the tip of a knife. We cannot afford to wait and see if he will gain enough courage to trust us."

"He could die."

"Everyone dies Rose, but it's a matter of their choosing."

With that Zieg turned and continued down the path. Rose stood, staring after him. Then with a last glance at the man behind her she followed.

"Don't make me do this," Rose said, loud enough for him to hear.

"Do what?"

She did not say anything as the distance between them grew.

"Leave you behind," Rose thought.

She broke into a run until she was beside Zieg. He was quiet but when he looked at her she could see that he too was upset.

"I didn't want to leave him either Rose, but if he can't trust us…compared to winglies then there is no use to convince him."

She nodded, "how long do we have?"

"Not long," he replied, looking up at the sky, "as a matter of fact we should pick up the pace; they've probably made it to the half point."

"Half point?"

"Between Vellweb and here," Zieg explained, "It's such a distance away that between travels we have found a place to rest."

Changing once again into dragoon form Zieg took her into his arms. Once high in the sky Rose looked back down.

"I hope he gains some common sense."

"You're not the only one," Zieg answered with a sigh.

A long time they flew, the land of endiness passing slowly below them. What would happen to this beautiful world if the winglies managed to take complete control? Its luscious trees and vibrant lakes and rivers, would they all be gone?

"So…" Rose started, "are we…waging war against the winglies?"

"Yes."

She was silent for a moment, "aren't our numbers…decimated?"

"With the power of the dragons on our side, the dragoons, the winglies won't know what hit them."

"I hope you're right," Rose whispered.

Night began to fall now but the glow from Ziegs wings took away the fright it caused. The closeness and warmth of Ziegs body against hers made her feel safe. Silence resided throughout the entire space around them. No animals called or wind blew for the fear of the winglies had stolen all natural life. This silence was beginning to cause Rose's eyes to become heavy with sleep. To try and stay awake she brought up conversation.

"So…how did you…become a dragoon?"

Zieg shrugged, "I killed a dragon and use it's spirit stone to transform."

"How does it work?"

"I don't know really, it's a strange power, but you have to be accepted…more on the lines of deserving to become a dragoon. If you do, it accepts you."

"The stone does?"

"Yes."

"Do you know how crazy that sounds?"

"Yes," Zieg replied with a smile, "but that is what I have been taught."

They continued to soar through the sky until something caught Rose's attention, a glowing yellow light behind them.

"Zieg," she said, continuing to look over his shoulder, "something is coming."

He too looked behind and slowed down.

"Wait…what are you doing? It could be a wing…"

"Don't worry it's not a wingly."

Zieg stopped completely and they waited, hovering in the air as the glowing lights came closer, brighter and brighter then bigger.

"Hey," said a deep voice.

It was another dragoon, Rose noticed, a much larger one but a human nevertheless.

"Belzac, I thought you were still in Vellweb."

The large man shook his head, "no, I've been waiting at the half point."

"Then why are you out here?"

"Shirley sent me on a lookout for you guys."

Zieg shook his head, "ball and chain."

"Oh shut up."

Zieg smiled, "sorry but it's true."

Belzac rolled his eyes, "here, you look like you need a load off, little man."

He took Rose into his arms and flew off, Zieg following beside.

"So what's your name?" The deep voice asked from above her.

"Rose."

"It's great to have you with us Rose," he paused, "we take all we can get."

It was not long before she noticed they were getting closer to the ground. Were they near the half point already? A small light below told her they were and when closer she noticed it was a fire. They landed and she was set gently onto the ground.

"Rose!" Damia called and ran into her, wrapping her arms about the older woman's waist.

"We were wondering what took you so long," said Kanzas from his place on the ground with a long piece of grass in his mouth.

"We ran into a small obstacle," Zieg answered, who was now out of dragoon form.

"What would that be?"

"A wingly."

Kanzas froze, chewing the piece of grass nervously. Belzac and Shirley too appeared shocked.

"What happened?" Shirley asked.

Zieg shrugged, "We ran into a wingly beating the shit out of another human…so I killed him."

"Why isn't this other human with you? It could have been another potential."

"He very well could have, but he could not trust us even compared to a wingly…so we left."

Shirley sighed and shook her head.

"Was there just the one wingly?" Belzac asked.

"From what we could see, yes."

Rose was hardly listening to the conversation. She kept thinking about the young man. He was left alone in the dark forest. Winglies could be roaming about looking for survivors and escapees.

"Damia," she whispered, taking the young girl aside, "I'm worried about that man."

"The one they're talking about?"

Rose nodded, "yes, he was only being cautious. It's human nature."

Damia agreed, "yeah but…what do you want to do?"

"I want to go find him."

"Are you kidding?"

"No"

"There might be winglies still out there!" Damia nearly cried out.

Rose held her finger up to her mouth, "I know, I know, but Damia he could die."

The young girl slouched her shoulders and with a sigh she asked, "How are we going to go without them noticing?"

"When the rest are asleep," Rose paused, "we'll be on our way, and hopefully we will be back before they wake up."

Damia nodded, "ok," she stopped, "but what if we are attacked?"

Rose looked around and with a swallow she answered, "We fight back."

"With what?"

"I don't know, fists, wood, whatever we can find, just as long as we get to him."

Damia sighed, "Ok…"

Rose smiled and placing her hand on the young girls shoulder she led her toward the dragoons.

"We're going to get some rest," Rose started, looking up at Zieg, "if that's possible."

Zieg nodded, "yeah we're all going to need that, who's up on watch first?"

"Me," Kanzas replied with a grunt.

"Alright," Zieg said, "let's get some sleep guys; we're going to need it."

They all went off to their own area to sleep. Rose, with Damia, stayed close to the fire while the others wandered off to the edges of the forest. To keep watch as well she figured. One side of the forest however was left, by chance, in the direction she and Zieg had come, from her memory at least.

Rose settled upon the grasses and watched the fire flicker about. Its warmth made her smile. She had felt cold for the past few days in more way than one, cold in the heart, in the mind and in the body. At the moment the fire was all that could warm her.

For what seemed like hours but was only minutes all but Rose and Damia were asleep. Save for Kanzas as well but he was far enough away. Rose tapped on Damia's shoulder who turned over and looked back at her.

"Let's go," Rose whispered.

Together they crept quietly out of the light of the fire in the direction of the open forest. Rose, continuously looking over her shoulder at Kanzas, jumped over a log and into the dark forest, Damia ahead of her. They ran as fast and as quietly as they could, the moon lighting their way. Trees whipped by and the silence enveloped them, still was the forest as they traveled through it.

"Rose," Damia called back quietly, "can we stop running now?"

Rose smiled, catching up to her, "yes as a matter of fact…let's go onto the path instead.

Keeping watch and going at a slow pace they found their way onto the path. Rose hoped the man would still be traveling in this direction. Maybe, by chance, he decided to follow Rose and Zieg.

They walked for a long time in the moon lit darkness. The silence was eerie, the cold was numbing but Rose would not turn back until they found him any sigh of him at all.

"What if he was captured by winglies?"

Rose looked to Damia, "then may Soa be with him, but we don't know that for sure."

Damia sighed, "How much farther?"

Rose shrugged, "I don't know, Zieg and I were flying for quite a while…and that's much faster than walking so…"

"Why didn't we ask one of them to come with us?"

"They would not see a reason to save this man."

"Why?"

"I don't know," Rose shook her head.

Damia kept quiet after that and they continued to walk. Dawn was approaching now and sleep was far past their mind at the moment.

"They should be awake soon," Rose said, looking up into the sky, "I think we should travel through the forest for now."

Damia did not say anything but followed Rose into the forest anyway. It was still dark but light enough for them to find their way through. Rose stopped suddenly

"Wait," she whispered, "I hear something."

She looked up. Voices rang out above. Had the dragoons doubled back already?

"Run!" Rose whispered, "run now!"

"Why?" Damia asked, but still ran.

"We haven't found him yet."

High up Rose could see the purple dragoon soar ahead but he was getting lower until he landed on the path. Soon after a red dragoon…Zieg and Kanzas.

"Why would they come back here?" Kanzas cried.

The two girls continued to run, hoping that their steps would not be heard. A silent yelp and a thud behind caused Rose to slow to a stop and look back. Damia laid in the forest brush a little further back, a hand clamped over her mouth. A wingly? Her heart stopped at the though…but skipped a beat when Damia's captor revealed himself. The man, the one they had come in search for.

The man beckoned her closer and when she approached he put a finger to his mouth. Rose nodded. He let go of Damia and together they watched Kanzas and Zieg travel past.

'Damn that woman, she's putting this whole operation in turmoil."

"Don't get so dramatic Kanzas," Zieg said with a sigh, "like you really give a shit about it either, you just want to kill; you don't care about what happens to anyone else."

Kanzas grinned, "maybe so but I would still like to get home."

Zieg nodded, "me too but we can't leave until we find them…I trust Rose. She has good intentions I'm sure…"

Kanzas snorted, "Yeah, risking out lives to save some lowlife."

"Someone as stubborn as you."

They continued ahead into the distance, leaving Rose and the others behind. Rose took a breath then looked to the man beside her…man hardly…he looked to be in his very early twenties.

"You're ok?" Rose asked.

He nodded, "yeah, why did you come back?"

"She felt sorry for you."

He looked down at Damia with a smile, "is that right?"

Rose laughed, "Yes, we need to stick together now…humans can't leave humans behind."

"I'm all for that," the man replied, standing as well as helping Damia up.

"What's your name by the way?" Rose asked.

"Syuveil," he answered, holding out his hand.

Rose took it, "I'm Rose and that young lady is Damia."

"Glad you came back for me," Syuveil said with a laugh, "I came pretty close to running into another wingly. They're everywhere."

"Rounding up the rest of us humans no doubt," Rose replied, leading the way out of the forest back onto the path, "that means we'll have to be even more careful."

"Yeah…so now where are we going?"

"Back to the camp," said Rose with a sigh, "let's hope they're not…too upset with us."

'We just hid from Zieg and Kanzas…who were coming to find us," Damia said quietly, "I don't think they'll be very happy."

Rose looked back down the path behind them, "should we wait here?"

"We would be open targets if we did that," Syuveil started, shaking his head, "walk I should think."

Damia nodded, "besides, they can fly, it won't take them long."

"Ok," Rose said with a shrug, "back to the camp then."

They began walking again. Their job was done, they had found him and he came willingly. Maybe one more person for this 'war' would be a good thing. Maybe this Emperor Diaz will consider him a potential.

"So," Syuveil started an attempt at conversation, "what are they? Your friends I mean."

"They call themselves dragoons, but everything else Zieg told me is still a little…confusing."

"They connect with dragons."

Rose looked back at Damia, "yeah…"

"Not that confusing."

Syuveil looked at Rose, "sounds confusing to me."

Damia shrugged, "young minds have a wider range of belief."

Rose smiled, "that's true."

Damia continued in silence, staring at the ground, watching the dirt beneath her feet. She did not notice Syuveil as he studied her until he spoke up.

"Blue hair…that's amazing."

Damia gave a slight grin, "my mother was a mermaid…my father a…"

"A what?"

"Wingly."

Rose turned her head quickly, "what?"

"My father was a wingly…" Damia lowered her voice, "but…I didn't know my parents for long, their relationship was…sort of against tradition."

"I wouldn't doubt it," Syuveil nodded, "interrelations are not good even now, I could only imagine the damage a relationship between a human and a wingly could cause."

"So…they probably parted for your safety," Rose added.

"Or…they abandoned me."

"Why would they do that?"

"Because I'm the evidence of their relationship."

Rose bent her head. Poor Damia, her life was so…exhausting, troubling…nothing could really describe it.

"Well…" Syuveil said, placing his hand on Damia's shoulder, "at least you have people here for you now."

He looked up at Rose, "right?"

Rose smiled, "yeah."

"Hey!"

Rose looked up ahead at the red haired woman walking towards them. Shirley did not look happy but her face lightened up when she caught sight of Syuville.

"You…"

"I'm sorry Shirley," Rose started, "I just…couldn't leave him behind…"

"No," Shirley smiled, "we need all we can get, that was very brave of you two."

'What about Zieg and Kan…"

Shirley waved her hand, "men," she shrugged, "don't worry about it, as soon as they get back we'll be on our way."

"You're serious?"

"Well yes…we're going to have to leave some time."

"No" Rose interrupted, "you're not upset? You were so intent on leaving before."

"True," Shirley nodded, "but inside I wanted to go find him as well."

"There are our runaways," Belzac said with a smile as he approached, "with a tag along I see."

"My name is Syuveil." The young man spoke up from behind Rose.