Chapter 9 Journeying Further

This chapter kicks it into gear pretty hard I believe. Oh, and I should point out that I'm going to change this title when I submit the next chapter from "New Moon" to "Darkness 2: New Moon." Just thought I'd give you the heads up.

"See you later Celia," Vesta said. "I'm going into town for a while."

"Hmm?" Celia looked up. "But you said you were going to help me water the plants this morning."

"Something came up," Vesta said. "Galen and the others are getting together, and I need to be with them."

Celia looked at the ground unpleasantly.

"Ask Marlin," Vesta said, before walking quickly out the door.

Celia looked up.

"Marlin?" she called, as she walked through the house searching for him.

Then she found a note pinned to the wall. It read: "Vesta, I am going into town to visit an old friend. -Marlin."

Celia sighed before sulking outside to begin watering.

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Takakura had left an hour ago for some ceremony involving the spirit. It creeped me out that the man I worked with was falling into the town's new cult, but there was little I could do. I could tell him that a dark presence had attacked me near the swamp, but what would that mean to him? Every few years someone opened up their mouth and claimed to have gone through a similar experience, and they were always laughed at and ignored. But what if it was true? What if everyone was falling under the control of evil? I finished my morning chores before heading up to Vesta's farm. To my surprise I found Celia watering the plants by herself.

"Where is everyone?" I asked.

Celia shook her head grumpily while trying unsuccessfully to tear a large weed up from the ground.

"Here," I reached my hand out to help her pull it.

"No," Celia grumbled, "I'm fine.

Then she pulled with all her might. The weed split in half, sending her sprawling backwards into the dirt. I smiled.

"Yeah, I can see that." I held out a hand to her. "You don't seem all that happy today."

She took my hand and I pulled her up. The fall seemed to have jolted her back to her senses. She smiled at me apologetically.

"Sorry," she said. "Vesta said she'd help me water the plants, and then ran off to town to... I don't know, join in a ceremony or something."

"That's strange," I said. "Takakura is gone too. He said he was going to a ceremony involving Thandrana."

Celia looked up suddenly.

"Are you saying..." she stopped suddenly. "...Vesta's involved in..."

"I hope not," was all I could say.

I glanced up at the large field.

"Here," I said. "Let me give you a hand with the watering."

Cliff stumbled into the inn clumsily.

"Ah," Ruby looked up, smiling. "A new face. Who might you be?"

"Uh... Cliff," he said, walking cautiously up to the table.

"You new in town?" Ruby rambled. "Visiting? Moving in?"

Cliff just nodded slowly.

"Not very talkative are we?" Ruby giggled softly. "You remind me of Nami. You don't know her, do you?"

Cliff shook his head.

"Would you like a room Mr. Cliff?" Ruby asked.

Cliff nodded.

"Very well," Ruby said. "You can take the one across from Nami's."

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"Close your eyes," Galen directed. "Listen to your inner self, for that is where you will meet great spirits, spirits like Thandrana."

The quests closed their eyes and listened as directed.

"Don't think," Galen continued. "Clear your mind of all thought. Clean out your mind. Focus on your breathing."

In. Out. Inhale. Exhale. In. Out. Inhale. Exhale.

As their minds began to darken Thandrana made her move into them. Around a table sat Tim, Takakura, Vesta, Carter, Chris, Cody, Griffin, and Galen. The room was lit by faint candles as the willing victims lounged in the darkness.

'I am Thandrana...'

Chris' eyes shot open as the voice entered her mind.

"Don't stop concentrating," Galen said.

Chris closed her eyes again and emptied her mind. A strange feeling surrounded her, like a warm towel being wrapped around your shoulders.

'Do as I say... follow my command.'

They all listened and obeyed as they saw the mighty spirit appear before them, her green hair hanging down her shoulders loosely as she smiled at them individually. Then, in their mind they found themselves in a secret place, a garden filled with beautiful flowers.

'I am here to guide you... but you must guide yourself as well. For I am only what you can become. I was born again, rising to a higher state of being than that which you are at. And one day with work fate may bring you here as well. If you follow it through to Nirvana then you can be just as great as I am. That will be your reward. Now listen and obey what I am saying to you.'

Individually she spoke to each of them, and told them what to do. When there eyes reopened they were different. A dark power lurked behind every pupil, and a quiet shadow filtered through their souls.

"Now go," Thandrana appeared before them at the front of the room. "Make this night the beginning of an age of reason. This island will be blessed!"

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Thrashing, violence, fear. He found himself being thrown across the room as a mighty force reached out for him, darting here and there, in and out of the shadows, but never into the light. Mighty arms grabbed him before launching him back into the air as he screamed and fled deeper and deeper into himself.

Don't let her in! Keep her out of your mind!

The mighty shadow stood before him, and he stopped suddenly. For there was no way to escape. Slowly, the mighty shape descended upon him, reaching out towards him like the undead.

Don't let her in!

Cliff awoke, sweating and gasping for air. In his hands he clutched tightly to the bed sheets that were twisted and torn out from under the mattress. What a nightmare.

'What a nightmare.'

Cliff looked up suddenly, gasping in fear as he stared off into the dark corners of his room. Quiet whispering arose around him, as tiny voices began speaking. He heard a child giggle from in the corner, and turned abruptly in that direction. Nothing.

'Do you remember?'

Cliff closed his eyes and drew the sheets up around him, wishing that the voices would leave him alone.

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Nami awoke on the cold ground by the swamp. Slowly she arose to her feet and glanced around. Perhaps it had all been a dream. A nightmare. Night insects chirped slowly as she glanced around through the darkness. There was no mighty green haired girl trying to choke the life out of her. Her hand flew up to her neck, and she felt it for any sign left behind by the girl. She rubbed the side of her neck before moving around to the back. Her hand brushed against something and she stopped. On the very back of her neck there was a long scar stretching from her nerve chord up towards her skull.

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Takakura left the ceremony, thinking that nothing was wrong. Thandrana had instructed him to come to the swamp to speak with her. The others walked off to their homes, for it was late at night, but Takakura had no reason to. He walked quietly forward, his boots scraping gravel as he moved off of the path and down into the grass. Before him he knew stood the large swamp, but in the darkness he could barely deduce where exactly it was. Darkness closed in around him as he moved forward. It grew so dark that he stopped, before resuming his journey at a much slower pace.

'You will make the journey into the darkness if you truly follow me.'

"Yes," Takakura nodded, and continued walking.

'Let the darkness wash over you. Open your mind.'

Takakura closed his eyes and released the barriers that kept the night out. Immediately he felt something seeping in. Quiet, and spiritual. Suddenly a twig snapped. Takakura's eyes shot open, and he looked around for an intruder.

"Somebody there?" he asked, glancing around.

But in the darkness he could not see anything. Something dashed through the bushes to his right. Takakura turned, now thoroughly freaked. Then he heard footsteps, marching quickly towards him.

"No!" Takakura could not see his nightly visitor, but he could sense his evil intent.

He turned to run, but his foot caught a root and he fell on his face. Darkness steadily closed in around him as Takakura rolled over and began crawling backwards away from the approaching footsteps. The night moved in closer, Takakura pulled himself to his feet and began stumbling forward past trees, through the swamp as he struggled to survive.

He tumbled forward, his head splashing into the waters of the swamp, and he lay still. Listening quietly, he heard nothing. The pursuing footsteps had vanished, and now he was alone. Takakura slowly pulled himself back up to his feet and glanced around through the darkness. He could sense that someone, or something was out there in the dark. Takakura slowly pulled himself to his feet and faced the swamp.

"Thandrana," he whispered, hoping to grab the Great Spirit's attention.

Another twig snapped. The swamp sucked around his leg. Takakura turned quickly, his wide eyes filled with fear. And then he screamed, a long shrill scream that shattered the silence of the night like the shriek of a banshee.

A small distance away, Nami heard the scream, and ran to help whoever was in danger. She came in time to see the bloody body of Takakura fall forward into the swamp. She gasped, before looking up into the eyes of his killer. A tall man stood at the edge of the swamp, a bloody knife clutched in his hand and a wide brimmed hat resting on his head. He looked up at Nami suddenly, his face shrouded with a leather mask, his eyes glinting through thin eye holes. Nami screamed loudly, before turning and running off into the darkness.

The killer did not bother pursuing her. Instead, it nodded at the dead body lying face down in the swamp, steadily turning its waters red with the blood. Then, the killer dropped to his knees and bowed before the swamp. As he stood to leave decayed hands slowly reached up from deep within the water and dragged the body under.

'More... more... more...'

Like it? Okay, okay, I know the leather masked serial killer has already been done, but hey, at least I didn't make him have a hockey mask. That would be lame plagiarism. But in my mind I can see a leatherfaced man with a leather wide brimmed hat, and to me that is just creepy, even better than that leatherfaced guy from whatever horror movies he's from. Plus I wanted to acheive something close to the affect of the Tinman from the book "House" by Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker and this is what I got. Not read taht book? Then jump to it, a very very good book. So now darkness is descending on Forget Me Not VAlley and to make matters worse a psychopathic killer has come out. Things keep getting better and better... Until another day then.