Mutt: Just because I feel like it, I posted the second chapter. Leave me alone... Reviews are welcome! I would like to know what I did wrong or what I did well, and flames are welcome as well. Hell, all opinons are welcomed!!!
Okay, my head still hurts. Are you still able to feel pain after death? Opening my eyes slowly, I looked around groggily. My head was pounding somewhat as a headache seemed to wane. "Hello?"
Um, okay. I was in a dark room with my wrists and ankles shackled to a cold, stone wall. The ground was cold and wet under my feet and I dared myself not to question why it was wet. Still recovering from a waning pain in my head, the gears weren't turning. I was completely lost.
"Am I in Hell?"
"Here chicky, chicky." An ugly-ass monster with three horns on his forehead walked over to me. He towered over me a great four feet over so. That meant he had to be somewhere around eight or nine feet tall. His skin was covered with some patches of scales while the rest was just a pale greenish leather texture.
"Such fine skin," he growled as he moved a clawed finger along my cheek. "A little bruised, but you'll taste just as good." His bluish green eyes looked me over closely, maybe a little too close. I found I could move my legs just somewhat so I brought one up and kicked him in the crotch. "Oof! You little wench!" He struck me hard in the stomach, knocking the wind out of me. I took it, though. I knew how to take a hit.
Actually, back in my preteens, it was then that I found I could do things other kids my age couldn't. My speed and agility matched that of an Olympic runner and my strength could outdo a man three to four times my size. Also, my resistant to great amounts of pain couldn't be matched and I healed wickedly fast. So the monster's punch was already wearing off, but I let myself limp forward anyway.
My dark bang hung in front of my eyes and I listened for the door to shut. It slammed shut causing a painful echo to ring in my ears, but I could distinctively hear the monster groan in pain all the way down the hall.
The score so far: Me, one point. Monster, zilch.
I smiled slyly but to my utter disgust I felt a tear slide down my cheek and drip off my chin. My throat started to clench shut and I found I couldn't breathe very well. I was trying in vain not to cry, but it was hard. The situation seemed pretty hopeless and my death looked close. What's worse was I couldn't see the sky now. I was cut off from the sky.
I couldn't see the sunlight. I was trapped in the dark, trapped inside myself.
There was no wind in this dungeon. No fresh air. Not even the slightest gentle breeze. The scent was dingy and stale. Nothing like the outside.
Nothing compared to the outside.
I was trapped.
I was going to die.
As my conscious began to drift, I thought back to the cliff. I tried to picture those strange men again. They seemed dead serious on capturing me. The redhead even tried assuring me they weren't going to hurt me. Was it smart of me to jump? Did I make the wrong decision?
"Here chicky, chicky." That's what that monster said, right? What in earth did he mean by that?
Everything, my worries and fears, seemed to disappear once I closed my eyes and fell into a pitiful slumber.
"Intruders! Kill them!" I was shocked out of my sleep by shouting and fighting outside. Sounds of exploding, kicking, punching, and bodies hitting the floor sounded through my door. My ears perked because I could pick up everything. Shouts, slashes, metal clanging against metal, and someone's flesh was torn. The sickening wet sound of it made my stomach especially queasy.
"She's in here! Spirit Gun!" A blue glow erupted from the crevices in the door and it suddenly exploded! I tired to cover my head as wood chunks flew at me, smacking the wall with hollow thuds. When I finally looked, I saw one of the guys from before standing in the doorway. It was the gelled haired guy!
How did he do that? Is he carrying explosives? What kind of teenager carries explosives? I panicked somewhat as he came near me. He grabbed my shackles and started to undo them. His eyes were on the chains, not on me. That was his first mistake.
"There," he said triumphantly as he unhooked the last chain. I darted off the wall a second before the last chain even hit the floor. "Hey! Get back here!"
Like that was going to happen, seriously. I was a few feet from the door when a giant figure blocked it. Skidding ungracefully to a stop, I tripped and fell back on my butt. My eyes widened at the sight of the monster in front of me. It was at least seven feet tall, incredibly obese, with four arms and one huge bulging scarlet eye. The thing's mouth was massive and had these huge fangs sticking out; they seemed almost too big to even fit.
Suddenly, it lunged at me. Claws extended, mouth open, and it roared.
I couldn't move. I was frozen! All I could do was whimper and shake as it was about to kill me.
"Gyah!" It suddenly ceased in attacking and roared in immense pain. I blinked a few times, confused, and then saw the tip of a blade sticking out of its belly.
With a sickening wrenching sound, the sword twisted and sliced the monster horizontally. I watched in horror as the monster's top half slid off sluggishly and landed with a sick sloshing sound in front of me. Behind it, I saw the shorter spiky haired guy. His sword in his grasp as the blade dripped with some slick purple liquid.
That purple stuff was the monster's blood.
I struggled to keep from vomiting as I darted passed the body and the sword wielding maniac. Why they were helping me wasn't clear, but I knew they were the ones after me in the first place. So, as far as I was concerned, the monsters and the men were my enemies.
"Spirit Gun!" the strange teen shouted again. I nearly screamed as a blue beam shot passed me. For an instant, I thought he was trying to hit me, but when a monster lunged out at me and it hit it, I realized the monster was the target.
I'm crazy. I'm insane. I'm in due to be carried off to the funny farm! My legs were rubbery as I continued to run, trying to keep my view shielded away from the gore around me. Oh lord, if only you could see the gore. No, I wasn't not that mean to ever wish for someone to see this! Even the strongest willed man would be subdued to nightmares for weeks upon seeing the dismembered bodies around me.
I know I was.
Off in the far corner, I saw what seemed to be an opening. I got closer and it was a stair passage! All I had to do was go up the stairs and get out of this place. I'd figure it out from there. "Yes!" Then out of nowhere, an unknown force pulled me backwards, knocking me off my feet and onto my butt. I was dazed for a few seconds, confused on how I was yanked backwards. When I looked at my stomach, I saw leather straps wrapped around my torso. They wrapped all the way around my body and I finally realized there was something holding onto it.
It was a vine. A thick green vine.
"What?" Glancing back, I followed the length of the vine and saw the redhead holding the base in his hand. He was holding it as if it were some type of whip! "Let me go!" I yelled at him, furious, and grabbed the vine with both hands.
"Ah!" Throwing the vine away from me I held my hands against my chest and bit down on my lip to keep from screaming more. Holding my hands out slightly, I unclenched them and saw blood stream down my palms, along my arms, and plop onto the ground in small puddles. There were these grisly bloody holes in my palms. "How?" Looking at the vine again, I saw it was covered with thorns. They had to be at least four inches long. How had I not noticed them? I scolded myself for being so daft.
The redhead tugged on the vine and said, "Come on. We don't want to hurt you."
Shaking with fury, I bit harder down on my lip and grabbed the vine again. Pain flared in my hands, blossoming and rushing through my arms like wildfire, but I used my anger to carry me onward. I pulled and yanked on the vine. I wrenched it around, twisting it, until it finally broke off. Blood streamed down my chin. I slowly pulled my teeth out of my lip. Getting to my feet, I ignored the need to care for my wounds and headed for the stairs.
Before I touched foot on the steps, someone actually picked me up off the ground and threw me over their shoulder. Just as I was about to shout something nasty at them, a pair of crimson orbs danced before my eyes and I was out.
My head was throbbing again, a slow shallow ebb, but it was the only thing that marked I wasn't dead. Again. All right, where am I now? Sitting up slowly, I ignored how sore my body felt then looked around. I was sitting in a medium-sized bed with white fluffy sheets placed in the center of an empty fourteen by fifteen room with bare white walls.
I was getting twitchy and claustrophobic as I sat there. As big as this room may have been to a normal person, it was freaking tiny for me and I just hated rooms in general. Sweat began to bead up along my brows, I could feel it. Getting out of bed, I resisted the urge to start pounding on the walls. I wanted to scream and shout, rant and cry, and then curl into a ball and die in the corner.
My mind was racing as I walked toward the door. I registered every little sound made around me, every smell, and every object. From what I could tell, this wasn't the bad place. I was still safe. For the most part, anyway. As I reached for the doorknob I saw it turn by itself and nearly jumped out of my skin. I backed away from the door as it opened and stared at who stood there.
It was the redhead.
I kept my face expressionless, but I knew my eyes glowed brightly with the white-hot hatred I held passionately for him and the others. They harmed me. They captured me. I would make them pay.
He held up an idle arm and gestured behind him. "If you will come with me," he said. "There is someone who wishes to speak with you." His voice was polite and soft. I said nothing as he stared at me. He looked straight a me, his face calm and composed with sparkling emerald eyes. I found it difficult to look way from those eyes.
Taking a deep breath, I crossed my arms and mumbled a reply, "Fine."
"Good," he said with a gentle smile. Then he turned and started walking down an empty hallway. I followed him, but I didn't go because he asked me to. I went because I wanted to know what the heck was going on! Oh, and to get out of that stinking room. Bleh.
We walked in silence down an array of different halls. The walls were all bare of anything. There wasn't even a single crack or smudge. With these sharp eyes, I could spot fine detail and remember anything I saw. I took precaution to memorize every hallway we walked down. Taking care to spot any windows or ventilation shafts. Just in case I needed to run again.
The redhead's shoes echoed off the sleek marble floor, but my bare feet barely made a single sound. I tried to remain as quiet as I could. Maybe if I remained silent, he'd forget I was here and I would be able to slip down a different hall and get away.
I was getting so used to the idea and the silence that when he spoke I nearly leaped out of my skin. "I'm sorry for how me met earlier," he admitted calmly. I recalled the meeting on the cliff, how they chased me, and what happened in the dungeon with my hands.
"You don't seem that sorry to me," I replied with venom dripping off my tongue. He was pretty good at keeping his composure. It seemed as if he didn't care I was being rude. Or hardly talking at all. As if I cared if he was offended.
"You have the wrong idea," he started, "I assure you." It annoyed me how he didn't face me when talking. He just kept on walking and speaking in that unnaturally calm voice.
Glancing down at my hands, I saw they were bandaged, but they were bloodied up already. A new flare of anger rose up in me. "Yeah, the holes in my hands are really convincing." He flinched just slightly, but said nothing. "I mean, if you wanted to get a message across to me, this was really the sure way to make me trust you. Great job, dumb ass." I tried to see if I could make him mad, but nothing was happening. So I asked the need-to-know question. "Why did you guys kidnap me?"
I didn't even know these guys. They shouldn't even know me! Well, I guess a lot of people don't know their kidnappers. At least I hope they don't, but I digress.
As we turned another corner, he replied, "I'm not the one you should be asking that." Right as he finished, we stopped in front of some of the biggest doors I had ever seen in my entire life! I mean, these things were huge! "Come in." With only a small push of his right arm, the guy had opened the mighty doors. I was sure my eyes were three time their size by then.
When I didn't move, he ushered me inside and I could only stare in marvel at the massive room. The door closed behind me and I glanced back at the redhead. He didn't move, but he was staring passed me at something. I looked at what he was staring at and saw a single work desk with piles of papers on each side. There was a cushion swivel chair behind the desk, but it was turned so the back was facing me.
In front of the desk, in the center of the room, was a single wooden chair. No doubt I was for me.
Something then caught my eye to the right. I peered out of the corner of my eye and saw the other three. The shorter one was glaring at me as he leaned against a marble pillar. His crimson eyes stuck out from his dark clothing.
Crimson was such an odd color for someone to have. Very rare. So were my eyes. Violet. So maybe we had something in common.
I shuddered at that thought.
Oddly enough, the orange-haired guy and gel-head were whispering to each other as they sat on the ground. If I wanted to, I could have heard what they were saying.
"Don't touch me." I glanced back at the redhead. His hand was resting just above my shoulder. Pushing his hand away from me, I said, "I hate it when people touch me." I was incredibly paranoid and human contact just made me twitchy. He didn't say anything as he walked passed me to stand by his friends. I guessed they were friends anyway.
"Come here," someone said suddenly. I blinked then looked around. The only ones in the room were the four by the door. Unless… "I said come here." It was coming from behind the chair. The voice seemed to be of male descent, but it was slightly high. So maybe a female? Or a young male.
I walked toward the chair slowly with my attention half on the four on my right and half on the door at my back. They weren't going to catch me off guard again. When I was close to the chair, I noticed how much brighter it was here than anywhere else in the room. I looked up and saw why.
"The sky." My eyes were wide as I stood agape staring up at the giant dome glass window. The sky was crystalline clear with not a single cloud in its azure haven. A few birds flitted in and out of view. I watched them with raptor eyes. Their movements quick and swift to a person with normal eyes, but I could break down their movements to slower speeds.
"Take a seat please Keako," the strange voice asked.
I was about to sit when I realized what he or she just said. "How do you know my name?" I was caught between being angry and confused. Just being that was making me frustrated! No one was explaining anything!
Then the chair swiveled around and a baby sat there in the seat. He was dressed in a little blue outfit with a big blue hat was on his head initialed with the word Jr. on it. Oh, and a pacifier to boot. "Because I am the almighty ruler of the Sprit World, Koenma."
I sat there for a long time. Just sitting there. And staring. Then finally, "Are you freaking kidding me?!"