Chapter Four
She wouldn't have liked things to have ended that way, but that's not always how things turn out… … …
It was the night of the Harvester's Moon—the great time of the year where farmers would harvest their fields for the fruits of their labor, storing their maize and grains for the winter, to last them until the following spring. It was during the last time of the year the produce would be fit and healthy before the coming of the frost. With the large pale, gold moon high in the sky over the horizon, the beauty of the night would be complete with its seemingly peaceful atmosphere… but evil always knew when to strike…
…And it did…
Her eyes shot open, and she immediately disbanded from her position atop a high branch of a Japanese Oak tree, well into its prime. Down to the ground, she landed without a sound, and set herself to a running sprint, taking off quickly through the fields of wheat before coming upon the edge of the nearby property line. From here, the landscape changed dramatically from its fields of wheat into rice paddy fields, and the walkways would be narrow and thin. She rushed quickly through them, scarcely without making so much more than a splash, and continued on forth before the faint candle lights of the small village became apparent; a tiny black dot racing through the cold October night. Farmers and others of the sort would be long asleep by now—night tide was not the time to be harvesting, as no one knew what evil dangers would come in the night…
Evil dangers, indeed…
Not too far off in the distance, she could make out the small settlement where she made her home, along with her family. From the sounds she had gathered, and the stillness that the night brought, she sensed that there would be destruction... An angry wave of people was sweeping throughout the town—their arms bearing tools of riot and havoc. Their angry shouts filled the streets, filled with hatred for their lord who governed them all. From what she had learned from the townsfolk in recent days, the lord had angered the town's people by robbing them of their crop, selling it away for his own personal profit to which he would waste on gambling. There was also talk of a mysterious slave trade taking place, as random individuals would go missing, and never return… In exchange, he brought forth more money, which he used again for his selfish wants, and gave nothing back to the people. Angered, the townsfolk had ambushed the castle in seek of their lord, but he was naught to be found. The lord was known for such acts of cruelty, and would soon get what was coming to him. It was said that he hid himself away in one of the smaller houses where only the peasants would make their home. Not only was the lord sought out by the townspeople, but also was the rest of his court, and those who associated themselves with him. Anyone who showed any resistance of any sort to the capture of the lord or his followers would soon find themselves devastated by the hands of the public resistance. Quickly, she made haste, rushing through the tall grasses before making her way into the town. Only lanterns crafted out of wood, fueled by oil, and protected against the wind by paper light should have ever lit this night… But, she knew that this was not to be. Houses raged in fiery flames, and the screams of many filled her ears as she witnessed countless innocents burn or be slain. She had to get home. She had to get there…
Long and slender was her face, with the eyes of a wolf, and the strength of the dragon built into her arms, lithe like a cat and quick as the acting poison of a snake's venom. She made her way through the wreckage quickly, intent on finding her home. Her family was at risk, and during such an obstruction she knew she would have to act quickly. Up ahead, she could see the angry mob storming through the village, rushing through each of the houses with their long swords, destroying the precious heirlooms which hung about every doorstep, and torching the structures to leave them up in flames. She couldn't face them head on… Anyone trying to get through a mob like that would have to be crazy with a serious death wish… She would have to make her way past them through the alleyways, moving as stealthily as possible. She didn't want to have to hurt anyone—only get the job done and move her family out. That was her only intention, and that was her only goal. No one would stand in the way of her and her family and live to tell about it… That was her only exception…
She ducked into the alley to her right, passing through the tiny moving quarters as smoothly as she could. She moved quickly, although not with great haste. The mission was to get there undetected, and not blunder herself over careless simple mistakes. Those would cause her her life. Her feet covered with padded cloth slippers, she made not a noise while passing underneath a window, where could be heard the noises of terror, as a man found himself confronted by the resisting mob, ending his life with a sword through his back—his scream would be of the last breath he took… It was a sad and unfortunate thing that men killed each other blindly for the sake of fear, or without knowing what they were fighting for… That man had been a dedicated maker of scroll paper… His work helped fuel many poets, who used the paper to write beautiful songs, delicate poetry, or artwork that astounded peers all over the town… Perhaps in the afterlife he would still be as admired…? She stepped out from between the houses, and into the street, peering back and forth to check her surroundings… Not a noise, nor a subject in sight… She was safe, but even safety had its limits. They would come at any moment, and then her life would be in danger. She dashed quickly with the advantage of no one in front of her to stop her on her way… But wait—a yell! Someone had found her! Behind her—they saw her! But, she was so close to home…! She could still make it… There was still time enough for her to get her husband and daughter, and for the three to make their escape… With an extra burst of speed, she dashed the remaining distance until she made it to her home. The home was still standing—thank goodness… Quickly, she slid open the door, her body running out of breath as she gasped, "Sezaku! Where is Yae!? Sezaku—"
She stopped in mid sentence, staring horrifically at the event that followed. Before her stood her husband—a ninja much in the same way as she was, with his arms grasping the arm around his neck. There came a sickening cutting sound, as a long and deadly blade came jutting out from the center of his chest, spraying crimson red blood from deep within his body. The shower of blood only lasted a moment, drenching the floor in its almost-black appearance and bitter smell… The sight of his blood made her heart sink, but the look on his face as he witnessed his own death—the twitching of his eyelids as life itself was being taken from him… was more than enough to make the hairs stand on the back of her neck… His barely audible voice, grunting as he tried to talk around the mass of blood dripping out of his mouth… His sad, sorrowful face as he saw her before him…
"Ha… ya… su… R… run…!!"
"SEZAKU!!" She screamed, her arms and limbs trembling at the sight, as her lover slowly descended to the floor for the last time, his killer having released the hold on his neck. It was over... Her husband was dead… All that they had struggled to build in their lifetime—their short marriage of seven years… so abruptly halted by the painful taker of life—Death… If only she had hurried… If only she had gotten there quicker—she might have saved him… But now, that hope was all lost—his life was… She gritted her teeth… To have one's life taken… To not allow one to slay themselves… His dishonorable killer would pay and suffer this most disgraceful act…
The killer chuckled, using a cloth robbed from her husband's body to wipe off the blood from his sword, "Run, run, run… Running won't do you any good, if you have the demon of death riding on your shoulders…"
That voice seemed so familiar… so distinct and ominous… Only one man she knew had that seemingly low and nasally sounding tone to their voice…
"Kazuki-sama…!" She snarled, recognizing her husband's killer.
He stepped out from the darkness, his geta appearing first as he made his way forth... The geta sandals clicked as they made contact with the tatami flooring, passing by the slain form of Sezaku… The light from the fire place added luminance to his body, as slowly came forth the form of Lord Kazuki, the ruler of the nearby castle, and the one responsible for the town's crimes…
"Your husband wasn't much of a challenge…! I was quite disappointed to find that he couldn't hold his place in a noble battle…"
"Sezaku didn't fight battles…! He strangled his prey until they were weak, on the spot before he finished them quickly! You took advantage of him, didn't you?!"
"His house is mine now, as is his spirit, for I have taken his life with me." Sezaku said, advancing slowly towards Hayasu. The blade gleamed wickedly at his side, shining a familiar kanji towards her that made her shudder… She knew very well what that symbol meant, and felt her blood boil even further.
"The Kuroi Kage Tama no Ken…! It… It was supposed to have been sealed away and banished from the mortal realm…!"
"You are a fool to think that a mere sword made of steel would ever make its absence away from this world… What an utter fool... hnnhnnhnn…"
"Your laughs are as cold and empty as your soul… You are one without light, and filled hollow with the emptiness of an October wind…!" She held back her tears, gritting her teeth as he stood before her.
"A soul is not always something filled with the essence of all things light, nor can an empty shell ever really be considered unfilled…" She countered, that face still remaining hidden within the shadows.
She cursed his ignorance, but adopted a fighter's stance… Always on guard… She had to always be on guard… No matter what the situation was at hand, she had to assure herself at least three quick escape plans, should he plan his next move to be an aggressive maneuver…
"At least a real human who has a soul would understand what it's like to have a soul…!"
"What do you take me for, a human…?" he chuckled darkly… She could see an evil red gleam in the shadow of his right eye; while a dark and menacing aura appeared to rise out from his body…She shivered…
"You're… You're not Lord Kazuki…!"
He lunged forth, grasping her tightly by the back of the neck. She could feel his fingers digging deep into her skin, and the suffocating feeling being the most intoxicating feeling she had ever felt. She gagged and struggled, attempting a scream while she flailed her legs about.
"You're right—I'm not Lord Kazuki…! I'm his little… demon… friend…"
"A… a… akkkk… kkkumma…!!" She rasped, the tears beginning to flow from her eyes.
He grinned insidiously, the wickedness far from leaving his face as he lifted her above the ground, his fangs sharp and pointed, slightly yellowed with age as they formed a hideously tight and toothy smile.
"What a charming and otherwise perfectly delicate little creature… To think that with a flick of my wrist that all life within you would be lost forever; drowning in your blood while it flowing down your face as my lengthy talons continue to crush and destroy your pitiful brain… You really are at my mercy then I suppose…?"
"You will die the moment I get my hands a hold of you…!" She struggled, flailing her legs in every which direction she could aim. She seized a chance, using her legs to run up his arm, and attempted to break her captor's hold free, pressing her body weight quick and hard against his hand. The hand, she knew, was both as strong as it was weak. The underside of the hand, she knew, could not bend very well, therefore forcing it to bend would either snap off his hand, or cause him great pain to let her go.
…It didn't work out quite as well as she had hoped!!
He grabbed a foot with his other hand while it was climbing up his arm, and released his hold on her throat to hold her suspended upside down in front of him. His sinister laughing only continued while the ninja hung helplessly from his grip, unable to move, and with a surge of blood rushing to her head. She was beginning to feel quite dizzy, and too much motion would do her a great deal of harm.
"You would kill me, if only you could ever get at me…! Your ploys are predictable and useless against me. Only the power of the moon could ever put a stop to my wild affairs!"
"What have you done with my daughter…!?" Hayasu cried.
"She is of no importance to you now. Your life is in grave danger, and soon to be dismissed…!"
"Then tell me before I go, or else I will come back from the grave to finish you! What have you done to my daughter!?" She reached for a smoke bomb inside her vest.
"Mama…?" Came a tiny voice a short distance away.
Hayasu shivered, turning her head to glance at the direction the voice had been traveling from. A short distance away stood a small girl, only 4' tall, with long and flowing black hair, and black eyes. Her tiny snout hinted that she was much like her mother—an Absol, as they were called. Known for causing destruction and devastation with whatever crosses their path, they were seen as a sign of ill omen. Wearing a beautiful white kimono with dozens of intricately painted flowers, she looked as though she herself could pass off as a young kimono girl in training.
The young girl had already spied her mother, and cried, "Mama… Daddy's dead… Mama…!"
"Yae—…!" Hayasu shouted. It
was
A
Blood
RUSH!!
She screamed… The blood hurt her face, and already she could feel her brain pulsating uncontrollably. If she took too much more pressure, chances were she would end up popping a vein in her head.
Yae flinched visibly, seeing her mother trapped and screaming in pain… She started to cry again, "Mama…! Help me…!"
"Yae—run…! Run now!!" Hayasu shouted, finally freeing herself from the demon's clutches. She hit the floor with an audible 'thud,' and immediately began coughing.
Yae backed away from her mother, trembling in fright, "Mama…! Mama!!"
"Yae—go!! NOW!!"
"MAMA!!"
The demon sneered at the sight of the two pitiful females, and stalked the young girl in front of her. He drew out his sword once again, and approached loudly. Hayasu could feel her blood running cold, and a sudden overwhelming sense of fear filling every inch of her body. She attempted to pull herself up, but found her arm muscles too weak to lift her. She gave a scream, "YAE!! YAE, RUN NOW!! RUN NOW YAE! RUN!!"
Yae cried uncontrollably, slumping down onto the ground in fright as the demon finally approached her. He reached down, and grabbed her by the scruff of her neck. Slowly, he lifted her up off the ground… Yae whimpered as she struggled, crying…
"It hurts…! It hurts!!"
Her daughter was in danger, her life was in danger, her family was on the verge of being murdered, her husband was dead, and her husband's killer was a demon that was before them at the moment… But her daughter—Her daughter!!
"She can't die!!
Don't let her die!!
Don't kill her—don't let her die!!"
Hayasu couldn't bear the thought of what would happen next, and gave a scream… Up on her feet, her body somehow involuntarily found the strength to get back up on her feet, and her arms regained their strength to move… She unsheathed her daggers from her belt, and rushed forth towards her opponent, screaming horrifically and hysterically… She had him now—she would kill him now, she would—
"Gaauuckk…!!!"
His… wickEd
Grin…
as he pUShed the
sWord
IN
!!!
Her body felt cold—it… it felt… cold…
She shook her head, and blinked to look down—
Blood…
Spraying…
FLoWing… she
was
dYIng…
The sword was… removed… and withdrawn from her… body… She could feel herself shaking, and… shivering; the… shock of the moment… hadn't… brought… pain… yet…
Her vision became clouded… The loud sound of blood flowing through her ears deafened her senses… Her mouth remained ajar, blood dripping and falling from out of her mouth… Her arms and legs were weak… Her body felt depleted… and… slowly, she… sank… down…
Her daughter screamed…
Mommy could not help her…
She was crying…
And SHE was crying…
A snapping sound…
A muffled falling sound…
A seemingly added weight to her abdomen…
An emptiness… a
sense
of in-
completeness…
"I love you Yae…"
***
It was a bit late in the evening when the three had decided to stop their daily activities. Eve, Marcum, and Myra took rest at the edge of a worn-out trail, determined to keep on moving, but too tired at the moment to really do anything. Marcum called it "szitzflig," or "idle and lazy restfulness." His language did appear to be quite different than that of Myra or Eve's, which only gathered the girls' interest whenever he spoke it. As he was a quieter creature, getting to hear him speak was a big eye and ear-opener for when they were in his company.
The three had decided to get something to eat, as Eve hadn't quite adapted to this life without eating, while Myra had an obsession with eating, as just as that. Sitting on the ground, Marcum observed while the two teenaged girls talked and rushed back and forth, preparing the ingredients for what would soon be their supper. Myra had told her of an old recipe that her grandmother taught her, a recipe to make a cheap but easy kind of bread. Since nothing else in the forest sounded appealing, Eve took her offer up on it, and together the two were bustling together to get the needed materials for their project. Marcum only snorted, and remained off to the side, preferring to keep out on lookout for any danger, especially should any other of the large mantis creatures come storming about. Eve was particularly peculiar about the way Myra gathered and collected things. The funny little Welsh Misdreavus knew the exact amount of wild wheat needed, how many wild berries would be best to add to each batter being made, and how many other grains of wild oats were needed to embellish the dish. This confused Eve—she never knew there was such an art to making bread in her life! Without thinking, she decided to ask…
"Myra?"
"Yes'm?"
"Have you ever seen Iron Chef?"
"Iron…?" Myra frowned, looking at her strangely, "Wait—what is it called again?"
"Whoops…! Sorry—no you haven't…" Eve blushed, as realization came shining on through. She hadn't even thought to think and realize that Myra was well over sixty years older than her. Of course she wouldn't have ever heard of Iron Chef! She doubted many others in Limbo would have, lest they came from her time frame…
"I haven't got what?" Myra demanded, her powdery hands resting on the edge of her plaid-striped skirt.
"Nothing…" Eve smiled embarrassingly, trying to avoid the topic of the conversation.
"No, no, no—you listen to me! Whether or not me haves what you are trying to tell me or not is completely up to me. It's my part to decide, milady…"
"She said something about an Iron Chef…" Marcum replied, rubbing under his snout as he bounced the middle of his spear against his knee.
Eve frowned angrily at him, "Marcum~!" She huffed and looked rather frustrated, "You blew it—thanks a lot…"
Myra giggled, "Looks like he's on my side this time…!"
"Whether he is on your side or not, he'll probably turn on you too…" Eve scoffed, rolling her end of the dough with aggression. "In fact, I don't even think he has a side he's on! He's just a big… unimportant… lazy, indecisive guy who likes to do nothing all day except sit there and watch the grass grow!"
"Looks to me more like he's watching his toenails~…" Myra giggled before erupting into a series of laughs.
Eve raised a brow, "Um… It's not that funny…?"
The two continued to bicker and laugh without spending too much time realizing what was going on around them, while Marcum kept a steady eye on the horizon… There was something amiss that seemed to bother him… He kept his profile low—his eyes forming slits as he glared across the prairie around them… There was something out there, alright… But what it was, he didn't know… The air was heavy, and that usually meant the coming of a storm. But, the land didn't feel like it was going to rain… Not even the skies showed any promise of rain—there were no clouds, on a blindly obvious level… But wait…!
His eyes shot open, and he gasped. He turned his head quickly to the girls and shouted, "Keep your voices down and don't move!!"
Myra and Eve froze, although Eve had started to laugh with Myra—noticed by the smile she had on her face. She made a false sounding fart, to which she and Myra giggled. Marcum held a finger up to the front of his nose, and lowered his eyebrows at the two, indicating a respect for silence. The two quieted down, while the hunter quietly listened to the air around them.
"Yas hid fvis njam kaqvi…" he uttered quietly. His ears turned in direction of where the noise was supposedly coming from, and remained still. Eve couldn't hear the noise—she didn't know what was going on at all. Why was he freaking out at her like that? Was he just being a brat like he was naturally good at being?
She noticed him extend his arm out slowly, pointing off at something in the woods beyond view. It was sort of… spider-shaped, with eight strong and hairy legs, as well as a face rather than a head which protruded slightly out from the torso, yet on its face it had actual jaws and teeth like a lion or a wolf… Its body was a bit large—it looked to be roughly the size of a small car, give or take a foot or two. Its eyes appeared vacant, while its nose appeared to be nothing more than two slits on the front of its face… Its back end seemed plainly nonexistent, much unlike the spider which had an opisthosoma on its back end… More or less, it looked like something from a bad B-movie from the 80's, but she knew she had to keep quiet on this. Just because it looked like something from the 80's didn't necessarily mean it wasn't dangerous…
"Marcum…!" she whispered, "What do they do?"
"They sit and wait for their prey to make a move… Then, they rush in and grab them using their huge jaws and crush them under their weight and pressure of the jaw's muscles…!" He explained.
"Wow—sounds like just about everything else that walks on four… plus… legs and has sharp jaws like that…" Eve mocked sarcastically.
"Be
careful… It's already seen us… It's waiting to make a
move…"
Eve jumped, "What!! You mean that thing's out for
us!?"
"They jump! Now shut up!!" Marcum yelled back at her.
"I don't believe this…!" Eve said, backing away from Marcum.
"Well, better start believing, because stuff like this happens everyday…" Marcum said, keeping both eyes and ears forward.
"Guess I'd better keep quiet, then…" Eve said quietly to herself, watching the seemingly eventless situation. She didn't know Marcum all that well, aside from the fact he had saved her life, and she really respected him for that… Let alone that he was joining her and Myra, just to help her find some sort of civilization around here where she would feel most comfortable…
The beast gave a low, growling noise, sounding somewhere between a lion and an insect. …What was with all of these insects, anyways? Why were they flying and crawling all over the place? Wasn't Limbo meant to be just this random hole in the ground where lost souls ended up…? Now, there's all these crazy bugs and… flying… insect creatures with effing HUGE teeth, sharp claws, dead-looking eyes and… It just seemed like something out of a HORROR movie to her. Where were they coming from…?
The monster began moving, slowly advancing towards the group in a sickeningly slow spider-like manner. Seeing the way it moved, and how it clacked its teeth together, Eve tried to resist a scream—she hated spiders. She HATED them… She tried to hold back a scream while she bit her tongue, seeing how terrifying the monster really looked. It opened its mouth, to which its face split in four different directions to reveal a complex circular mouth system, and rows upon rows of teeth… Eve screamed…
"DAMN!!" Marcum shouted as the beast responded to her call, accelerating its mobility on eight legs and rapidly approaching fast. He turned the girls around and pushed them with his hand, shouting, "Go! Get away—I'll deal with him!"
"But he's so much bigger than you!!" Eve shouted.
"It didn't stop him before against the big Megamantodea, did it?" Myra said as she pulled Eve by her arm. She noticed the large tear ripping through the sewn place around her bust area and groaned. She blew a sigh and added, "You really need to get some new clothes, unless you want to go around showing yourself off all day."
"YOU try wearing this around, wherever you go…!" Eve argued as the two girls ran.
Marcum held his ground, extending his spear and preparing for a round of melee combat. What happened because of the girls didn't matter to him—it was what was going to happen as a result of this battle…! He had to protect them from this dangerous creature that meant them harm… He knew what they were capable of… These creatures… would actually devour souls… There was no reviving from a bite mark caused by these monsters…
He growled and held on to his spear tightly, planting his feet into the ground to improve traction. The monster continued to advance forth, having slowed down after seeing the spear. It came to a halt eight feet in front of him, and crouched on its legs. Marcum knew what it was about to do… Marcum KNEW what it was about to do…!!
Quickly, he whirled his spear out in front of him, holding it like a jousting pole and ducked. Not a moment too soon, the creature came crashing at him, impaling itself through the mouth upon the spear. The monster gave a horrible shriek, pulling back from him with the spear still lodged through the roof of its mouth. Using its legs, it attempted to remove the spear, trying to scrape or bite it out of its mouth to free itself. Marcum saw this as an ample opportunity to reach for another weapon. But, what was there about for him to grab…?!
A large rock lay near his feet, which had originally served as the cutting board for both Myra and Eve while they were making their bread. Serving no purpose except as an object in his line of vision, he quickly lifted the larger rock with both hands, holding it over the top of his head and aimed. He wasn't about to give the ant lion-like beast a chance to recover—he'd sooner see it dead than moving. With a shout, he gave the rock a hurl, and sent the rock smashing on top of the creature's head. A large complex eye shattered, and with it splurted a long stream of greenish-red ooze, spraying in all directions as the vessel of the eye became undone. As the release continued to gush from the loose and flabby membrane, the eyes of the ant lion started to glow a bright yellow, and it began to rapidly clack its jaws and teeth together. The spear crushed itself in its jaws, and ruled out the possibility of using it for another strike, leaving Marcum to figure out something else. He backed away, holding his ground in case of a retreat as he scoured the surrounding area for anything else that he could use to defend himself. Realizing the small dagger he carried at his side, he drew his small and practically worthless weapon, and brandished it loudly in front of the monster, yelling at it to show his ferocity. The attack did little to deter the beast, and only moments later did it position itself into a crouch again—the pose he knew all too well. It was about to strike again…!
Lock arms, lock legs, position ready and—
ROLL!!
The beast threw itself in Marcum's direction, only to miss the swift and nimble fighter and continued crashing into what loose amounts of brush and trees were in its path. It gave a scream as it yanked one of its legs out from a blackened section of the earth. Its leg sizzled as an awful reek smoked off from its leg. Marcum blinked before he came upon this realization. Fire! The beast didn't like fire! It would make sense, since very few creatures, even down here in Limbo, could withstand the flames of a fiery doom. With the stoking stick still lying in the fire pit, Marcum made a quick dash, grabbing the still-lit stick, and waved it about. He held the stick close to the hairs on the underside of the creature's body, and quickly backed away as the creature began to scream and roar, attempting to drop its body on the earth to extinguish the flames. Marcum knew that if the creature succeeded, it would not only try to go after him, but it would be much more aggressive and quicker at that. Now was the time for him to finish the job! Holding the stick out once more, he attempted to light the side of the creature, covered in the now-sticky goo excreted from the gaping wound in its eye. The goo, being extremely flammable, didn't take long before it reacted with the hot end of the stick, and started to sizzle. The ant lion screeched, and attempted to attack Marcum with its long pinchers, but to no effect—without sight from one of its primary eyes, it was harder to locate and defend itself against this smaller and more agile foe! It attempted to recoil and shrink back, only to back into a cluster of tree trunks and branches, hindering its backwards movement. It lashed out in another attempt to bite at him, only to get a mouth full of air before its eye socket quickly caught aflame. The creature flailed about in a withered manner as black smoke began to rise from its gaping wound, and moaned while clacking its teeth together. The flames began to rise as the fire sought out to burn the creature's "head" first and foremost before getting the rest of the body. With an impaled mouth, a missing eye, and a burning "head," the creature wasn't guaranteed to live long, but still he held the spear right in place. The thick, black smoke was almost toxic, making it incredibly hard to breathe as it smoked off of his body, rising into the air in an incredibly dense manner. It was quite revolting, and completely awful to have to breathe. Finally exhausted and finding the lack of strength left to survive, the gigantic creature gave an ending screech before collapsing on the ground in a savage heap.
Marcum watched it carefully, his eyes holding over with a glint of the warrior within as he made sure the creature was no longer going to rise up on its feet again. He remained still for a time, where only he and beast remained locked in that grip of death… Sensing nothing, he gave a loose sigh, easing his body up, and withdrew his spear from its clutches, turning himself around to slowly depart from camp. Now he had to find Eve, and Myra… Saturated in the blood of his opponent, he came out victorious from the battle—one among many he had to fight while having been here in this strange and desolate land…
He wiped the blood and sweat from his forehead, his thick callused heels walking over the earth with only the sound of one trekking through the fields. He remained relaxed, now letting the warrior side of him dissipate into the shadowy crevices of his mind to replace itself with his former, mellower state, and listened carefully for their voices. More importantly was it that he follow their footprints, and use them and whatever other trail markers that they left to track them down and return to their company. Not that he needed them, but that it wouldn't be customary to leave them so abruptly without a seeing-off before parting ways… and that wasn't something he wanted to do, either.
There came a gurgling noise behind him…
It rushed up fast!—He spun himself around to—
It screeched… … …
Massively, it towered above him, using four of its eight legs to hold it up as it had prepared to pounce him… Through its heart, a long, thin blade protruded through its carcass… So quick and so adeptly did both things happen; like the icy frost coming to signal summer's bane…
She stood before him, eyes focused on her kill as she stared at it with glaring eyes… Dressed in equally as unusual wear as Eve, this obvious female was –also- a warrior of sorts, such as he… Only she… was different…
"Vespi tchak…!" Marcum swore, "My back was unguarded…! You saved my life…!"
"A cautionary word of advice, traveler…" The female figure warned him, "Never leave your back to your enemy. It is foolish, and but one way to learn the ways of a humiliating defeat… Your friends are yonder in yon field. Tell them 'tis best they reside closer to the forests, lest they should be wanting such encounters again…"
Marcum stood baffled.
"Wh-wait—what? What do you…? Wh-who are you…?"
The individual sheathed her sword back into its sheath, still staring far off into the distance, "A lone traveler, much like yourself… My clan was naught but of myself and my master, and I seek for he who it was that slay'd me in my former life, and ended my daughter's life, as well as that of my husband's… You have no need to know of my name, but my name as a shinobi would be… Midnyte…"
He shivered lightly…
"Find yourself refuge in the next town over… There's a dark storm brewing itself about, and far many more dark figures appearing in these parts… Even the animals fear for their sense of nonexistence in this futile world…
"You know of the one they call Michael…?"
"Y… Yes…" Marcum nodded, listening intently.
She remained quiet for a time, "…There is not much more she can do. She should leave now if it all really matters to her. Take her to the city. Her adventure… is unwinding…!"
With a sudden flash of light, Midnyte disappeared, to leave Marcum blinking in bewilderment… Where had she gone, and to disappear so quickly…? The dust settled before he was able to see his way again, and he sighed, taking his spear with him to turn around and find Eve and Myra again. Suddenly, a small star-shaped bit of metal came whizzing over his shoulder to strike the earth before him. With it, a piece of paper with writing on it of some sort. He looked it over, and blinked.
"Never leave your back to your enemy"
***
It was a bit late in the evening when the three had decided to stop their daily activities. Eve, Marcum, and Myra took rest at the edge of a worn-out trail, determined to keep on moving, but too tired at the moment to really do anything. Marcum called it "szitzflig," or "idle and lazy restfulness." His language did appear to be quite different than that of Myra or Eve's, which only gathered the girls' interest whenever he spoke it. As he was a quieter creature, getting to hear him speak was a big eye and ear-opener for when they were in his company.
The three had decided to get something to eat, as Eve hadn't quite adapted to this life without eating, while Myra had an obsession with eating, as just as that. Sitting on the ground, Marcum observed while the two teenaged girls talked and rushed back and forth, preparing the ingredients for what would soon be their supper. Myra had told her of an old recipe that her grandmother taught her, a recipe to make a cheap but easy kind of bread. Since nothing else in the forest sounded appealing, Eve took her offer up on it, and together the two were bustling together to get the needed materials for their project. Marcum only snorted, and remained off to the side, preferring to keep out on lookout for any danger, especially should any other of the large mantis creatures come storming about. Eve was particularly peculiar about the way Myra gathered and collected things. The funny little Welsh Misdreavus knew the exact amount of wild wheat needed, how many wild berries would be best to add to each batter being made, and how many other grains of wild oats were needed to embellish the dish. This confused Eve—she never knew there was such an art to making bread in her life! Without thinking, she decided to ask…
"Myra?"
"Yes'm?"
"Have you ever seen Iron Chef?"
"Iron…?" Myra frowned, looking at her strangely, "Wait—what is it called again?"
"Whoops…! Sorry—no you haven't…" Eve blushed, as realization came shining on through. She hadn't even thought to think and realize that Myra was well over sixty years older than her. Of course she wouldn't have ever heard of Iron Chef! She doubted many others in Limbo would have, lest they came from her time frame…
"I haven't got what?" Myra demanded, her powdery hands resting on the edge of her plaid-striped skirt.
"Nothing…" Eve smiled embarrassingly, trying to avoid the topic of the conversation.
"No, no, no—you listen to me! Whether or not me haves what you are trying to tell me or not is completely up to me. It's my part to decide, milady…"
"She said something about an Iron Chef…" Marcum replied, rubbing under his snout as he bounced the middle of his spear against his knee.
Eve frowned angrily at him, "Marcum~!" She huffed and looked rather frustrated, "You blew it—thanks a lot…"
Myra giggled, "Looks like he's on my side this time…!"
"Whether he is on your side or not, he'll probably turn on you too…" Eve scoffed, rolling her end of the dough with aggression. "In fact, I don't even think he has a side he's on! He's just a big… unimportant… lazy, indecisive guy who likes to do nothing all day except sit there and watch the grass grow!"
"Looks to me more like he's watching his toenails~…" Myra giggled before erupting into a series of laughs.
Eve raised a brow, "Um… It's not that funny…?"
The two continued to bicker and laugh without spending too much time realizing what was going on around them, while Marcum kept a steady eye on the horizon… There was something amiss that seemed to bother him… He kept his profile low—his eyes forming slits as he glared across the prairie around them… There was something out there, alright… But what it was, he didn't know… The air was heavy, and that usually meant the coming of a storm. But, the land didn't feel like it was going to rain… Not even the skies showed any promise of rain—there were no clouds, on a blindly obvious level… But wait…!
His eyes shot open, and he gasped. He turned his head quickly to the girls and shouted, "Keep your voices down and don't move!!"
Myra and Eve froze, although Eve had started to laugh with Myra—noticed by the smile she had on her face. She made a false sounding fart, to which she and Myra giggled. Marcum held a finger up to the front of his nose, and lowered his eyebrows at the two, indicating a respect for silence. The two quieted down, while the hunter quietly listened to the air around them.
"Yas hid fvis njam kaqvi…" he uttered quietly. His ears turned in direction of where the noise was supposedly coming from, and remained still. Eve couldn't hear the noise—she didn't know what was going on at all. Why was he freaking out at her like that? Was he just being a brat like he was naturally good at being?
She noticed him extend his arm out slowly, pointing off at something in the woods beyond view. It was sort of… spider-shaped, with eight strong and hairy legs, as well as a face rather than a head which protruded slightly out from the torso, yet on its face it had actual jaws and teeth like a lion or a wolf… Its body was a bit large—it looked to be roughly the size of a small car, give or take a foot or two. Its eyes appeared vacant, while its nose appeared to be nothing more than two slits on the front of its face… Its back end seemed plainly nonexistent, much unlike the spider which had an opisthosoma on its back end… More or less, it looked like something from a bad B-movie from the 80's, but she knew she had to keep quiet on this. Just because it looked like something from the 80's didn't necessarily mean it wasn't dangerous…
"Marcum…!" she whispered, "What do they do?"
"They sit and wait for their prey to make a move… Then, they rush in and grab them using their huge jaws and crush them under their weight and pressure of the jaw's muscles…!" He explained.
"Wow—sounds like just about everything else that walks on four… plus… legs and has sharp jaws like that…" Eve mocked sarcastically.
"Be
careful… It's already seen us… It's waiting to make a
move…"
Eve jumped, "What!! You mean that thing's out for
us!?"
"They jump! Now shut up!!" Marcum yelled back at her.
"I don't believe this…!" Eve said, backing away from Marcum.
"Well, better start believing, because stuff like this happens everyday…" Marcum said, keeping both eyes and ears forward.
"Guess I'd better keep quiet, then…" Eve said quietly to herself, watching the seemingly eventless situation. She didn't know Marcum all that well, aside from the fact he had saved her life, and she really respected him for that… Let alone that he was joining her and Myra, just to help her find some sort of civilization around here where she would feel most comfortable…
The beast gave a low, growling noise, sounding somewhere between a lion and an insect. …What was with all of these insects, anyways? Why were they flying and crawling all over the place? Wasn't Limbo meant to be just this random hole in the ground where lost souls ended up…? Now, there's all these crazy bugs and… flying… insect creatures with effing HUGE teeth, sharp claws, dead-looking eyes and… It just seemed like something out of a HORROR movie to her. Where were they coming from…?
The monster began moving, slowly advancing towards the group in a sickeningly slow spider-like manner. Seeing the way it moved, and how it clacked its teeth together, Eve tried to resist a scream—she hated spiders. She HATED them… She tried to hold back a scream while she bit her tongue, seeing how terrifying the monster really looked. It opened its mouth, to which its face split in four different directions to reveal a complex circular mouth system, and rows upon rows of teeth… Eve screamed…
"DAMN!!" Marcum shouted as the beast responded to her call, accelerating its mobility on eight legs and rapidly approaching fast. He turned the girls around and pushed them with his hand, shouting, "Go! Get away—I'll deal with him!"
"But he's so much bigger than you!!" Eve shouted.
"It didn't stop him before against the big Megamantodea, did it?" Myra said as she pulled Eve by her arm. She noticed the large tear ripping through the sewn place around her bust area and groaned. She blew a sigh and added, "You really need to get some new clothes, unless you want to go around showing yourself off all day."
"YOU try wearing this around, wherever you go…!" Eve argued as the two girls ran.
Marcum held his ground, extending his spear and preparing for a round of melee combat. What happened because of the girls didn't matter to him—it was what was going to happen as a result of this battle…! He had to protect them from this dangerous creature that meant them harm… He knew what they were capable of… These creatures… would actually devour souls… There was no reviving from a bite mark caused by these monsters…
He growled and held on to his spear tightly, planting his feet into the ground to improve traction. The monster continued to advance forth, having slowed down after seeing the spear. It came to a halt eight feet in front of him, and crouched on its legs. Marcum knew what it was about to do… Marcum KNEW what it was about to do…!!
Quickly, he whirled his spear out in front of him, holding it like a jousting pole and ducked. Not a moment too soon, the creature came crashing at him, impaling itself through the mouth upon the spear. The monster gave a horrible shriek, pulling back from him with the spear still lodged through the roof of its mouth. Using its legs, it attempted to remove the spear, trying to scrape or bite it out of its mouth to free itself. Marcum saw this as an ample opportunity to reach for another weapon. But, what was there about for him to grab…?!
A large rock lay near his feet, which had originally served as the cutting board for both Myra and Eve while they were making their bread. Serving no purpose except as an object in his line of vision, he quickly lifted the larger rock with both hands, holding it over the top of his head and aimed. He wasn't about to give the ant lion-like beast a chance to recover—he'd sooner see it dead than moving. With a shout, he gave the rock a hurl, and sent the rock smashing on top of the creature's head. A large complex eye shattered, and with it splurted a long stream of greenish-red ooze, spraying in all directions as the vessel of the eye became undone. As the release continued to gush from the loose and flabby membrane, the eyes of the ant lion started to glow a bright yellow, and it began to rapidly clack its jaws and teeth together. The spear crushed itself in its jaws, and ruled out the possibility of using it for another strike, leaving Marcum to figure out something else. He backed away, holding his ground in case of a retreat as he scoured the surrounding area for anything else that he could use to defend himself. Realizing the small dagger he carried at his side, he drew his small and practically worthless weapon, and brandished it loudly in front of the monster, yelling at it to show his ferocity. The attack did little to deter the beast, and only moments later did it position itself into a crouch again—the pose he knew all too well. It was about to strike again…!
Lock arms, lock legs, position ready and—
ROLL!!
The beast threw itself in Marcum's direction, only to miss the swift and nimble fighter and continued crashing into what loose amounts of brush and trees were in its path. It gave a scream as it yanked one of its legs out from a blackened section of the earth. Its leg sizzled as an awful reek smoked off from its leg. Marcum blinked before he came upon this realization. Fire! The beast didn't like fire! It would make sense, since very few creatures, even down here in Limbo, could withstand the flames of a fiery doom. With the stoking stick still lying in the fire pit, Marcum made a quick dash, grabbing the still-lit stick, and waved it about. He held the stick close to the hairs on the underside of the creature's body, and quickly backed away as the creature began to scream and roar, attempting to drop its body on the earth to extinguish the flames. Marcum knew that if the creature succeeded, it would not only try to go after him, but it would be much more aggressive and quicker at that. Now was the time for him to finish the job! Holding the stick out once more, he attempted to light the side of the creature, covered in the now-sticky goo excreted from the gaping wound in its eye. The goo, being extremely flammable, didn't take long before it reacted with the hot end of the stick, and started to sizzle. The ant lion screeched, and attempted to attack Marcum with its long pinchers, but to no effect—without sight from one of its primary eyes, it was harder to locate and defend itself against this smaller and more agile foe! It attempted to recoil and shrink back, only to back into a cluster of tree trunks and branches, hindering its backwards movement. It lashed out in another attempt to bite at him, only to get a mouth full of air before its eye socket quickly caught aflame. The creature flailed about in a withered manner as black smoke began to rise from its gaping wound, and moaned while clacking its teeth together. The flames began to rise as the fire sought out to burn the creature's "head" first and foremost before getting the rest of the body. With an impaled mouth, a missing eye, and a burning "head," the creature wasn't guaranteed to live long, but still he held the spear right in place. The thick, black smoke was almost toxic, making it incredibly hard to breathe as it smoked off of his body, rising into the air in an incredibly dense manner. It was quite revolting, and completely awful to have to breathe. Finally exhausted and finding the lack of strength left to survive, the gigantic creature gave an ending screech before collapsing on the ground in a savage heap.
Marcum watched it carefully, his eyes holding over with a glint of the warrior within as he made sure the creature was no longer going to rise up on its feet again. He remained still for a time, where only he and beast remained locked in that grip of death… Sensing nothing, he gave a loose sigh, easing his body up, and withdrew his spear from its clutches, turning himself around to slowly depart from camp. Now he had to find Eve, and Myra… Saturated in the blood of his opponent, he came out victorious from the battle—one among many he had to fight while having been here in this strange and desolate land…
He wiped the blood and sweat from his forehead, his thick callused heels walking over the earth with only the sound of one trekking through the fields. He remained relaxed, now letting the warrior side of him dissipate into the shadowy crevices of his mind to replace itself with his former, mellower state, and listened carefully for their voices. More importantly was it that he follow their footprints, and use them and whatever other trail markers that they left to track them down and return to their company. Not that he needed them, but that it wouldn't be customary to leave them so abruptly without a seeing-off before parting ways… and that wasn't something he wanted to do, either.
There came a gurgling noise behind him…
It rushed up fast!—He spun himself around to—
It screeched… … …
Massively, it towered above him, using four of its eight legs to hold it up as it had prepared to pounce him… Through its heart, a long, thin blade protruded through its carcass… So quick and so adeptly did both things happen; like the icy frost coming to signal summer's bane…
She stood before him, eyes focused on her kill as she stared at it with glaring eyes… Dressed in equally as unusual wear as Eve, this obvious female was –also- a warrior of sorts, such as he… Only she… was different…
"Vespi tchak…!" Marcum swore, "My back was unguarded…! You saved my life…!"
"A cautionary word of advice, traveler…" The female figure warned him, "Never leave your back to your enemy. It is foolish, and but one way to learn the ways of a humiliating defeat… Your friends are yonder in yon field. Tell them 'tis best they reside closer to the forests, lest they should be wanting such encounters again…"
Marcum stood baffled.
"Wh-wait—what? What do you…? Wh-who are you…?"
The individual sheathed her sword back into its sheath, still staring far off into the distance, "A lone traveler, much like yourself… My clan was naught but of myself and my master, and I seek for he who it was that slay'd me in my former life, and ended my daughter's life, as well as that of my husband's… You have no need to know of my name, but my name as a shinobi would be… Midnyte…"
He shivered lightly…
"Find yourself refuge in the next town over… There's a dark storm brewing itself about, and far many more dark figures appearing in these parts… Even the animals fear for their sense of nonexistence in this futile world…
"You know of the one they call Michael…?"
"Y… Yes…" Marcum nodded, listening intently.
She remained quiet for a time, "…There is not much more she can do. She should leave now if it all really matters to her. Take her to the city. Her adventure… is unwinding…!"
With a sudden flash of light, Midnyte disappeared, to leave Marcum blinking in bewilderment… Where had she gone, and to disappear so quickly…? The dust settled before he was able to see his way again, and he sighed, taking his spear with him to turn around and find Eve and Myra again. Suddenly, a small star-shaped bit of metal came whizzing over his shoulder to strike the earth before him. With it, a piece of paper with writing on it of some sort. He looked it over, and blinked.
"Never leave your back to your enemy"
***
xxx
She stood before the vast openness that spread before her, staring far off at the horizon which seemed to know no end. The endless prairie had come to a hault, and from her position high atop the craggy rocks, she could see them… Swarms of them, as far as the eye could see… In countless directions did they roam, all soul-seeking children of the Akusama created for the single-minded purpose of destruction… In a world where freedom is only a partial extension of your physical body, there comes a limit as to how much you can do in what little time you have… In the case of these monsters, there would be no time left for a mother searching for her daughter, or for the man that brought her this grief… The hair wisped its way across her face, which kept a solemn expression as not to feel the cold… She could hear the planet screaming… and all of its inhabitants about to die…
She glanced downwards, biting her lip only momentarily before grasping her mask. Veiling her mouth, she adjusted her pack on her back, and quietly set forth for Dandarbain.
xxx
Marcum did wise to tell Eve that staying within the reach of the forests was a good idea. From that moment on, encounters became much less sparse, although by the look on Marcum's face, it appeared as though these appearances were becoming more and more common. The edge of the forest would provide them with room and an ample opportunity to escape, should any danger arise. Traveling all in a straight line, they took the shinobi's advice, and headed straight for the next town. To Eve, none of this made any real sense—if they knew where the nearest town was, why weren't they going there? …Of course, that's what she thought, until she remembered that it was Myra who was trying to lead her there. Marcum followed along to make sure that neither girl was hurt, and never spoke his piece on the matter until recently after having been asked the quickest way.
Myra had lent Eve her overcoat, as to protect her cleavage from showing, and to help her feel a bit more comfortable having to be around Marcum, let alone any other passersby that they encountered. The world was huge… far larger than anything Eve ever even expected… For a world as small as Earth was said to be, this made Earth seem nothing more than like a dot in the sky, although no ceiling could be seen that would otherwise grant her this vision…
It hurt… She felt like she was going to cry… She wasn't even closer to sixteen years old, and already she had her life taken away from her… Gone away and gone forever. Why the hell did it have to happen to her? Why couldn't it have been that damn Diego Honea kid in her fourth hour World Geography class…? He'd gone out with so many girls, and everyone knew what all he did to them… On top of being an asshole to her in class, he'd… get the other girls to do things with him, and… didn't even care, because he never got caught… His sister stole her sweater—the one that was made by her mother out of chanel—she thought, which cost her mother at least forty bucks when she got it for her for her birthday, and it got her mother really mad, so she called the school, and the school called her parents, and they never got a hold of him, and even when they did they never returned it because they said they didn't have it, and then she told Eve that she gave it away to charity because it was a "more charitable cause than she was," and her brother made fun of her and her friend Katie, and he teased her in class, especially about the cats being dissected in Physiology class, and… She missed her dad… She really did… He was so fun to be around, even though he was always busy most of the time… He was like her next-best friend to her, and he always took her and her real best friend Katie out to get ice cream on hot summer days… He hated being alone… She could remember this one time when she and her mom were out without telling him they were going out to coffee—they came back, and he was sitting reclining in his chair all alone listening to the radio, and he was half-asleep…
It made her want to cry—he said he didn't mind, but she knew he did. He gave her a hug afterwards, and although his body was really warm, it was also kind of moist under his shirt, like how he got when he was really worked up over something… And all the lights were really dim, like in a romance novel or in a movie, and she could smell something warm and delicious in the air at that time, too, and that was only when he and her mom were together while she was in her room or at a friend's house. She couldn't stand it. He hated being left alone—he hated it.
There was that time—it was shortly after her mom died, when he came up and hugged her. She was crying, and he was too, and he told her "At least I still have you." …Well, now he didn't have either of them, and now what? Now what was going to happen? I mean, your wife and teenage girl daughter die, almost at the same time, and your family's now gone, and life just goes kablooie… She hoped that he wouldn't dare commit suicide… but at the same time… but…
"Oh my fucking gosh…!!" She exclaimed to herself. Her best friend Katie…!! Oh fuck—now what…?! Katie—her life-long sister and best friend—she was the person she needed at all the times like this—and fuck!! Now she was left behind, and now she was gone. She—Eve was gone! She couldn't imagine how Katie must have felt... watching the funeral and seeing her die—right there and then… Both she and her mother—Eve and her mother that is, died shortly after one another! Eve's mother was pretty much Katie's self-proclaimed second-mommy. The three of them would go out and do so much stuff together—and she and Katie would beg Eve's mom to buy them something when they would go to the mall until she would, and all this other crazy shit… It was driving her mad that her best friend was now left behind, and now it was she who couldn't say goodbye for the last time…
...And now would be the time all the madness would begin…!
xxx
"Mother… …"
The rain that did fall down…
Hissing…
streaming…
--and her shivering…
She's already dead…
"Why did you have to die…?"
And him… … … …
"Miss, I'm afraid you're going to have to leave now... now… now… now… now… now… now…"
He's asked me to leave…
"…up the site, and an officer will escort you home."
I…I can't…
And yet… there she goes…
...Just the way she had always planned it...
"Miss…?"
A peaceful way to die... by a river, in the sand...
"Miss? Could you please look at me for a moment...?"
She… she's died!—Dead!
"Mother…"
NOOOO…!!!
"Miss… mother… E.R room… Tyscan… Hospital… autopsy to determine the possible… death..."
"If only I knew how to say goodbye..."
If only I knew how to say goodbye...
If only I knew how to say goodbye...
"Miss…"
Dad… Oh no—he's here…! But, mom—…
Mom…
is… … …
"Oh, Eve… Oh, my dear daughter Eve…!"
but… it's…
"Mother…"
…
…
… … …
… …
… … …
…
.
…
..
………
And… n-now it's—!?
AAAAAAH!!!
Static-minded, if and only when you can
HEAR
him talking to you… when around you is an empty shadow
LIKE A PHANTOM
drifting and seeking for his next prey… which is really quite interesting, because if we look here at the—
SAVE YOU
…—ophila, you can see that
THERE'S No waY!
AAAAAH
finger clash and wait what his hand it moves stop. A beach and sun—
SET
with a cute little thingie of sparklies inside! Isn't this just delightful?
QUIT LOOKIn aT
The store… wood not appealing, odd smElL
blood rush
DAMN!!
All alone on a hill… a hanging corpse rots with an open minded head… The crows would peck and eat, and devour the tastelessness of his own, damn, fucking, savage being…
"help me…"
child.
Voice…
It's up on the branches… hanging from a leash… is it somebody's dog? but it's a child…wait…
Blood!?
YOU'LL DIE!! YOU'LL DIE!!
Killing that damn fuckin' cockroach!
—"But it's a water beetle…!"
and it's crunch and its squirm and its eyes glaze over in death and its writhe and it bites the wood that crushes it…
That looks like a pebble… but it's a piece of gum on the ground—not a tiny rock in the short April grasses…
Recess is over… …
Cold…
wet… and rainy…
I wonder if there will be any homework tonight…?
"Eve…?"
…if there wasn't such a—
"Eve…"
—pain in the ass…
It's like mom's waking me up…
"Eve. Get up!"
Round circle glasses black hair blue eyes oh wait it's that girl from Wales…
"Miss Eve! Your attention! Please!"
What…?
xxx
"Eve, we're nearly there… It best we move, so me thinks…"
How… what…?
She blinked, still feeling quite… what… the word was…?
Dazed… She was still feeling like that, although she came to realize she was awake now. Waking up in Limbo was a lot like waking up in the real world, since her body hadn't quite gotten used to it yet.
She gave a groan, stretching and pulling the skin at the corners of her eyes, removing the tiny crusty sleep things out of her eyes that collected there, and sat before her. If it were any worse, she would have said she had a hangover and was getting over it. Then again, when you're dead, anything feels like a hangover if you think about it… It's just like dying, and then waking up again… Well, maybe not like that—she went through all of that already, and it pretty much freaked her out. Freaked her out…!? Fuckin' had her soul ripped from her body, and that demon Hortus left her body a bleeding mess back in the real world! Talk about making an exit—that was the worst exit EVER!
She took a deep breath, because her body needed it. Myra giggled, helping her to her feet as she prepared to make the walk with the two of them. "Still waking up, I see…! Best you do it and move along—we're approaching Dandarbain quite soon—it is already upon the horizon!"
"Dan… dar… what…?"
"The city of Dandarbain." Marcum repeated nonchalantly, yet with a note of stoicism. "It's the city where beings in the area gather together, for peaceful meanings…"
"…Like trade and commerce!" Myra smiled, nodding vigorously.
Eve frowned, and scratched her head. It all wasn't making much of sense to her at all… "Wait… so, there's like… … a city, where all these people gather, and trade, and… deal with commerce… Isn't that what a city is…?"
"Auds fledjik vjan." Marcum replied immediately. Eve looked downright confused.
She rubbed her eyes again, turning her attention away from him as she walked along, and gave a groan, "Ohhhh… Please don't mind me saying this, but don't tell me that kind of crap the first thing in the morning… or… whenever the hell I wake up…"
Myra giggled, "It appears Miss Eve has no clue as to what time it is…! My dear, you've been sleeping half the day entirely! Best time for waking now, it is…"
Eve snorted, "So what—you're some kind of Yoda now?"
"Wh-what…? Y-yoda…?" Myra blinked.
Marcum chuckled, leaning on the midsection of his spear, finding the matter at all very humorous. Myra blinked, turning her attention to him, and asked, "Mind me asking you what humors you, Master Marcum?"
Marcum shook his head, "No, no—it's all good… You're alright, Myra…"
Myra looked a bit miffed, and sniffed as she turned herself away from the two, "Hmph…! And all I wanted to know was what a Yoda was…!"
"It's a little green man from a galaxy far, far away, hahaha!" Eve broke into laughter, rejoicing in her ability to use such a phrase in a timely manner. Little green men from far far away… Like anyone would know what that was, unless they died like, five seconds ago…! She guessed that was what made coming from her timeframe all the more enjoyable… except that it probably would have been even more humorous had Myra or Marcum known what she was talking about. Oh well…!
Breaking the otherwise happy and pleasant conversation, Marcum added, "I had been carrying you all morning, and stopped to get a bit of rest before pressing onwards. You're very light, considering the weight of that clothing you wear…"
Eve blushed, feeling her cheeks warm up at his compliment. She hid behind her hair bashfully and shook her head with a laugh, "No I'm not…! I'm freakin' fat as a hippo on the Atkin's diet…!"
"Well, I don't think so…" Marcum replied softly.
Eve scoffed, "I'm frickin' a hundred and five pounds! I'm a monster compared to other girls my age…!"
"A little meat on your bones never hurt for a long hard day's work." Myra smiled before adjusting the jacket she let Eve wear.
"Thanks…" Eve muttered, not bothering to see what it was she was doing.
Myra hummed, and smiled, "I dare say, me thinks you're looking better in me coat than I could or ever would…! Do you think that you would like to keep it?"
Eve blinked, "What…? Um, what are you saying Myra…?"
"What I mean is what I said! The jacket looks good on you, and it may be yours if you would like to keep it." Myra smiled.
"Well, thanks…" Eve blushed, not really sure how happy or nervous to feel about wearing a sixty or so year old uniform as her coat on this perilous trip just to get to one city. It seemed like it was taking forever to get there…
"Marcum…?" She asked.
"Yes…?" Came his stoic reply.
"About how long'll it be until we get to this… Dandruff's Bane or whatever you called it?"
"Dandarbain." He corrected her, "In about six minutes."
"Six minutes…!" Eve's eyes widened. She hadn't even realized that they were that close already. What confused her a little was that moments earlier they had mentioned it was already on the horizon. …Perhaps they were talking about the more heavily populated and business oriented portion of the city, since now they were already passing by a few houses along the way.
The architecture of Dandarbain was indeed a bit of a confusing one. Where the past and the present meet, Dandarbain was a mixture of both modern and ancient living structures, resembling places she had once seen in her history and geology books. Some buildings didn't even look one bit like how they did back home, and carried an Escher-esque appearance to them, confusing her even further. By now, the road itself was becoming a bit more travelled on, and seemed a bit more worn, used to the feet of those who would trod upon it. There wasn't any blacktop, as far as she could see, but travelers would still use horses, or some ride on the backs of other animals. There didn't appear to be any cars here—at least, none of which she had seen. Perhaps there wasn't a discovery of oil or gasoline here in Limbo… Maybe that was why… Then again, she suspected there probably weren't any computers here either. So much for MySpace!
Eve blinked as she looked about, and remarked, "Looks kinda weird~… like something I saw when I watched Labyrinth…"
"Labyr… what…?" Myra looked at her unsurely.
"Nevermind—it's an old movie from the 80's about some girl going off to save her baby brother. David Bowie's in it."
"David Bowie…? Oh! This must be from that "television" you keep telling me about…!" Myra giggled.
"NO…!" Eve gasped, staring at her sarcastically. Myra looked quite surprised.
"My, my Miss Eve—a little sarcastic today aren't we…?"
"I always thought she was down-right serious, if you ask me…" Marcum made a snide remark. Eve smirked and gave him a light shove. Myra giggled and watched as Marcum took the shove, and smiled a cheeky grin as Eve swore.
"Y'fucker…!"
"Don't look at me—she's the one laughing at it…!"
"And YOU'RE the one who's laughing at it too! So I'd just say shut up and take it like a man!"
Myra chortled in delight, "Ohohohohoho! Miss Eve's gotten quite a bit rascally, hasn't she?!"
"Bit of a naughty one, at that…" Marcum added.
Eve grumbled, but didn't give it too much attention. It wasn't like it really mattered, anyhow… Just then—she caught something out of the corner of her eye. Off in the distance, a bright, neon-blue beam of light touched down from the sky—appearing to be landing off somewhere in the center of the city…
She blinked… What was that all about…?
"H… Hey, Marcum? What was that blue beam of light I just saw…?" Eve asked.
Marcum shrugged, "It's… some messenger or something like that… They come from the sky periodically to search for Lost Souls, in hopes of bringing them to some land of Eternal Salvation or whatever…"
"It's, in a sense, the Lord Our God sending down his angel, St. Michael, to bring souls up to the Gates of Heaven, so that they may be judged for their sins!" Myra smiled, and nodded. "It happens all the time, Miss Eve, so there's nothing for you to be worrying about…! Quite the charming spectacle, really~!"
Eve got to thinking about it… An angel that descended from the sky to land on this imperfect land, taking with it the souls of those who were to be judged up in Heaven… It sounded like a beautiful thought… but, would she herself be able to ascend up to the heavenly light…? She sighed… It sounded beautiful, really… She just wondered if that's where her… mother—…?
She paused—a shiver being sent down her spine… What if…?
"Myra…?"
"Yes, Miss Eve?"
"How does… one even know who's going to be going up there…?"
"Their bodies have a feeling that tells them." Marcum said, as though all-knowing too well about this sort of subject…
"Deep in their hearts is a spiritual feeling that flows, and tells them to come to this place… It's not even any place special, really—it's just a sort of altar where people ascend the steps, meet the messenger half-way, and he carries them up to the sky."
BA-BUMP…
Eve clutched her chest… She felt her heart race…
"…What about those who are going to be going up there? Does anybody else know who's going to be going up there?"
"Oh yes! Quite certainly. Saw me brother go up with me very eyes, I did." Myra explained, "You can only rely on your senses if at all~! Strong beatin' of the heart maybe~, and a quickening of the pace~…! You feel like you're flying when it all does happen…!"
"Mother…" Eve's eyes widened…
"Hm…?" Myra blinked.
Eve started walking…
"M… Miss Eve? I beg your pardon—What was that you said?"
Marcum recognized it… He froze, feeling his blood run cold…
She kept on walking…
"Miss Eee… ve?" Myra felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Marcum… He only stared ahead at Eve. Myra remained a bit confused, glancing at her, then to him, then to her, then to…
"Oh dear God…" She frowned…
The streets were quite unfamiliar for her… Yet, the road she felt herself walking upon was nearly the same as any other road before her… The gravel crunched beneath her sneakers as she continued to walk along, walking a little faster now…
It had to be…
She felt her heart race again—a sudden heart beat causing her to take a gasp of air. The adrenaline began to pump, and she found herself breathing a little bit heavier…
Mother…
She quickened her pace, moving along to a swifter trot now—passing by the unfamiliar structures of this begotten town of Mankind, moving along the passers by who appeared to be heading in the same direction…
I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you…
She gasped, feeling her tears beginning to form in her eyes… It wasn't getting any better, and only much... much worse…
Her pace quickened…
Xxx
She stepped up to the platform before her…
He held out his hand to her—a man with the most gentle face, soft skin, and beautiful eyes…
"Please, come stand before me…"
She smiled tearfully… For her, this was to be the moment…
Xxx
She rushed as she turned around a corner, her eyes displaying a sense of fear and denial… There wasn't much time left for her now… She had felt it. In her heart, she had felt the coming approach of loss, as one did when they failed a test… Stronger… Worser… Harder…
Xxx
"Jane Dayton… Daughter of Missus Lindale Leonhart… By order of The Holy Father, our One God above us, Father of Abraham and known to all as our world's Creator… Do you accept my invitation to join me, as we seek the Gates of Heaven in the world above us…?"
Xxx
Her tears began to form, and she cried hysterically as she began to press through. She found herself at a dead end, and panicked. Turning her course, she asked a passerby for the way to the beam of light. He pointed her way, and she continued to rush—crying her way through…
Xxx
She smiled as she looked at him, holding his hand as she made her reply…
"Yes…"
A great, enormous blue beam of light emitted from the wing-ed angel, while a huge blue ringed wave came emitting from its center. A crowd of people stood and stared at the awesome phenomenon—only another natural occurrence in this world, along with the many mysteries that surrounded it…
Xxx
She felt the impact as she heard the explosion caused by the blue wave. It was nearly enough to knock anyone off their feet, but was harmless in the end really. She redoubled her efforts, and began to run now.
She ran… her feet feeling the tingling pain as they were pushed harder than any other time in her life… Memories of her mother flooded through her mind—the one person she would have wanted to have seen most…
She could feel it…
She could sense her mother's presence…
Her mother…
…was leaving.
Xxx
Slowly, the angel wrapped his arms around her… Jane held on close to the angel of God, laying her head on his chest as he spread his wings wide… With a flap of his wings, the two slowly felt themselves being lifted up—the bright blue beam of light being that which lifted them from the earthly prison…
Xxx
"Eve—don't let those bullies at school bother you. Just smile at them, and let it go…"
"Beautiful music you're playing on the piano, Eve…! It was your father and I's favorite song growing up…"
"Ooooh~, you're just my little special baby~! Yyyyes you are~! Yyyyes you are~!"
"Mothers know these things… and only mothers can make it better, dear…"
"…But don't ever forget what I told you, Eve…!"
She panted—the memories and voices in her head echoing from times long since past… She bawled as she ran—her voice screaming as she made her way in view of the altar…
Before her… she could see her…
Her mother…
Was already lifted…
Up…
"…MOTHER!!!!" Eve screamed at the top of her lungs. Her voice carried off the walls, nearly to an eardrum splitting pitch…
She rushed forward, forcing people away from her path as she attempted to make it to the altar…
Jane looked from her position in the angel's arms, down at all the people before her. She could feel her heart skip—being so high up… She couldn't ever really recall a time she had felt so lifted… so free…
Higher up she flew…
Up higher…
And higher…
…and higher…
She glanced down at the world below her, amazed at the tiny dots that became of the people before her… But her eyes also cast themselves upon one particular person… She felt her heart sink…
"Eve…"
Eve tripped and fell, struggling to pull herself back up to her feet…
The form of her daughter became smaller, and smaller… Up higher she rose, saddened by the early death her daughter had to take… But she couldn't be unhappy anymore… because she was going up to Heaven to be happy…
"Always remember…"
She crawled back to her feet, and staggered up the steps of the altar… She looked up Heavenward, and watched as the blue beam of light began to disappear before her… She panted heavily... sweat dripping from her brow as she looked upwards at the deep blue azure before her, as the white dotted form of a familiar face… now began to disappear from sight…
From the heavens…
A feather… of pure white… drifted by her face, and brushed past her ear…
"…I love you…"
"M-mother…"
She stared at the sky…
fading…
fading…
fading…
until soon, she… she was…
"…Gone…"
She fell to her knees…
Her head hung low…
She wept…