Chapter Thirty-Seven
(Song in this chapter is "Sacrifice" by Elton John.)
What now? People were running towards windows and peeking out through the front door of the Benbow Inn.
"I'll go check it out," said Danny flying out of the building. He returned a moment later looking a bit concerned, but it wasn't the look he usually has when there's a zombie attack.
"What is it?" Sam inquired right away.
Danny shook his head and replied, "Nature seems to have gone haywire."
Almost as if Nature itself had heard him, an earthquake suddenly took place. Everyone braced themselves against tables and held each other up. I felt queasy from the shaking and toppled over onto my behind. With a determined look Tulio left his seat and moved towards me. Parts of the inn began to collapse around us. A section of the ceiling cracked right above me. I tried getting to my feet to jump out of the way, but the earthquake knocked me over again. Tulio then grabbed me by the ankle and yanked me off the stage. I landed in his arms and he turned his back to the stage right as the ceiling collapsed where I had been moments before. He continued to use his body as a shield for me. I clamped my eyes shut and clutched onto his shirt until my fingers ached.
Once the earthquake stopped, everyone calmed down and I peeked out from around Tulio. The inn was a mess.
"Everyone okay?" Simba inquired.
"Danny, what else was going on?" Alyss asked shakily getting to her feet. She picked up Milo's glasses and gave them back to him.
"There are storm clouds with lightning and thunder, but no rain. Sort of like a dry storm," Danny continued, "And the ocean was full of tidal waves."
Nesidy citizens rushed out of inn to see everything for themselves. Tulio stood up and helped me to my feet. I ran to the door and made my way through the crowd all the way outside. Tulio, Danny, Sam, and the sisters followed me out. Danny was right. Nature had gone crazy and out of hand! It was hot like being in Phoenix during the summer, yet it snowed as if I were in the middle of Antarctica. The leaves on the trees were green, red, gold, and brown, changing between all four colours without falling to the ground, as if they couldn't change their minds on what season it was. Wild animals from the woods were running rampant through Nesidy, causing destruction, yet they weren't like the horrific zombie creatures Siren creates. There was a woody sound, like rustic music and suddenly nymphs arrived, joining the beasts in the destruction.
"What the hell is going on?!" Catherine exclaimed.
The acrid stench of smoke filled my nostrils. Swiveling, towards the source of the scent, I was horrified to see some of Nesidy on fire. I quickly headed for the source of the heat and arrived to see everything in utter chaos. People were running throughout the streets, screaming and trying to save loved ones. And then I saw her. Siren was standing in the middle of the street, laughing, surrounded by Zeus, Poseidon, Demeter, Artemis, Ares, Hephaestus, Pan, and a zombie Hercules. Well, that explained all of the weirdness currently going on.
Many of the Nesidy citizens were trying to get away from the chaos and make it to safety. Megara was not one of the lucky ones. Zombie Hercules latched onto her and brought her close.
"Meg, no!" I screamed, but it was too late. Hercules bit her arm, leaving a nasty bloody chunk missing. Meg cried out in pain, but within seconds, her skin shriveled up, turning a sickly gray. Black blood dripped from her lips, and her right eyes popped out of its socket, rolling around the street. Her head turned limp as she slowly moved forward to attack some people.
Tulio swore as he grabbed me and pulled me back from the danger.
Several heroes were rushing forward with weapons to attack Siren and her minions.
"We can't let them harm Siren," Tulio shouted, passing me on to Danny.
What?
Before Tulio could do anything to stop the heroes, Ares shot them with a beam of red light. The heroes froze and suddenly turned on each other, swinging their weapons.
Of course, the god of war, violence, and bloodshed. How in the world did Siren even get control of the gods anyways?
"We have to do something!" Danny growled out. I shot Sam a look and she knew as well as I did that he would lose it if he continued to confront Siren.
Not far from where we stood, there was a young couple with a toddler, who I recognized as Boo, trying to escape a fire.
"Where do you think you're going?" Siren sneered, pointing at them. From the tip of her finger shot out a black light that split in two and struck both of them in the back, the mother dropping the toddler. The villainess saw the child as an obnoxious thing squealing like a pig as she shouted for her mama. The couple were writhing on the ground as they screamed, their bodies quickly decomposing into a zombie-like creature. I couldn't help but shudder at the sight. Sam now had to hold onto Danny to keep him from doing anything rash. When the parents were no longer making any noise and had stopped squirming, they stood up, their eyes glowing black. Siren laughed once more as her two new undead slaves turned their attention to the toddler. Boo was now screeching, backed up against a wall. "Kill," my evil side commanded of them.
"Tulio, no!" I shouted when I saw him running straight for the toddler.
Tulio had scooped up a fallen sword from the street and used it to attack the undead slaves. His moves were absolutely remarkable as he fought them off trying to save the child, but it was useless. The zombies didn't die, nor were they be harmed. I stared at them in horror. They weren't dying! All the others we had encountered did! Alyss rushed and grabbed the child from behind Tulio.
"Come on!" she yelled and they ran off.
I watched Siren and noticed she eyed Tulio with relish. Her gaze then landed upon me and an evil smile spread across her face. My heart skipped a beat as she pointed at me. She shot another black light, but instead of killing me like the couple, it created a cage surrounding me. I was suddenly brought towards the villainess and glared at her. I didn't know what she had planned, but I sure as hell wasn't going to go down without a fight! I just had to get out of this cage.
"Aralyne!" my friends shrieked.
Tulio skid to a halt, turning his attention our way. "Let her go, witch!" he snarled pointing the sword at Siren.
Siren laughed at his forwardness and replied, "Oh, Tulio, you can't kill me!" To show him she meant business, she waved her hand and the sword flew from his grasp, becoming embedded in a building.
"Let her go!" Tulio said now becoming desperate, "I'll do anything!"
"What I want," Siren said pointing to Tulio, "is you." What?! "You agree to willingly work for me, and I swear to let your little girlfriend go, otherwise she dies and becomes one of my undead slaves, just like that little brat's parents."
"Tulio, don't!" I screamed at him, clutching the bars of the cage.
He locked gazes with me for a moment. I saw something die in his eyes before being replaced with determination. Returning his attention to Siren, he glared at her and said, "Fine. Just let her go."
"No!" I shrieked.
"Excellent," Siren said with a laugh, snapping her fingers. The cage and Tulio suddenly vanished.
With another evil laugh, Siren left the scene with the gods and her zombies.
When the cage had vanished, I fell to my knees and stared at the spot where Tulio had been standing. Tears were now streaming from my eyes and I felt like my heart had been torn out of my chest. He was gone!
"It's a human sign
When things go wrong
When the scent of her lingers
And temptation's strong
Into the boundary
Of each married man
Sweet deceit comes calling
And negativity lands
Cold cold heart
Hard done by you
Some things look better baby
Just passing through
And it's no sacrifice
Just a simple word
It's two hearts living
In two separate worlds
But it's no sacrifice
No sacrifice
It's no sacrifice at all
Mutual misunderstanding
After the fact
Sensitivity builds a prison
In the final act
We lose direction
No stone unturned
No tears to damn you
When jealousy burns
Cold cold heart
Hard done by you
Some things look better baby
Just passing through
And it's no sacrifice
Just a simple word
It's two hearts living
In two separate worlds
But it's no sacrifice
No sacrifice
It's no sacrifice at all
Cold cold heart
Hard done by you
Some things look better baby
Just passing through
And it's no sacrifice
Just a simple word
It's two hearts living
In two separate worlds
But it's no sacrifice
No sacrifice
It's no sacrifice at all
No sacrifice at all
No sacrifice at all
No sacrifice at all
No sacrifice at all"
End.
(Another cliffhanger ending. If you enjoyed this and want to know what happens next, keep an eye out for the fourth and final Hidden Strength book.)