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Chapter 5: The Forest of the Dead
"Bring me that girl's head on a plate." Jade slowly ran her fingers through her platinumblonde hair. The plan was going as planned, all the creatures were turning against each other. They would soon destroy themselves, leaving the world free for her ruling.
"Do you mean that literally or metaphorically?" They were all terrified of Jade Amnion, there supposed leader. She was cruel and did not hesitate to give away painful punishments. Her hair was already beginning to curl in hersparked rage.
"What did I say about asking me questions?" The servant hid away instantly. He had a family of six at home, and they needed his pay check to get by. She was like lit fire works, there wasn't much time until she blew up.
"Never ask any questions, Master." He bowed before her and kissed her toes. Some servants had been decapitated for asking questions, he couldn't leave his loving kin fatherless.
She shot him a look of utter disgust. Usually she was in the mood for groveling, but not today. "Get up, man. You are lucky I'm in a good mood, or I would have punished you greatly. How many children are in your family, sire?"
Master Jade never showed any interest in her servants families. The sudden interest she was suddenlyshowing unnerved him. "Six, Master."
"Good," she smiled coyly. This was one of her favorite parts about being in command. "One more mistake like this, and you're eldest child will find itself limbless. Do you understand me?"
Color disappeared from his already pale face. This was why he hated being put in Jade's corridors, she was pure evil. "Yes, master."
"Leave my presence." She heard the distant scurrying of feet against the carpet and the door clicked shut. A soft, evil laugh filled the room, making even insects scurry away in fright. The ball was in Jade's playing field now.
The large computer flicked on, and her associate in crime smiled evilly. She would have to put up with him for now, but after the world was hers, he would have to be killed. Her annoyance was well hidden behind her iron face. "Hello, Milady."
"Good evening, Yuri." He was in charge of watching over the demon fortress. The man stared fearlessly into her green eyes, not at all frightened of her hidden powers. This she would have to change, for everyone should fear Jade. "All is well, I presume."
"Reasonably," he responded. "The woman has runaway from the fortress due to her father's will. Perhaps our plans would flow easier, if we disposed of Trigon. I believe that having the young girl in power would make things a lot easier."
"I highly agree." His face was disgusting enough to make her want to puke. 'Calm yourself, Jade.' She thought, 'this hideous beast will be disposed of soon enough.' "Perhaps you could destroy Rachel's father yourself. After all, he may be a bit of a challenge for our other guards."
"Of course," he responded. He was evil, but not nearly as evil as she. Ever since she was a small child, she had dreamed of this moment. "I shall take great pleasure in it."
As a small child, Jade had poisoned both of her parents die at a young age. She smirked as she thought about her parent's slow, excruciating deaths. They deserved it, of course. Her father had sexually abused her since she was child, and her mother had done nothing to stop it. Post Traumatic Disorder had affected her since then, making every dream a living hell. "I wouldn't expect anything less."
The pure thought of having another creature die in her hands gave her a stomach a whirl of excitement. Everything would be filled with death and destruction after she was done with it. "Good," he responded. "I'll do it tonight."
"Was there anything else?" She was getting bored with this idle chit chat. If she didn't see any killing soon, she was going to scream. After she murdered both of her parents, she had developed a addiction to it. It was so much fun to watch there faces flash in fear right before death hit. The ultimate terror. It was positively delightful.
"Actually, there is." Even he was frightened of Jade. He nervously scratched the rather large patch of hair growing behind his left ear. It was a nervous reaction that he could never seem to get rid of. "What if we can't find Roth?"
"Leave that to me," Jade responded. No one had escaped her wrath yet, and she didn't intend for this to be the first time. She puckered her lips in ennui. Her attention span had run out, she was now preoccupied by a blood stain on her carpet. "I will find her."
He swore softly. Long ago Jade had been different, there was no hostility. They had been childhood friends playing together in a neighboring village. There friendship had seemingly survived through the rough turmoil in the ages, and when Jade proposed that they should work together, he had jumped at the idea. This wasn't the girl playing with her sand toys that he used to know. "Alright, just don't do anything rash."
"Rash." she screeched. "Have I ever been rash?"
"Of course not," he replied quickly. In the beginning Jade had said that she had wanted a peaceful world, and that together they could make things better. That was before the tricks and killing. The whole planet was at war because of what they had done. "I'm sorry for even suggested it."
"You'd better be," she barked. The connection broke.
The abandoned town was small, and was surrounded by grassland for miles around. The houses were all strung tightly together in cute, little rows. Garfield's words were still dancing in her head. Rachel couldn't make up her mind about how she felt. His love admittance had been so sudden, and he seemed so sure of himself. She didn't feel sure of herself at all.
'Do I love him?' She did care about him, and she knew that she was infatuated. 'Love is such a confusing thing,' she thought. 'How can he be so sure of himself?' "I don't know what to do."
"How about you turn around slowly?" There was a barrel of a gun pointed at the back of her head. Guns hadn't been used since the humans were in control of the planet, and now there technology was obsolete. She could easily get out of the gun's range.
"No." The voice was high pitched, even when compared to Kori's. She could make out whiffs of golden blonde hair in the corner of her eyes. 'No wings,' she thought. 'Wingless creatures hadn't been around for ages.' "I don't think I will."
"I wasn't asking." A flash of violet light blinded her vision before she had time to react. Her body tumbled to the floor, and crumbled into a heap. Jade smiled coyly, "Mission complete."
The gun was only used for stunning. Jade had much more dangerous guns used for the killing. She slowly rolled the unconscious girl on the floor with her boot heel. "I expected a lot more of fight from you, miss Roth."
"Where is she?" Rachel had promised him that she would never leave the house unless it was a emergency. There had to be something wrong. His friends trailed behind him, looking at Gar queerly. All of her things were still left in the house, and the stove was still simmering. "She promised me that she wouldn't leave this place."
"Perhaps she is in trouble." Kori trusted him. She knew that he would never fall in love with something heartless, he wasn't like that. Everything was neatly in order. If something bad had happened, it must have occurred quickly.
"That's my best guess," he said. On the floor was a bunch of muddy footprints. Rachel didn't have boots with ridges, so there had to have been a intruder. "Look. Those aren't her boot prints."
"We all saw what damage she could do. Whoever dragged her off must have been pretty powerful," Richard muttered. Most of the demon people never wore shoes, they traveled everywhere with their bare, scaly feet. Angels hardly wore boots because the heftiness slowed them down during flight.
"I'm going to find who took her, they won't get away with this." He turned off the stove, and took one last look around the room.
"I will accompany you on your quest." She put her hand on his shoulder. There wasn't much that she wouldn't do for a friend, and he may need her. "This girl means much to you, and I only wish for your happiness."
"I'll help you to, grass stain." They all turned to look at Richard. His stubbornness helped him as a leader, but sometimes it harmed friendships. Victor elbowed his arm to encourage words out of him.
"Does this demon really mean that much to you?" They were a team, and teams stuck together. Even if it was something that he didn't quite approve of.
"Yes," he murmured. "I would do anything for her."
"Fine," Richard sighed. Sometimes being the leader was tough, especially if your team all voted against you. He was also curious about the demon girl. He had always heard that demons were unintelligent, and Gar had said that the girl outsmarted him greatly. Although, it wasn't hard to outsmart Garfield. "If she means that much to you, I'll go."
'This is what true friendship is,' he smiled. 'We would do anything to help each other out, even if it's against our principles.' There was nothing like knowing there were people you could count on, no matter what. "Thank you, Richard. I appreciate it."
Rich gave him a brief nod. "We need us to follow the tracks, they might tell us in which direction they went."
Gar smiled, "I hope she's okay."
The tracks weren't hard to follow, it was almost as easy as connect the dots. "That's odd," Richard mused. "The tracks stop right outside of her window. Usually, it takes angels and demons a couple of steps to get the agility needed to take off. These tracks vanished the moment they reach outside. It's almost like it completely disappeared, and even we can't do that."
"So, it probably didn't have wings." This was a little confusing for his brain to handle, but there was no time for simplifications. He would just have to pretend like he understood for the time being. The tracks were small, almost the size of his outstretched hand.
"That's what I'm thinking. In the mud it's easier to see," he nodded. "When a winged creature walks, most of its weight is put in its back heel. Whatever this is, balanced its weight in the ball of its foot. Either it had no wings at all, or its wings are extremely light. It probably isn't a demon or angel."
"I have been taught that all other creatures are extinct, are they not?" She to had been taught to be able to track demon and angel prints, and this was nothing she had ever seen before.
"Crap," he growled. "That puts us back at square one."
"No," Rich said. There was one place that they were forbidden to go. It was a place called the Forest of the Dead. It was supposed to be the home of the dead that were forsaken here. If they were disturbed, they would devour your soul. "The Forest of the Dead is the only place that is not charted on our maps, and Rachel could have been taken there by her kidnapper. Everywhere else is the demon and angel territory."
"The Forest of the Dead?" He got a chill just saying it. The Forest wasn't going to get in his way of saving her, but he must admit that he was now a little scared. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," Richard nodded. "Are you still willing to go?"
"Of course." He was a little worried about his friends. They would have to put themselves into a lot of danger, if they went to the Forest of the Dead. If they changed there minds, he wouldn't blame them. "What about you guys? Are you still coming with me?"
"Of course," Kori smiled.
Victor nodded, "I'm in."
"Do you really think I'm going to let Kori go alone?" Rich loved the bubbly redhead fiercely. If she was going, then he was going too. "I'm going."
"Let's get packing."
Her head felt like it had been crushed by a bulldozer. Everything was blurry and cold. Rachel wasn't sure where the blonde women had taken her, but she wasn't going to wait for their next encounter. "Ah, so you have finally awoken."
The old women in the corner had spoken to her. The poor lady was covered in wrinkles and light cloth. In the ice cold jail cell, flimsy clothes could mean death. They were in a old fashioned cell surrounded completely by solid rock. "Where are we?"
"We are in the Tower of Minimum," the old women chuckled. The female was giving Rachel the creeps, it was almost like she was talking to her father. "You will never escape."
"I will find a way out." She had to tell Gar that she loved him. She couldn't allow herself to die until he knew how she felt. "I have something that I need to do."
"What is so important?" The old women began to cough. It was cold enough to even make Rachel slightly woozy, and demons were rarely affected by temperature. She looked at the women quietly. "If you give me a proper answer, I will show you the exit."
"If I don't give you the right answer, what will happen?" The women's teeth were yellow and molded with age. She didn't feel comfortable with sharing her personal life with a strange, old person.
"I will devour your soul." At first she thought the senior was joking, but when she looked into the women's eyes, she realized that the old lady was very serious. Her heart sped up for a few beats before returning back to normal.
The women got off the floor, and ambled over with a toothy grin. "Answer, young one. Your soul will be mine for the taking, if you do not answer. Why do you wish to leave?"
"I love someone." She didn't really believe that the women could eat her soul, but maybe she did no the way out. Answering the question would be a lot quicker then finding a escape route on her own. "I must tell him how I feel."
"Love. That is a very good reason to wish to leave." The old women pointed her finger at the nearest wall, and the stone paneling disappeared. She looked at the wrinkly senior in surprise. "I grant you permission to exit."
She slowly began to walk towards the exit, expecting the old lady to follow her. But to her surprise, the wrinkled women held back. This was the strangest place she had ever been, and that included the demon's mating ceremony. "Aren't you coming?"
The old women smiled and disappeared. "What the hell?"
She slowly looked out from beyond the stone prison and gulped. This was the Forest of the Dead. Nobody who had ever stepped foot in this forest, ever came out alive. The stones crunched beneath her black battle boots. "This is definitely not one of my better days."
"I would say not." She jerked around and found herself face to face with Jade.
"What do you want with me?" Jade was starting to get on her last nerve. She made a attempt to punch the blonde girl in the face, but she missed badly.
"We will discuss that later," she smiled. "Come."
Rachel growled, "No."
"Oh, that's to bad." Jade slowly raised the stun gun, and waved it front of her face. "It looks like I'm going to have to stun you again. We don't want that, do we?"
"Fine." If she was awake, it would be easier to form a escape plan. Whoever this person was, she didn't want to give up without a fight. "I'll go."
"Good," Jade smirked. "I didn't think you wanted a repeat of last time."
The blond chick obviously didn't have any powers. She could be easily defeated when she was gun-less and unprepared, all she had to do was wait for the opportune moment. "I still don't understand what you want with me, I'm basically worthless."
"Worthless, quite the contrary." Jade gave her another big smile. Her teeth were definitely something that other girls would envy. "I have lots of useful propositions for you, I'm sure you'll find them all highly inviting."
"Well, Ms-"
"It's Ms. Amnion. You may call me Jade." This blonde girl was really pissing her off. She acted like a spoiled princess.
"Well, Jade." Rachel thought, 'It's my turn to be annoying.' "I don't think I'm interested in your propositions. I don't do deals with spoiled brats."
"Don't start that," she growled. The demon reminded her of herself, feisty and full of fire. If Rachel decided to go along with her plans, then she would have to be killed early on. Jade couldn't have to much competition running around her corporations. "You haven't even heard the plans."
"I don't need to," she scowled. If only she had taken off running when she saw the exit in the jail cell, then she wouldn't be in this mess. "You types are all the same. I bet you even want to take over the planet."
"I know it's clique, but-"
She smirked, "I knew it."
Jade gave her a firm slap across the face, and she jumped back in surprise. "Do not interrupt me when I am speaking," she yelled. "You are pissing me off, you demon."
"Temper tantrums for the princess." When creatures were mad, they got distracted. For instance; A unfocused human could possibly take off their gun at the wrong moment. "You really should work on those anger problems."
"One more word," she breathed, massaging her petite neck. Rachel hoped that she hadn't pushed things to far. Angry creatures may have trouble focusing, but they could also make things a little more painful for you. "I will-"
"You're going to what?" Jade's pretty blue eyes were bugging out of her head. It almost made her look like a deranged bug. "You need me, I presume. You can't do anything to me."
"For now, Demon." she shook her finger in front of Rachel's face. "But, I will not need you for long. Watch your back, I will destroy you."
"I'm counting on it."
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