Chapter 09: Forgotten
October 30, 12:32 PM
Spyro walked in the bright sunlight, feeling the warmth on his face. It was warmer today than the previous day, and it was bright out. It contested the dull glum atmosphere that dominated the previous day, and the previous day's events…
Horren lead the group, with Spyro, Cynder, Flame and Jericho right behind. Sparx flew above them, cheerful as could be. They had walked for at least an hour now, following Cynder and Horren's lead. For now, they knew the path, and the others were inclined to follow. Trees surrounded them at every turn, a stark contrast to the fields they had been in earlier. Thick forest surrounded the area around Horren's home, and Spyro hoped that Horren knew where he was going.
Soon, they reached a large clearing with several buildings. From where they stood just outside the town, they could see right into the town. The wooden buildings looked fairly new, and the entire area was filled with people. Various anthro species walked around, though they were dominated by squirrels, beavers and raccoons. Two dragons were in the mix, though of course they were feral and not bi-pedal like the others. They mixed in with the crowds as this small town was bustling with life. The forest seemed to end here at the town, with a mountain in the distance. In both directions leading out of the town there were large roads where people filtered in and out of the town. Many of the people flowing in came with large packs or even in carts. Spyro even saw a few jeeps parked near the town, restored and weighed down with gear or other items as this was an obvious trade hub.
"Welcome to the Over Rail." Horren said, lifting his hand to present the town to them.
"Why's it called that?" Flame asked.
"Simple, because it's over a railway." Cynder responded, walking towards a large structure near the heart of the town.
"A railway?" Flame asked, curious now.
"Beyond here is a large stretch of land that is impassable by foot. Well, you could try to pass it but it wouldn't be very wise." Horren said, turning to them.
"Why's… that?" Spyro asked.
"It's land that's too dangerous to traverse. The scars from humanity's last war still haven't healed there, and strange things happen there. You don't want to try walking through there. They built a railway here to bypass it for travelers. We'll be taking that." Cynder explained.
"Couldn't we just fly over?" Flame said while tilting his head.
"Yes, well we seem to have someone here who can't fly…" Cynder said, turning to Jericho. Jericho just smirked, crossing his arms.
"Don't forget to stock up, it's a long journey." Horren remarked as he pointed to the various shops lining the main road.
"Right. Thanks for your help Horren." Jericho said, putting his gas mask and hood on as to not be recognized.
"Good luck to all of you." Horren said with a smile before turning to return home.
"You guys go get us a train, we'll get some supplies." Spyro said.
"No, I'd better come with you. I have an idea of what supplies we may need." Jericho said as he pointed to Flame so he'd go with Cynder to the railway.
"You'd better hurry. I'm not waiting for you Forger." Cynder said before turning to the station. Jericho just shook his head.
"What're you going to get?" Spyro asked Jericho as they walked towards the different shops set up along the main road.
"Supplies for me. From the terrain we've passed, I'd like some better gear. It's still quite a walk until we get to Baltimore, let alone New York. I also don't trust your friend's path so much…"
"I trust she knows where she's going."
"You do, I don't. Can never be too prepared…" Jericho said as he walked to a stand selling climbing gear. The salesman was a rather tall fox, and went into a whole sales pitch on what gear was best for what environment. He kept trying to push different pieces on Jericho, claiming they were "top of the line" for anyone here. Jericho, however, wasn't having it. He immediately pushed aside the fox's sales pitches and asked for specific pieces of equipment only. The fox grew more frustrated, obviously trying to sell Jericho less than quality gear for a higher price… Jericho was no fool, he knew exactly what he wanted.
Eventually Jericho purchased what he had wanted, and left the lower quality gear behind. He had purchased some simple things like ropes, hooks and different smaller pieces of equipment.
"What're you going to do with all that?" Spyro asked him as they moved to purchase food and other supplies for the journey onwards.
"Just in case I need them. Always handy to keep some around." Jericho said as he walked with Spyro to purchase food.
Buying any kind of food supplies in bulk for later was hard. Most of the food here was already prepared, fresh. The only best bet for food to save for later were old cans… which looked to be in short supply around here. One stand did happen to have a large supply of cans, which they bought immediately. Those gems Spyro had gotten from selling that handgun were finally paying off, and Jericho had to buy another pack just to hold the extra food in. Looks like Flame would have something extra to carry with his light pack…
Spyro and Jericho began to walk back to the center of town, and the railway that lead across the barren landscape. The structure in question was a large stone structure that looked to have been quickly carved from large pieces of hardened stone, held together by its sheer weight. Large columns held up a massive slab of stone that served to be the ceiling to this structure. It was absolutely massive, and the entire town was built around it. This was not a work of the Forgers. Forgers built their structures from concrete and used precision materials and tools, this structure was quickly carved, each edge being rough and looking like the work had been done in a short amount of time. Each stone column was one solid piece of stone. The building itself looked to be the same, though small faults in the stone looked as if the stones had been rapidly heated then sealed together as the stone neared liquid state. The walls were simple, but had inscriptions and some intricate designs along them. One trademark Spyro noticed was that the stone was almost all pure black, or at least a dark grey.
"Wonder who built this place…" Flame openly pondered as they walked amongst other creatures who moved up the main staircase into the main structure.
"Dragons, obviously." Cynder commented.
"Dragons?" Flame responded back, surprised almost.
"Mountain dragons from the northwest. This building used to be an outpost for them, not anymore." Cynder remarked as they passed an anthro squirrel guard who stood near the doors, a rifle of some sorts held tightly in his arms. He wore old tactical armor taken from the humans, with some modifications done to it. Some colors had been changed, matching the flags flying above the door.
"Place must have been switched off more times than once." Jericho said, pointing to a number of flags that had been hung near the door but had been removed. Some old tattered pieces remained, flapping along with the current flag of the current group who held this structure.
"It is a place of trade. You can imagine how important that is." Cynder said, passing through the doors and into the heart of the structure. Inside it was fairly simple, some improvised electric lights providing light for the structure while an all wooden floor had been placed in, clashing with the blackened rocks put in place by the dragons. The wood was probably put in some time after, and was haphazardly done. Benches and tables lined the floors, with many creatures taking up residence there with their belongings. The place was packed. Wherever this train was, it was located in the back, below the ground. Staircases lead down to the platform itself, blocked off by rails and small booths where guards monitored the flow of traffic. Today, however, nobody was going down to the platform. Guards stood in front of the stairs, denying anyone entrance.
"Oh boy… doesn't look like we're going anywhere anytime soon." Spyro said, seeing the gates.
"What? Why's it closed?" Cynder asked, confused.
"There's a battle happening at the other end, they've closed the railway in the meantime." One nearby fox said, leaning back in his seat.
"Battle, what do you mean battle?" Cynder asked.
"Dragons are attacking the crossing up north, it's a trade dispute. They think the railway passes unfairly through their land, and uses their old temples of worship. We'll see how long it takes for them to give up and go back home." The fox remarked, looking almost uninterested in the entire subject.
"Well what now?" Flame asked as the crowd of people within the station walked idly about. If it was true there was a battle raging up north, then it would probably be a while before anything moved here.
Jericho sighed, crossing his arms.
"We may have to find an alternate route north." He simply said.
"An alternate route could take weeks, months maybe." Cynder said.
"Are those regions really that large?" Spyro asked.
"Pretty much, yeah. The only other way north is a road to the east but it's hard to get to from here." Cynder explained.
"If we don't make it before winter sets in, we might as well not go at all." Jericho said. Spyro frowned. It was true, winter was drawing close and it would be less than desirable conditions for traveling out in the open.
"Sounds like you guys could use an alternate method of travel!" A voice suddenly said, cutting into their conversation. The group turned, seeing a short, thin bi-pedal rat. He smiled up at them with a look of joy.
"You could say that." Spyro said to him.
"Well you guys would be in luck!" The rat said, straightening the tattered clothes that barely hung to his small frame.
"Why, you know another way north?" Jericho asked, having to look down at the rat who was only half his height.
"Oh, do I ever! I happen to have the only way north from here!"
"Show us." Jericho simply said, wondering if they were just being taken for a ride. Cynder shook her head as the rat lead them gleefully back outside of the station. More and more people were gathering near the station outside, anxious to enter and possibly ride the train up north. However, they didn't know what the group knew as they passed them along the stairs. They knew, it was just a bottleneck inside. For the people on the way in, they didn't know yet.
The rat lead them away from the station, towards a derelict hut near the edge of town. The "hut" was a crude assembly of concrete slabs that formed a small structure. A curtain served as the door, and the rat happily opened it for the group. Jericho kept his weapon close, just in case.
"Ta-da!" The rat exclaimed as the hut was built over a staircase leading down below. It wasn't nearly as extravagant as the station, but it at least appeared to go somewhere… Jericho was first down the stairs, the hastily made stone steps being harder to traverse in the dimly lit passage.
"I hope there really is a train down here…" Jericho said, using the dim torches lining the walls as light, as well as Sparx who flew next to his head to provide some illumination.
"Oh, don't worry you won't be disappointed!"
"I hope…" Jericho merely commented. Spyro followed behind Jericho, looking around at the crude walls leading down. They finally arrived below at the platform itself, which wasn't that much more impressive. The platform was a crude carved out room in the rock itself, with generator powered lights illuminating the room. A pair of small carts rested on a track, going off into a dark tunnel. The carts were just sheets of metal welded together with seats lining the inside. They were small and crude compared to what might have been at the actual station. Sparx flew next to the carts, looking at them for a bit before shaking his head in disapproval.
"This track goes all the way north, and you don't have to worry about those dragon thugs or those squirrel imperialists either!" The rat said as he bowed next to the carts.
"Isn't exactly a lucrative business you're running here, is it?" Cynder asked as she looked over the carts.
"Well, we just completed the tunnel, you know. We hope that as we get more riders, we can really be fierce competitors!" The rat said, jumping up and down for emphasis on the last bit.
"Uh huh…" Cynder simply replied.
"Now, that'll be 15 gems each!" The rat said.
"15, that's triple what the station costs. What kind of rip off is that? These carts can barely hold themselves together!" Cynder said in disgust. Jericho grunted, crossing his arms while clutching his rifle. Cynder approached the rat with a bit of anger, with Spyro, Flame and Sparx keeping a low profile for the moment.
"I uh… I, 5 gems, it's a 5 gem special today, did I mention?!" The rat said, very quickly stepping from his overcharged prices. Cynder huffed as Spyro gave the rat the gems, still unsatisfied that it cost the same amount of money to cross in these buckets as it would for the actual trains next door.
"Let's hope this tunnel actually goes all the way, huh?" Jericho said as he made his way to the cart.
"Uh, don't you worry, th-they do!" The rat said, now a little frightened of his customers. He fiddled his thumbs, looking less and less enthusiastic. Jericho climbed in first, followed by the others as they settled down inside the crude vehicle. At least it held itself together, even if it was cheap metal.
The rat let out a high pitched whistle as they stepped inside, the sounds echoing down the tunnel.
"Come on Marty, let's go!" The rat said. Another rat ran from inside the tunnel, joining them in the cart as he quickly used his little arms to thrust himself up. The other rat leapt inside the cart as well, both occupying the space in the back of the cart.
"One trip north, comin' up!" The other rat said, holding onto a bucket that served as his helmet. They pulled on a lever in the back, releasing the brakes and sending them screeching forward. The group were taken by surprise at the speed at which the vehicle accelerated, being pushed back a few inches as it jolted down the tunnel.
"Jeez, I didn't think this thing could move so fast!" Cynder said, holding onto the edge with her claws.
"Told you it wasn't a total rip off miss!" The first rat said back to her, having to talk over the whistling wind and the sounds of grinding rails. Spyro held on tightly himself, having to tuck his wings in so the wind wouldn't catch them. Sparx whined as he had to land on someone rather then fly with them because of the high speeds of the cart.
The tunnel was NOT straight by any stretch of the imagination. Turns, bumps and hills caused the tunnel to go every which direction, causing the cart to jolt every time it changed direction rapidly. It almost made Spyro lose his lunch!
The tunnel gave way to a cave system, the tracks riding along the walls, going across gaps in the cave floor and at one point spiraling around a large stalagmite rising to the roof. The tracks finally met the tunnel again at the other end, with no end to the sharp turns in sight.
"Wooooohoo!" The rat exclaimed from the back, both his hands resting on the brakes and acceleration levers. The other one just sat happily as well, along for the ride probably.
After a while they finally settled on a straight way of track, the tunnel calming down and returning to its boring nature as the cart slowed down as well.
Spyro let out a sigh as it did, relaxing in the cart along with Flame and Cynder. Jericho was the only one who had retained his composure, just sitting along the side with his rifle close.
"Would it have killed you… to make a straight track…?" Cynder asked, letting out a soft grunt.
"You wonder why the station has a monopoly on trains here miss? It's because they built their tunnels in the only straight passage available here. It's all thick rock here, you have to dig the perfect route to get on through." The rat explained. This explanation did nothing for Cynder who simply scoffed, settling in for the journey. The rat just shrugged his shoulders, continuing to operate the levers as they sailed through the tunnel.
The tunnel itself was cramped, very cramped. It was just big enough for them to pass through and the walls were very quickly built, with drill and shovel marks still being etched deep into the rock. Lamps were hung all throughout the tunnel, albeit at a very large distance to give some light. The other rat leaned over to a post in the corner of the cart, lighting a lamp that was dangling from the top. The lamp gave the cart itself more light, and illuminated their stretch of the track.
"Better settle in, it'll be a while before we reach the station up north." The rat explained. Spyro looked out at the black tunnel before them, seeing the small yellow orbs ahead that were the lamps. Just how long were these tunnels? Were they all hand built?
Jericho had taken advantage of the break, leaning his head back as he was already fast asleep. Spyro cocked his head before pulling his sack over to rummage through it. He retrieved his old CD player and gleefully took advantage of the downtime to use it. When he turned it on however, he was sad to see the batteries had died. He let out a sad sigh as he had forgotten to search for new ones at the market when he had the chance. Damn it Spyro!
"Here." Spyro heard Jericho and looked up to see Jericho pull something from his jacket and toss it to him. Spyro fumbled with it, almost dropping it as he looked it over. It was a device of some sorts Spyro hadn't seen before.
"It's a universal charger." Jericho explained with his head still leaned back. Spyro could see what he meant by it, seeing two batteries attached to a cylindrical device with some wires. It looked as if the batteries went in as normal, but they were fed power by the cylinder. The cylinder had a hand crank on the side, likely where it generated power from. A small green light on its side indicated full charge. Spyro carefully took off the panel for the batteries, letting them slip out and into his backpack. He placed the new "batteries" inside and let the wire hang free from the device. He set them on the floor of the cart and used his talons to hoist his "headphones" so he could hear. A simple flip of the switch showed it had power, and to Spyro's delight he was once again listening to the soothing sounds of music to try and drown out the sounds of the cart gliding over the rails below.
"Did you guys build this, all by yourselves?" Flame asked some time later. Spyro had drifted to sleep, as had Jericho and Cynder leaving only Flame, Sparx and the rats awake.
"Some of it, yeah!" The first rat exclaimed.
"Most of these tunnels had already been carved out, and track laid down by someone before we found the tunnels a few years ago." The second rat said, the one the first one had named Marty.
"Yeah, we don't know who did it, they were all abandoned and not connected. So we uh… finished the job for them!" The first one said. Flame smirked, looking at the walls. There were definite sections where it looked like someone had put time and effort into digging out straight and perfect tunnels, but who would do them?
Spyro yawned, slowly waking back up after a half an hour nap.
"Hey, sleep well sunshine?" Flame asked, smirking at Spyro who only yawned back at him.
A soft thud caught Spyro's attention, coming somewhere down the tunnel. It caught the rat's attention too.
"What was that?" Flame asked, a second thud causing the cart to shake as they sped down the track.
"Uh… should be nothing." The first rat said, clutching onto the brake lever. Spyro looked around the dark tunnel, not really seeing an origin for the thuds. A third one came, louder this time. There was a soft rumbling sound, and then suddenly the roof gave way several feet before them.
The rats yelled out in surprise, as did Spyro and Flame. The rat slammed the brake lever down, causing the cart to come to an emergency stop. The rocks had given out so suddenly that it awoke Jericho and Cynder with a start. The cart came screeching to a stop only a short distance from the tunnel collapse.
"Damn it! It'll take weeks to clear this out!" The rat said as he leapt down from his cart, gripping his head in frustration. Jericho leapt out suddenly as well, shocked at what had happened.
"What's going on?" He asked, getting his bearings.
"Tunnel came down, for no reason!" Flame replied as he hopped out as well.
Cynder just stared at the rocks before angrily grunting, turning to the rat.
"I thought you said these tunnels went all the way!" She said, walking to him.
"They, they did! I don't know why the ceiling caved in!" He said, backing up to the cart. Cynder just growled while walking towards him.
"Cool it Cynder!" Spyro said, calling her off. She just huffed in response, turning to look around again.
"Well now what?" Flame asked once again.
"Where's that lead?" Jericho asked, seeing a doorway resting nearby along the tunnel's wall.
"We uh, we've never been down that way." The rat said, hiding behind the cart.
"It probably leads to the surface, to the broken lands…" She said while looking up at the roof.
"Yeah, yeah what she said! I wouldn't go there…" The rat said, his other rat friend now cowering with him.
"What else can we do?" Spyro asked, frowning.
"Let's go back! Yeah!" Marty said, popping out from behind his head.
"Yeah, yeah, maybe the battle's over back there!"
"We don't have much of a choice, maybe we're far enough in to where we can find our way out…" Jericho said as he walked over to the door.
"No, no you're crazy! I'd just turn around, go back home!"
"He's right." Cynder said, walking to the door with Jericho. A soft electric light illuminated the random human-crafted door resting randomly down a long tunnel built by some random person.
Jericho reached out to the door, pulling on its handle and opening it. The interior was dark and decrypt, the hallways having not been illuminated in some time by anything.
"We'll just have to see where this leads. Maybe we can find a detour around here." Jericho said as he pulled out a flashlight to take a look around.
"You guys are crazy! We're out of here!" The rat exclaimed before leaping into the cart with his friend, throwing the lever in reverse to send them back the other way on the track. Spyro watched as the cart speed off down the hallway, until the orange globe of their lamp was long gone.
"Good riddance to them." Jericho said, removing his mask and hood.
They were alone now, alone in this tunnel. Jericho turned back to the door, moving to enter the hallway. Cynder followed after him, followed by Spyro and Flame. Sparx buzzed by Jericho's head his natural light giving some assistance to Jericho's flashlight.
Spider's cobwebs coated the walls, along with different mosses and roots. The grey concrete was cracked and covered in dirt. It had been some time before anyone had traversed these hallways, and Spyro wondered if they were the first since the war.
It was almost a maze down here, with different paths leading different places, making it very possible to get lost down here. They kept close to one another, using Sparx as a guide as he kept close to Jericho. It was cold in the passageways, and Spyro could vaguely hear steam seeping from cold grey pipes that sometimes ran along the ceilings. Other times he could hear water dripping down, forming puddles from cracks in the roof.
"Must mean we're close to the surface if water's seeping down here." Jericho said, extending a hand to feel the dripping water.
"That or an underground lake." Cynder said, looking dismissively at it.
"Worth a shot." Jericho responded before continuing down the hallway. They finally reached a staircase leading up, a body lying next to the stairs. The body wore tattered and rotted clothing, looking to be a uniform of some sorts. The body had long decayed away, only leaving a skeleton. By the look of the skull, it looked human.
"Maybe… we should turn back…" Flame said as he saw Jericho shine his light onto the skull.
"Well they left us here, so our only bet is to reach the surface, or get around that blockage." Jericho said back, sidestepping the body to climb the stairs. Flame sighed, shaking his head to follow the others. The stairs lead into another set of dark hallways, but cracks in the ceiling revealed a light source above, along with more water that was flowing into the hallways from somewhere. One hallway was a steady stream with different mosses, making it more difficult to traverse.
"Are we under a lake?" Spyro asked since there was so much water emptying into the hallways.
"We might actually be…" Jericho said. They continued on before climbing another set of stairs. Eventually the stairs lead out into a much more open room, with windows that had light cascading through them. They had reached the surface.
"See, I told you." Jericho said with a smirk.
Cynder just scoffed, but followed nonetheless. The room had a foul odor to it, probably from what was outside. The cool grey walls were being overtaken by green vines and plants that were coming from outside, along with water pooling from the windows. The windows themselves were small, and up against the already tall ceiling. Spyro could see trees outside, though from his perspective it looked like they were below ground still since grass was right up against the windows.
Cold grey machinery rested against the walls in here, with pipes having long ago collapsed, creating mounds of debris they had to traverse to get through the room. Outside this room there were some offices, all empty as the last. Spyro spotted some desks and shelves in each of the rooms, along with white and black machines that Spyro had seen before, all sitting on the desks and left untouched. Eventually they reached the entrance which was at the end of another set of stairs. Before they climbed the stairs, however, they reached another set of bodies in the lobby.
These bodies were different then the human in the basement. These were not human, they were of various creatures, possibly scavengers since they were all bi-pedal and not feral. Jericho knelt down next to them, patting their bodies over for ammo.
"Wonder what these guys are doing here…" Flame asked as he looked them over.
"That's a good question…" Jericho responded with, finding that they all had no ammo on them.
"Well they don't have anything useful. Let's see where we are." Jericho said as he turned to the stairs. The others followed, climbing the last set of stairs before reaching a rusted steel door above. Jericho pushed on the door, letting the light flood in.
It was raining outside, and very dark actually. Trees sprouted up from the ground, going yards into the sky, possibly a hundred feet or more. Some looked like they were two hundred feet, easy. Lush green vegetation lined the ground, the cold air not doing anything to hamper the full bloom of some of the plants nearby. Mixed in with the vegetation were what looked like forger structures. Concrete buildings were barely visible as trees were now using them as foundations for their roots, using it to propel them further into the sky. The ground immediately before them used to be a concrete lot, now it was a lush field of grass and plants, with some grey cracked pieces of concrete barely visible below. Husks of cars rested in the field as well, confirming the fact that it was once a parking lot.
Above the sky churned, blue-gray light coming from above, meaning that it was at least day still even as this rainstorm passed through. Jericho grunted as he stepped into the rain, the others following.
"So… this is the broken lands?" Spyro asked, looking around.
Cynder gave a soft shiver, nodding.
"Yep… it's a lot harder to traverse then you might think." She commented as she stepped out with Jericho.
"Traversable or not, we still have lost time to make up." Jericho said as he pulled out his compass. He found north, and began following it. Spyro and the others fell right behind him, seeing that he knew where he was going.
Spyro looked all around as they walked, seeing the absolutely massive trees that rose from the ground, the various dips and jagged ground that rose with them, and the eerily silent human structures that were hidden among the trees. They were barely visible amongst the dense overgrowth, but Spyro could see them still. The jagged rocks caught Spyro's attention as they pierced through the buildings, suggesting these were new features, new and quickly forming features as some large hills and rocks had knocked over human structures, the remains of their foundations visible along the rising rock. Spyro couldn't even recognize the species of the trees, some of them being so exotic, sporting so many different colors that Spyro would have thought he was in a jungle, not a forest in October.
They walked quickly as the rain seemed vary in terms of intensity, and getting caught out in the open during a down pour was less than desirable. Spyro was already soaked from the rain and was already feeling miserable from the cold that was around them. It was so much colder here then it had been back at Over Rail, yet they were so close to one another.
A long howl broke the group's concentration, causing them to stop and look around. Jericho held his rifle close, letting the barrel sway in the rain as he scanned the various trees. Everything was some shade of grey or blue, and it was hard to see anything through the dense vegetation. Cynder grit her teeth, trying to look around herself, but the rain was making it more and more difficult.
"What… what was that?" Flame asked, looking around again. Spyro had to scan the area again himself, unsure what it had been exactly.
"I don't know…" Cynder said, looking a little more frightened.
"Whatever it is, I'm not sticking around to find out what is." Jericho said, turning to quickly move again through the forest. He was right, they had to find a way through.
A few minutes later they heard another howl, then another. They didn't sound so much like howls as they did long and drawn out cries. It was very unsettling the more they heard them, and Spyro was beginning to feel a little uneasy as the situation continued.
The howls got longer and more intense as they continued, coming from different directions. It was like they were surrounded as the group started to get into a sprint. It was strange hearing them, they didn't get more aggressive as time went on, only more somber, more pain.
Spyro scanned the tree line, hoping to get a gaze if they were being approached by something sinister. He could hear whispers again, but very different from those in the mall. They felt more cold, and wanting. A panicked look around lead Spyro's gaze over a fallen piece of debris that was once a building. There, standing in an empty doorframe Spyro swore he saw the silhouette of something-someone looking at them. There were no features, nothing that Spyro could discern from this figure other than a blackness that looked back at Spyro. He tried to look longer, see more of this creature but just as quickly as Spyro saw the figure it was gone. It had faded from view, and only an empty doorframe remained.
"Come on Spyro!" Flame said, ushering for him to keep up.
"Yeah, yeah, right!" Spyro said, sprinting up the grassy hill to keep up with the others. Spyro heard more whispers, and he saw another figure, then another. He could see them dotting the distant trees, and all along the empty ruins nearby. The howls grew more somber-filled, and were getting closer as well, making Spyro move urgently with the group.
"There, over there!" Jericho said, pointing up at the trees. Spyro looked up, seeing the metallic wreckage of an old human air vehicle resting between two large trees. It's hull had been lodged in place by the two trees, and it looked sturdy, and well enough off the ground that it could offer safe harbor.
Jericho dashed underneath it, tossing a rope from his sack with a hook at the end. The hook secured itself in place on the craft and Jericho quickly began pulling himself up to the craft. Spyro, Cynder, Flame and Sparx flapped their wings to fly up to the craft, using a hole created by one of the trees as an entrance. It wasn't long before Jericho hoisted himself inside, grunting as he sprawled himself against the wall of the craft. Spyro sighed, looking around the old air ship.
It was long and narrow, compared to Jericho's Osprey. The body itself was very long, with the rear section having been bent upwards. It looked as if the force of the trunks pressing against the craft had pushed its rear section up like that, and bent some of the walls inwards. The only feature that gave away that it was an air vehicle of some sorts were the odd fins in the back. Both of the wings on the craft, two features Spyro had noticed were on almost any type of craft were missing, having long ago been ripped off. Judging by how firm the craft was, it could be guessed that the two trees grew rapidly and lodged the craft in-between the two trunks. It was almost like standing in the floor of a building, rather than a rickety old craft.
Jericho pulled his rope up and set his sack aside, relaxing now that the moment of danger had passed. The whispers were gone, along with the intense cold. It actually felt… warmer now. Spyro let himself relax a bit at that as well. The danger had, for the moment, really passed.
"Man, hope this thing's high enough to keep us away from whatever those things were…" Flame said as he peered down at the forest's floor from the craft.
"From here we can see whatever tries to attack us now." Jericho said as he held his rifle close.
"We could have gotten higher ourselves without your help…" Cynder said as she walked passed Jericho towards the front of the lodged craft. Jericho just shrugged at her response, pulling out some pots from his sack to begin cooking something. Spyro felt his stomach rumble, reminding him it had been a while since Horren's generous breakfast… Some dinner was a welcomed thing indeed.
/Transitioning…/
[Done]
Jericho sat softly, looking out over the hole in the aircraft's hull. His rifle rested in his lap, ready to engage any targets that he might have seen. It had been pretty quiet since the others had gone off to rest. Some of the seats remained where they had been left on the aircraft, making for some nice temporary beds. Well, as nice as they could be since most of them were rotten from the cold jungle atmosphere.
The rain had continued to fall steadily since they arrived, changing at times from harder downpours to lighter showers. Looking out, Jericho wondered how a jungle could adapt and survive in such a cold harsh environment. Well, it wouldn't have been the craziest thing he had seen. In his travels, he had come across some very… unique locations.
He heard one of the seats near him shift, causing him to turn to see who it was. He saw Cynder getting up, walking over near him. She didn't say anything to him, only looking as if she was going to fly out of the aircraft.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Jericho said, rubbing his hands together.
"If I had wanted your advice, I'd ask for it." She responded coldly.
"Just saying, it's not exactly the most hospitable place out there."
Cynder didn't respond, only opening her wings to fly off into the night. Jericho just sat back in his seat, putting a foot up against the hull of the craft. She was gone a few minutes before returning, turning her head every so often to look behind her.
"See something?" Jericho asked.
"Something about this place… it isn't right."
"I've been getting that feeling myself. I don't like this place."
"I couldn't sleep, I keep feeling like something is gnawing at my mind…" Cynder said, turning around, shaking her head.
"It's just like the mall." Jericho said, remembering he had something similar happen back in the underground mall.
"No, it's different here. It feels more… aggressive. I can't put my talon on it." She said, turning to face the jungle again.
"I thought you Sentinels were supposed to be the kings of that sort of thing." Jericho remarked, half in a joking manner, half… in an accusing manner.
"Very funny. We're not evil like everyone thinks. I could accuse you of the very same thing." She said, looking him up and down.
"Lady, I don't spit purple fire from my mouth. I think I'm clean." Jericho said, shrugging it off.
"Hardly." She simply responded.
"Well since you are the… professional on a place like this, I don't suppose you know anything else about this place?" Jericho asked, turning to her with a slightly smug look. She just held a cold, solemn look as she looked out over the forest.
"Just that places like these are forbidden, forgotten. People don't come through here since it's so dangerous. I'm starting to see why. The land here is so unpredictable, and there is little way to navigate it with any maps."
"Only thing I can say about this place is…" Jericho squinted at a map he held in his hands, trying to look at it in the dim light he had. "Well I can't tell where we are really, just somewhere northeast of Charlotte. Very northeast."
"Is that a map?" Cynder asked, looking at the paper Jericho held.
"Perhaps." He said, almost sarcastically. Cynder just frowned at him.
"Is it, or isn't it? I'd like to see so I know where we're going." She said coldly. Jericho just tossed the map at her dismissively. She gave him a scowl as she set the paper on the floor, opening it up to look. She used a gemstone on a collar she wore. It was much, much smaller than the one Spyro had attached to his neck, and it was what tipped Jericho off to her allegiance to the Sentinels. All Sentinels wore a brace like that, and hers denoted her as a simple recruit. It gave off a low light, illuminating the map just enough to read.
"There aren't many landmarks here… and we're still well within the wasteland. We'd be better off heading east, trying to hit one of the railway or roadways on the way to Richmond. Richmond's a major trading center… we might be able to get help there."
"So we'll head east. It'll be hard to make it with little visual reference… We are just guessing at this point."
"There are all sorts of underground outposts along the way, if we can find them we can get help there."
"If you're going from Over Rail, we weren't. There's no telling where this line's taken us." Jericho said, crossing his arms.
Cynder just sighed, not wanting to admit he was right. They were completely lost, with no way to orient themselves on any type of map.
A soft howl reverberated through the jungle, similar to the one they had heard on the way in. Jericho grabbed his weapon, sitting up more as he scanned the area below more carefully.
"You heard it too…?" Cynder asked, looking around.
"Yeah… I've heard it a few times off and on… I don't like it." Jericho said.
"Don't think it's of any danger right now…" Cynder commented, the howl having come from a long distance away.
"Still, I don't trust this place one bit." Jericho said, not letting his guard down one bit. His eyes darted across the landscape, spotting a sign in the distance hanging over what probably was a road at one point. The paint had long been chipped away, denying any navigational data the sign might have lent them.
Jericho sighed.
"Really wish that sign wasn't decayed. Really wish we could find out where the hell we are…" Jericho said, referring to the sign.
"For once I agree with you." Cynder simply said.
/Transitioning…/
[Done]
Soft whispers, there were those soft whispers again.
He could hear them all around him… in his head even. Was he awake, asleep? Was he imagining them? He tried to focus… focus on them all, but it was too hard.
Where was he?
What was he?
Spyro tried to focus hard, opening his eyes. He found himself on the seats again, but… they were drastically different. They weren't the rotten, old seats he had fallen asleep on, they were instead a set of pristine, freshly upholstered seats with intricate colors ranging from whites to blues. Looking up, he saw that the plane was also no longer wedged between the trees, but somewhere else. Outside the window he could see sky… sky and clouds ranging as far as the eye could see. Was… was it flying?
Looking around more, he could see the lights inside the plane were on, and there were people, people everywhere. His row of seats were one of the only rows that lacked people, and their voices and laughter filled the air. He could hear a soft whirring sound coming from outside, similar to the sounds of the engines on Jericho's Osprey when they were running.
Spyro got up softly, walking through the middle of the cabin. Nobody seemed to notice him as he looked at all the humans inside the craft.
It had to be another memory…
Spyro turned, fishing into his pack to find the shard. The shard was glowing a bright white, only confirming Spyro's thoughts. He set the crystal back, walking around to view the different humans.
The plane was packed, and the atmosphere a little solemn. While there was conversation within the aircraft, it wasn't prevalent. Sad faces dotted the aircraft, and all the humans were huddled up in winter clothing. It was a scene similar to the mall in the second scene. Looking outside again he could see that it might be winter, since the clouds were a dark grey and he could feel a bitter cold coming from the windows as he drew near.
Where were these humans going? Was this around the same time as the memory in the mall? Were they escaping from something as well?
Conversations ahead of him caught his attention, coming from the front of the aircraft. Walking in that direction, Spyro could see an open door leading to the very front, the cockpit as Jericho had called it. A human walked into the door, closing it.
Spyro walked up to the closed door, frowning. A few moments later the door opened, and the human left the cockpit. The human female walked to the rear of the plane for something, and Spyro took the chance to enter.
There were two humans sitting in the cockpit, one on either side. They sat at the controls, and were probably flying the craft. Spyro took a moment to take in all the controls, comparing them to what he remembered on the Osprey, watching as the pilots flicked at different nobs and switches, wondering just what each of them might have done.
"That makes… what, 15 flights today?" One human asked.
"I've lost count, might be 20 for all I know." The other responded, whipping his eyes a bit.
"Man, it's crazy, I can't believe what's happening."
"I know, I saw some of the reporting last night. They stopped showing footage of Colorado yesterday, do you know anything happening over there?"
"No, just what they showed before it was cut off. I think the Government is trying to hide it all."
"Hide it? I think it's a little too late for that. We all saw the coverage of Salt Lake City when it was butchered. Now they have this evacuation going on."
"I'm just glad we're here in the east shuttling people from evac centers to Charlotte. I'm hearing horror stories from pilots out west ferrying survivors out of hot zones."
"Like what?"
"You haven't heard them? I saw Richard the other day, he was one of them. He was telling me that the entire airport was on fire, and he was one of the last planes to leave, people just running all over the tarmac in fear. Jesus, I've never heard of anything like that."
"Hold on, we're coming in on Charlotte now, let's contact the tower."
"Right." The pilot sitting in the right seat leaned over, flipping a few switches before talking into the microphone on his head.
"Charlotte tower this is Kilo 1-7, requesting permission to land, over."
Spyro took this chance to take a look out their windows, seeing that they weren't the only aircraft in the air that day. He could see faint objects in the distance, in front of them and to the far right and left. Their outlines were vague but Spyro could make them out as aircraft. They flew in a straight line, like their own aircraft. How crowded was it up here?
"Uh… roger that Charlotte. Any idea when that'll clear up?"
Spyro turned back to the pilots, watching them. He couldn't hear who was talking to them, but their faces was telling Spyro of what they might have been hearing. Their faces had a look of shock, nervousness and anxiety as they looked at each other.
"What do they mean, Charlotte is shutting down? Where the hell do they expect us to land this thing? I hope they realize we only brought enough fuel to land there…" The pilot sitting in the left seat mumbled as he started pulling out a map.
"If they shut down the airport, does that mean all of US East is shut down…?"
"Don't be stupid, they only shut down the airport, the land route may still be open."
"I don't know, it's just like what they did at US North. First it was a checkpoint, then a few airports, then the whole zone was shut down."
"US North is closer to them then we are, I think we're fine."
The two pilots stopped talking, instead looking down at a map for reference. Spyro frowned, remembering the names they were saying. Charlotte, Colorado, it was all familiar to Spyro. Charlotte, was that the city they had been in earlier, back where Hunter was? The name sounded so similar, as did the circumstances. Back in the mall, Spyro remembered the soldiers talking about the land route to Charlotte closing up. Was this what was happening at the same time? If they closed the land route, and now this 'airport', was the entire zone being shut down like they had feared?
Another thought came across Spyro's mind. If this was happening at the same time as the mall memory, just how close together were these events…?
A flash of orange from outside the cockpit's windows caught Spyro's attention, making his stomach come into his throat. The flash was far off into the distance, and disappeared as soon as it appeared. Spyro looked hard at where he had seen the flash, barely having caught it. The pilots didn't seem to notice it, continuing to operate the aircraft.
"Whoa… you feel that?" One of the pilots asked.
"Yeah I feel it too…" The other responded as he braced his control column. The craft started to shake slightly, and Spyro felt uneasy.
There, again in the distance there was a flash. Spyro turned, looking out once more into the dark cloudy skies. Just as quick as it had spawned it vanished from sight. What was it, was it the light from before…?
Suddenly, a bright beam of orange cascaded down from the layer of clouds above them, slicing through to the cloud layer below them, splitting the sky. The beam of pure orange dominated the whole sky, and shook the aircraft with its presence.
"What the hell is that?!" One of the pilots asked as they saw it, veering the aircraft slightly to avoid the beam. While it was far off in the distance, its presence alone was enough to shutter the plane. Spyro caught a glimpse of one of the aircraft closer to the beam, seeing its sleek silver silhouette off in the distance before the craft erupted into a ball of flames, shaking itself to pieces because it was so close to the beam of light.
"Oh Jesus! Jesus Christ!" The other pilot yelled as the windows on the craft cracked and began to shatter. Spyro braced himself as he could feel the craft rocking violently. A sudden boom reverberated through the craft, causing Spyro to fall to the floor. He quickly got up, moving back to the window just in time to see what he guessed were the engines on this aircraft engulfed in a ball of fire.
The pilots braced hard as the craft then went into a steep dive, plunging towards the layer of clouds below them. Up ahead, Spyro could see another beam of orange light cut through the clouds, causing the clouds below to turn black and red. Lightning began to flash throughout the sky around them, leaping from cloud to cloud. A bolt of lightning hit an aircraft off in the distance, Spyro able to catch a glimpse of it as it caught fire itself and plunged into the clouds below.
What the hell was happening?!
Was this what was happening to the mall? Was the mall below them?!
Spyro could see the clouds below them churning with a bright orange and red, thuds reverberating through the aircraft. The people in the back were screaming with terror, and the force of the aircraft plunging forward sent Spyro slamming against the back of the cockpit. The pilots fought hard to keep the aircraft afloat, but soon the nose began to pass through the clouds.
The power within the aircraft cut out, leaving them in a dark room, the only light coming from the orange fire outside. Spyro could feel his heart racing, his body reacting to the situation, even though he was so sure he wasn't really there!
The craft plunged through the lower layer of clouds, emerging to show the ground below them. Spyro could see for miles and miles the snow covered landscape. He could see the beam slamming into the ground ahead of them, waves of energy flowing across the landscape. Below them, a city began to shake, its mighty towers and structures falling apart and being blown away from the massive waves of energy.
It was then Spyro began to notice something else, he began to notice something happening down on the ground itself. The ground below the city began to split open, land shooting up high into the sky while other segments sank down below. Buildings tumbled from the rapid shift in the ground, and Spyro could see something in the fissures below, something glowing brightly. As the ground gave way and parted, there was something below the surface, and it was erupting out. It seemed to be coming from the beams themselves, but it was hard to concentrate as the craft plunged to the ground below.
"Crap! Crap! I can barely hold her!" The pilot yelled.
"Shit, it's the goddamn apocalypse! Shit!" The other responded, almost in a crazed state. They had managed to get the craft into a glide, taking it down towards the city below. All around them buildings and skyscrapers were being shaken to pieces, one building almost slamming into them on their way down. They were so close to the ground, Spyro could see it shooting up at them.
"Come on! Come on!" The pilot yelled, pulling up. They were feet from the ground, then inches then…
Spyro gasped for air, his eyes shooting open. He saw a figure before him, a black silhouette of darkness, black light radiating from around it, its look driving a cold chill through Spyro's bones. He gasped more, wanting to yelp out.
Suddenly it was gone.
It was just dark, dark and cold.
Quickly looking around, Spyro found himself inside the cockpit of the aircraft, though this time it was black and destroyed. The once shiny silver metal was now blackened with age and soot. The chairs had rotted away and the glass windshields were now just open holes in the craft, showing the vegetation below.
Spyro was breathing hard, taking a deep breath as he realized he was back in the present, back in his world. He closed his eyes, slumping to the floor to catch himself, his heart still racing slightly. He regained himself and walked to the front to peer out. He could… kind of recognize some things from when the aircraft was crashing. He saw buildings that looked familiar, albeit they were so drastically different, overtaken by vegetation and crumbling to almost nothing after so many years.
Spyro looked at the seats where the pilots once sat, frowning as he thought of their fates. The plane would have slammed into the ground hard… Spyro wondered if anyone survived. They hadn't come across any bodies… and the plane was in remarkably good shape. Perhaps… they survived? Spyro would have liked to think that was the case, that they were able to survive. Maybe they escaped, and made it to US East after all. Maybe…
Those… beams… what were they? Spyro looked out, seeing the beam in his head right where it would have been. Turning to the right side he looked out at the mass of trees that had overtaken the city, figuring the other beam was in that direction, the direction they had actually been traveling.
Had this been the fate of the mall? Had it been destroyed by the beam he had just witnessed slam into the ground? What did it all mean…?
Also, what was that figure, the figure he had seen standing before him after the vision had ended? Was it the same as before?
"Spyro, is that you?" Spyro heard a voice coming from the cabin, turning around to see Cynder looking down at him.
"Yeah… yeah it's me." Spyro responded, trotting out from his hiding place.
"How'd you get over there, we didn't even see you get up." Cynder said, a little confused as he realized he had fallen asleep on a row of seats farther back than them.
"You guys must've not been paying attention I guess." Spyro simply responded, really unable to say anything else. Cynder looked at him for a bit, her face speaking of suspicion. Did she know something about him? Had she heard his story to Horren back at his home about his ability to see visions?
"Had that sign always been knocked over like that?" Jericho said, interjecting himself as he sat next to his pot, rifle in his lap. Cynder turned, looking out through the gaping hole.
"I don't think so… I could have sworn it was upright last time…" Cynder said, seeing a large rotted sign that was over a faded roadway, now hanging down slightly.
"It's just a sign." Spyro said, puzzled as to their fixation on the sign. What did a sign have anything to do with… well, anything? Cynder and Jericho looked genuinely concerned, looking hard out into the rain. Jericho pulled his rifle up to his shoulder, pulling back on the charging handle to load a round into his weapon.
"We're being watched." Jericho said, quickly reaching down to kill the light on his pot and disassemble it to put back into his sack.
"Not watched… stalked…" Cynder said, entering a readied state. Her eyes darted across the landscape. Spyro peered out, only seeing darkness.
There was… a certain cold about the craft again. Spyro breathed out, seeing his breath puff out like a cloud of smoke. He could hear those whispers again… just like before the vision. He reached over into his sack, retrieving the crystal shard. It was glowing a soft purple, a taint of black within the center. Spyro's eyes shot open as he looked around the landscape below.
There, he could see them, they were everywhere!
Shadows, silhouettes were standing all below the aircraft, looking up at them. There were… hundreds of them! They occupied the city, the ground, the trees, the grass! They were surrounded!
"I can't see anything…" Jericho said, using his rifle to scan the horizon.
"You can't see them?" Spyro asked, almost in a hushed voice.
"See… what?" Cynder asked, looking around nervously.
"They're all around us…" Spyro said, backing up slightly. He could feel the cold radiating from them, the evil coming from them…
"I don't see shit, Spyro what the hell are you talking about?" Jericho asked, getting troubled himself.
"What's going on guys, what's all the ruckus about…?" Flame asked, yawning as he walked from his row of seats to them. Sparx buzzed by his head, looking a little lazy from having just woken up.
"Shush, shush!" Cynder said sharply, cutting them off. Flame walked slowly to the edge of the hole peering down. They all sat in silence, looking for whatever it was that Spyro could see. Spyro just watched as the silhouettes stared up at them, not moving, not doing anything…
What did they want…? What were they waiting for…?
Suddenly there was movement, coming from one of the nearby ruins. A creature emerged from the ruins, shambling towards the center of the opening. It looked like a deformed anthro fox of some sorts. Its body was horribly misshapen, muscles bulging from its arms, twisted and forming unnatural shapes. Its fur had fallen out, only leaving the flesh below which had turned into a pale purple hue. Its eyes were the most troubling part, it had no eyes. There was only a void where its eyes once were, a black void that didn't even looked like sockets. There was just… nothing there. It was as if a rift had formed there, sucking in all the light and leaving a vacuum. It looked up at them, its arms twitching unnaturally as it stared up at them. Jericho, Cynder and Flame all looked at it, Jericho immediately training his rifle onto it. Yes, they could at LEAST see that!
"What… in the hell is that…?" Jericho asked as his finger rested on the trigger. Cynder just looked in pure horror, backing up.
"I don't know… I really don't know…" Cynder said, shaking her head.
The creature just looked at them before opening its mouth, letting out a sorrow filled cry, it splitting their ears. Jericho grit his teeth, unsure whether or not to take the shot.
"Get ready to move… we're leaving…" He said softly. They all nodded quickly, not wanting to question it.
Spyro could still see the figures down below, the empty shadows that dotted the landscape. They hadn't moved the entire time, just staring at them.
More creatures began to come out of the ruins, responding to the first creature's howl. They all began to form up around them, numbering at first only a few, then a dozen, then quickly multiplying.
"If we're going to do something we need to do it fast!" Cynder said sharply.
"Right, we move north, as fast as we can go…" Jericho said, readying his rope so he could escape down.
The first creature didn't give them a chance, instantly opening his muzzle and letting out a more aggressive howl. The other creatures raced toward the trees with speeds Spyro had never seen before. Jericho shoved his finger down on his trigger, his rifle coming to life. The metallic retort of the rifle echoed through the plane and the forest around them as he fired down at the creatures. Rounds hit them, slicing right through their bodies and into the ground below. It didn't even seem to affect them as they took each of his rounds, still racing towards the trees. It was only after many hits did some fall to the ground, unable to sprint. Even if they had been immobilized like that, they still used their arms to crawl to the aircraft. What were these things?!
"Go, go, go!" Jericho yelled. The creatures had already begun to scale the trees, only feet from the craft itself. Jericho kicked his rope down to slide out, but Flame instead grabbed onto Jericho.
"No time for that!" Flame yelled, flapping his wings and using them to propel them from the craft. Jericho grunted from this, not expecting it. Flame yelled out, completely surprised at Jericho's weight.
"Shit, what the hell do you eat?!" He yelled out.
"Shut up, it was your idea!" Jericho yelled, being held up by his backpack which Flame clutched onto for dear life. Spyro and Cynder leapt out of the craft with Sparx, the creatures soon overcoming the craft. They were like bees, swarming over their prey and engulfing it. They watched them sail off, giving more howls. Spyro looked down at the ground, watching the shadows as they didn't move, just… watching them.
Spyro opened his muzzle, feeling the energy and warmth flowing through his body as he was once again able to execute an elemental attack. Fire leapt from his muzzle, sailing down and colliding with one of the creatures. The creature ignited in a bright display, flailing around as it tried to still follow them before tumbling to the ground, dead. Cynder followed it up with her own attack, a sphere of purple energy colliding into one of the creatures, the sphere exploding out with great force. The blast sent several creatures flying. Jericho reached into his sack, pulling out several round objects. Spyro watched him curiously as he pulled off small rings from each of the round objects before letting them fall to the ground. It was then that Spyro realized they were hand grenades.
Each grenade exploded with great force, blowing several of the creatures into the air. It was enough to thin their numbers for about… a few seconds. More and more of these creatures raced from the ruins, appearing from any hole you could think of. Where were they all coming from?!
"Where the hell are we supposed to go?!" Flame asked, struggling to keep Jericho airborne.
"Just keep flying!" Spyro yelled back, flying over to grab onto Jericho to help Flame.
"Why won't they just… die?!" Cynder yelled in frustration, firing yet another sphere of energy. Spyro and Flame added their shots to the mix, blasts of fire hitting the ground. It wasn't enough though, their fire attacks were almost useless in the rain.
Jericho adjusted himself, raising his rifle and firing bursts of gunfire that hit several of the creatures but failed to do much.
Looking down, Spyro saw that the strange shadows were fading in and out of existence, keeping up with them. What the hell did they want?! Why were they just… waiting?! The creatures below were keeping pace easily, traversing the harsh terrain with little trouble.
Spyro looked up, attempting to avoid the tree branches with Flame's help, but he saw something up ahead. More shadows, they were lining some of the branches ahead of them!
"Look out!" Spyro yelled, trying to swerve to avoid them.
"What, look out for what?" Flame asked, confused. It was too late, they passed right through the shadows as Flame had tried to pull Jericho up and over them. Spyro clenched his eyes, feeling a searing pain cut into his skull. Flame's eye shot open, his wings starting to droop as his body was going limp.
"What's going on with you guys?! What happened?!" Cynder asked, flying over to them. She hadn't flown through the shadows, and grabbed onto Jericho to help Flame who seemed to be fading in and out. Jericho gripped his head, a pain hitting him as well.
"Just go… go!" Spyro yelled, holding onto Jericho tightly as Flame was beginning to recover himself as well.
How the hell were they going to get away from these things, they didn't even seem to be getting tired yet!
A long, drawn out howl split the air of chaos and tension. It was very similar to the howl they had heard before, so different from the ear splitting howl of the creatures below. It too spoke of sorrow though, and it caused the creatures to halt in their tracks.
Spyro looked down at the ground, seeing the creatures frozen. The shadows had stopped as well, fading away. What… were they doing?
The howl came again, longer, and closer this time.
The creatures began to grab at their heads before panicking and running to any place they could. Within a few seconds, the forest floor below then was once again clear and silent. Even the shadows had completely vanished, fading away.
"Where… where did they all go?" Flame asked, panting.
"I don't know…" Cynder responded.
"Something scared them off… Though I wouldn't want to be around to see what it was…" Jericho said. Cynder and the others nodded, going to a safe location to set down. They landed on the roof of a structure nearby that was being overtaken by growth. The dirt had almost swallowed this structure, allowing for Jericho to easily get off of the roof.
The howl had gone away, replaced by only the soft sounds of rain falling around them.
"We have to keep heading north, get out of this God damn forest…" Jericho said as he dumped the magazine from his rifle, only to load another. Spyro nodded quickly, tired from that quick burst of energy.
"North… north is that way." Cynder said, pointing to a gap in the tree line ahead.
"How can you tell?" Flame asked, breathing in hard.
"I can see some stars." Cynder said, pointing up at a gap in the clouds above. Spyro looked up, seeing the North Star glowing softly against the black skies. It was hard to see, but it was there.
"She's right, come on." Jericho said, moving off the roof. The others raced along, wanting to be anywhere but there. Ahead, they could see an end to the tree line, with mountains beyond. Was it the end to the forest? Spyro hoped so, wanting so desperately to get away from here. As they dashed towards the edge of the trees, he took a look back, wondering just what those creatures were, and what they wanted with them…
Only time could tell, as with all the other questions he had.
End of Chapter 09