Chapter 3: Parasite
Eli walked through the grassy plain that seemed to stretch for kilometers in every direction. Though, soon it didn't seem that way. In the far south, he began to see the Deadlands. The Deadlands was a scene of a horrific war, not by Eli's people. Someone came to the island, and they weren't alone. Two opposing forces tried to lay claim to this land. They killed each other, without giving it a moment's thought. The few soldiers that were left gave up. They abandoned this island and never came back. They never even told anyone about this island's existence.
The moment Eli's eyes saw the gray and black mass that was the Deadlands, his heart sank, and he felt terror creep up his spine. He swallowed his fear and found the strength to press forward. Not long after that, he saw another patch of trees. He was looking for an excuse to delay his walk through the Deadlands, so he investigated. As he got closer, he noticed a path carved into the patch of woods. He took the path since it was still leading south. He got towards the center of the woods when he found a wooden fence.
He followed it for a good distance, eventually finding a house. He stood at the edge of the path that led to the front door of the home and watched for a moment. Before a minute could pass, an elder woman came out of the front door. She looked surprised when she saw Eli, meaning she didn't see him coming. Eli waved at her as a friendly gesture. The woman made her way to the end of the path to meet Eli.
"Well, O'siyo, young man. What brings a member of Eilsar this far south?" She asked. "How do you know I'm from Eilsar?" Eli asked. He was of course confused. "You mean other than the fact that Eilsar is the only civilization on this island?" She wore a sarcastic look. "Fair point…" Eli got a little embarrassed. "Because I see you've got one of these." She pointed to her shoulder. It was there that Eli saw a tiny gray Shade, latched onto her shoulder, forever feeding off of her. "Oh, you have a Shade." Eli rose his hand up and grabbed onto his right shoulder, where that massive, pitch black Thing had been since the day Eli was born. "Yes… but, I have to ask. That massive black blob latched onto you… is that what I think it is?" "Yeah… this is in fact Shroud." "So, you are the most powerful person on the island, then?" The woman asked. "He certainly thinks so." Eli's grip on his shoulder tightened. "So, you're the Shroud Bearer then…"
The Shades are parasites. They feed off of the energy that the people of Eilsar once commanded. It was a curse placed upon them by foreigners that also commanded this energy. There was one Eilsaran that excelled in his use of the energy. His power was far beyond all others, and so, he needed a Shade that was far hungrier than all the others. Thus, Shroud was born. Shroud is the oldest Shade of all. He was around since the curse was first placed over three thousand years ago.
Shroud doesn't act like the other Shades. The Shades look for an available host and latch on. They don't discriminate in the slightest. All they want is a living target. Shroud is more particular. He only wants the strongest target. The energy that the Eilsarans once commanded still exists in them, and in every living creature, but it is stronger in some creatures and people. Shroud rushed to Eli at the moment of his birth… every Shade of every person who was present at the birth did. They abandoned their hosts in an instant and rushed to take Eli as their own. Shroud nearly killed several of them before he was able to take Eli. Ever since that day, Eli has owned the title of Shroud Bearer.
"Unfortunately, I am." Eli said. "I was there when he detached from his previous host." The woman said. "Really?" Eli was incredibly interested in anything surrounding Shroud's nature. "Indeed… my son was the previous host." "Oh… I'm sorry." When Shroud left his previous host, the severance was so severe that it killed him. He had a massive heart attack and was dead in moments. "That's… alright, young man. You weren't the one that killed him." She stared at the black blob with spite and hatred in her eyes. "Yeah… his kind has caused a lot of grief." Eli said. "Let's not talk about grief, yes?" "You're right… I'm Eli by the way." Eli said as he extended his hand. "I'm Amy." The woman said as she took his hand and shook. "It's nice to meet you." Eli said. "Nice to meet you as well young man."
They let go and changed the subject to something cheerier. "So, Eli, what brings you this far from home?" "Oh, uh… I'm on a quest." "A quest?" "Yes. I heard about strange creatures on a continent to the south of our island. They may hold the key to freeing all of us from the Shades." Eli could feel Shroud get angry at that notion. Over time, Eli learned how to tell what Shroud was feeling. Uneasy, angry, satisfied. Those were the three emotions that made up Shroud's personality… well, those and hunger. Eli needed to know Shroud's emotions at all times. If Shroud got too angry, he'd lash out and kill without thought.
"Who told you this?" Amy asked. "Amelia." Eli said plainly. "Ah, I see. Were that information from anyone else, I'd tell you to go home immediately." "Yeah, I agree, but Amelia has never steered anyone wrong, so… here I am." Eli said with a shrug. "Where's your boat?" Amy asked. "At the southern-most part of the island." "You'd end up going through the Deadlands on the path you're going. I can give you a way around." "Sorry, but Amelia told me to go straight through, and not to take any other paths." "She told you that?" "Yes, she did, and as you know, it's always the right decision to trust her." Eli said. "That it is… if you think you'll be okay, then I won't stop you." Amy said. "Wado… I should be going anyway. I'm losing daylight. It was nice meeting you." Eli said as he began walking off. "Nice meeting you too. I expect to see you again with a cure in hand soon." Amy said.
Eli gave her a smile before turning back to the path ahead. It faded when his eyes met that dead, black land up ahead. He continued moving, trying his best not to change his mind. Shroud got more uneasy with every step Eli took, but not for the same reasons. "I've made up my mind." Eli said to Shroud. Really, Eli wasn't sure if he was trying to convince Shroud or himself. "I'm tired of being your feast, and I'm tired of everyone just being livestock for your kind. It's going to end, and you can't stop me." Eli said. Again, he didn't know who he was convincing. Shroud was getting angry with Eli, but there was nothing he could do. He didn't want to ruin his dinner.
Within half an hour, Eli made it to the edge of the Deadlands. He looked out to the dead, blackened grass. "It's strange." Thought Eli. "If this happened years ago, why is the grass still here? Wouldn't it have decomposed?" Eli looked out into the black field, and without much effort, he saw several bodies. They were everywhere, littering the field like scraps from a beast's horrid feast. Eli tried to keep his stomach calm, as a wave of nausea hit him when he saw the bodies. "There's so much… death here."
There was a gray mist covering the black land. From what he'd heard, the mist was poisonous. "Okay… poisonous mist… how do I get past it…?" Eli knew that Amelia wouldn't have sent him here if there wasn't a way to get through. Eli remembered his studies about the people that came here. He remembered reading about a mask they had that let them breathe in hazardous areas. "There must be one of those masks here…" He looked around, and not far from him, he saw a cluster of machines. Machines were strange on this island, not a single functioning one existing.
"Those look like the war machines… the masks would be in there." Eli muttered. He walked over to them. He approached a tank. What was once a big metal machine of death had now succumbed to age, and was covered in rust. This machine would never work again. "So, this is a tank?" Eli said as he inspected it. He tapped his knuckle against it. It was still sturdy, even when it was dead. "These things were built to last… I hope the mask is the same." He hopped on top of the tank and approached the hatch.
It was partially opened, but rusted in place. Eli tugged on it to test the strength. It barely moved, but it gave enough to tell Eli he could get it open with more attempts. Eli got both of his hands on the hatch and shifted his feet to get more leverage. He pulled with all of his strength, letting out a grunt as he pulled. The hatch popped off of its hinges suddenly. The sudden jolt caused Eli to fall off of the tank. He was more or less okay. "That hurt." He grunted as he got stood back up. He climbed back up to the top of the tank and climbed into the hatch. There were three bodies inside, all of them rotted into skeletons. "I really wouldn't want to be you guys." Eli looked around the tank to find the gas mask. It didn't take much searching, as the tank was tiny. "Why are these things so cramped? I'd hate to be one of the soldiers placed in this thing."
A dark green metal case got his attention. He leaned over and opened it up. Inside was a gas mask, along with spare filters. The case was air tight, so the mask was in good condition. "Alright. This should do." Eli took the mask and the spare filters. He climbed out of the tank and stood back at the edge of the Deadlands. "Well… here goes nothing." He slipped on the mask, making sure the seal was tight. It was hard to breathe in the mask, and Eli didn't find it to be very comfortable. Eli had to deal with it though. He would take a heavy breath over a deadly one. "Okay… let's go." He walked into the Deadlands, the mist sticking to him as he walked on.
Every move he made created shifts in the heavy fog. It swirled around him, twisting in unsettling patterns. "I hate this." Eli said as he looked to the Deadlands. It was worse than he thought in here. Eli had never been exposed to war in his life. Few people in his village had experienced brutal conflicts on this scale. Eli was thrown in the deep end, and it was beginning to overwhelm him. His previous comment, "I hate this," wasn't directed at the area. He was referring to the history behind it. "All these people died, and for what? Just to go home and say, 'Hey, I killed a bunch of people!'? What's the point in that?" There was one path that was elevated, the path Eli was taking. There were wooden planks lied out to prevent someone from slipping and falling into the declines all around the path.
Eli let out a sigh. "I just don't get it. Why do people fight? Why do people have to… hate each other so much? I mean, if everyone in the world, all at the same time decided to stop fighting, and really meant it, then there'd never be fighting again right?" The only one that could hear, and understand, Eli's comment was Shroud, and he was easily bored by Eli's monologues on morality and cooperation, and Eli could feel it. Eli let out another sigh and said, "You don't care, I know. Maybe… maybe I'm just being too naïve." He looked around and saw all of the bodies. There were countless bodies here, more so than what was at the edge of the horrendous biome. "I mean… they must have had a reason to fight, right? Otherwise, they would have given up and gone home… right?" Shroud gave him no answer. "I guess… we just have to accept the fact that… we'll never know the whole story." He continued moving through the Deadlands. He was half-way across now.
He continued his steady pace, the thick fog sticking to him. All was quiet, the only sound being Eli's footsteps on the wooden path. That was the setting, until something shifted. Eli heard something, a thud, from behind him. He turned around to see one of the many bodies that littered this ancient battlefield were now sprawled out on the path. "How did…?" Eli didn't finish; the fear had cut his question short. Eli began stepping away, keeping his gaze on what he thought was a corpse until he was well away from it. He looked back toward the path ahead. He would occasionally look back at the corpse to make sure it didn't move again. "This isn't right…" He mumbled to himself.
He started to pick up the pace, quickly walking rather than his steady stroll from earlier. "Maybe it's just this place… it's creepy, you know?" Eli said, trying to take away the dread, but Eli could feel that Shroud was getting uneasy too. Eli heard another thud, and he stopped dead in his tracks. He turned around, and saw another body lying across the path. "Oh God, they are moving…" Eli said as fear began to fill his heart. He turned to run, but something caught a hold of his leg. He fell over, barely saving his mask from being broken open. The bodies that were around him suddenly came to life and started climbing towards him. They reached for Eli's mask, trying to tear it off. Before any of them could reach, Shroud reacted. He extended his many long tendrils that were hidden in his body. He swung frantically at the living corpses, knocking many of them away.
One of the bodies were persistent, and latched onto Eli's leg. Shroud wrapped one of his tendrils around its neck then lifted it into the air with no effort at all. Shroud then tightened his grip until the corpse's head was severed from the body. No blood spilled from the body or the head. All of it had rotted long ago. Eli, now being free, quickly got back to his feet and began running as fast as he could. Adrenaline took over, and he was running just as fast as he did when he was running away from those beasts. More of the bodies had started animating, so Eli had no reasons to stop running, not realizing he had lost his flask of water during the scuffle earlier. Before Eli even realized it, he had left the Deadlands, and was well away from it. His body unconsciously ripped the mask from his face so he could breathe easier. He kept running without stopping, making his way into the island's southern tundra.