Chapter 5:
Inside the dark cave, chanting could be heard. Though there was a lack of lighting, the group walked carefully. The walls were a smooth stone while the floor had rough grooves carved into them. Moss had crept between the cracks in the walls and floors over time and have stretched themselves all over. Deeper into the cave torches were set up around the walls. Pictures could not be seen among the walls, depicting a brutal battle with a standoff between a white figure and a black figure. The white figure is shown slaying the dark figure in the end. The chanting became louder and louder the further they went. The cave was roughly fifteen feet high and seven and a half feet long. Io was in the front, ready to punch the first thing that came out of the shadows. Samantha was next, gripping her crystal in fear. Jane followed, full of anxiety. Behind them was Nyssia, who didn't let the poor décor or the lack of lighting bring her down, instead she was rather more interested in the pictures on the wall and followed the story with every step along the way.
Near the end, the cave suddenly opened up in a dome like shape revealing a bottom floor. Below them were a small group of strange individuals, who were chanting some incoherent language and wearing large robes with large hoods covering their faces. There were stairs on both ends that curved downward to the bottom floor and apparently have been carved from the wall of the cave. In the center of the bottom floor stood one cloaked figure. The one thing that drew everyone's attention was the demonic looking statue at the far end of the room. The men stood in a circle, facing the figure in the middle. A light pink light could be seen shinning from the demonic figure. It came from the left side of the statue's face. The light started to glow and pulsate. Then the chanting became clear. "Ancient blood and darken skies, the Shadow's Hand shall once more rise!"
"You think that's the eye thing those maniacs want?" Io whispered.
"Maybe….But how are we going to get it?" Samantha said as she pondered the possibilities.
"Where did Nyssia go?" Jane said with worry in her voice.
"Oh crap…" Io said as she saw Nyssia slowly crept down the stone stairs.
Nyssia ducked into the shadows. Edging herself along the wall. Making sure that every step she took was as quiet as possible. Her mind was racing but her heart stayed calm. The figures continued to chant and face the man in the center who had his head down facing the statue. Nyssia continued to move alongside the wall up to where the statue was. Sweat was dripping down her forehead. She looked to the statue and quickly back at the hooded figures. The others were forced to stand by up above and watched as Nyssia inched herself ever closer to the statue. The chanting continued as if nothing had happened.
Now the moment had come. She was standing right next to the statue. The statue stood nine feet tall and was about four feet wide due to the wingspan it carried on its back. Nyssia stood in the darkness behind the wings and every so carefully started to climb the statue. Using the large stone wings to shield her from the hooded figures she carefully secured herself on the statue. Grabbing a hold of the statue's neck she hung with one arm free. Sweat was pouring from her hand and making holding on rather difficult. Her heart started to race. Her breathing was becoming rapid. At one point she held her breath to try to remain still. Her fingers were starting to cramp. Hanging by with one arm she carefully slipped the other underneath the statue's wingspan and curved up towards the face. There was a strange sensation her fingers felt as they made their way towards the eye. It felt warm and soothing. This was the final moment for her.
"I think she's got it." Samantha whispered.
Her fingers finally reached the Umbral Eye and the sensations became overwhelming. The pink glow that the Umbral Eye was emitting suddenly vanished along with the eye itself. Nyssia fell off the statue and cried out in pain. The chanting ceased and all stared at Nyssia as she started to roll on the ground in pain and agony. She was cupping her eye patch and screaming in pain. Pink veins stretched across her face from her left eye. The hooded figure in the center pulled out a rusty dagger from his robe. "Now you see what I see. In the blackest of nights, the Umbral Eye shall relight." Nyssia ripped off her eye patch. And stood on her knees. Voices creep into her ear as she saw images of tiny little creatures crawling on the walls and the ceiling. The hooded figures were clouded in a black fog. But the dagger the man held glowed white. Nyssia gazed at all of this in horror as she was paralyzed with fear to move. "Now you see the nightmares that walk among you. You are not worthy to receive the Eye." The man said as he held up the dagger. Just then from the second floor a loud whoosh sound came about, following a very loud bang that shook the cave. An explosion of fire erupted from behind and the men on the far end of the circle were blown to bits and scattered across the floor. Smoke build up from the blast and the ground had started to crack. The concussion following after tossed the remaining hooded figures aside while Nyssia remained still. From her perspective a large white light had just appeared out of nowhere and many of the tiny creatures above ran in fright.
Out of the chaos and smoke came Io. Screaming at the top of her lungs and raising her gauntlet in the air she clobbered one of the hooded men who fell on the ground and ceased all movement. The man with the dagger got up along with a few others who were still conscience and armed with daggers. Samantha came about, holding the crystal in her hand, she unleashed a wave of energy that knocked one of the hooded figures off their feet, slamming their head against the statue. Blood splattered the statue as well as the floor. The man with the dagger rushed up to Samantha and slashed at her with his dagger. Samantha tried to dodge out of the way but the blade made contact and slashed her left shoulder down to her elbow. The blade was riddled with her blood and started to trickle on the floor. Jane followed behind, carrying her large book with her which she used to smash in the head of one of the hooded men who then proceed to bobble his head up and down until he sat down on the ground seeing stars. Samantha dropped the crystal and clutched her arm in pain. The blood started to seep into the cracks. Suddenly from where they stood, amongst the cracks in the floor, a light was started to show.
The man with the bloodied dagger stared at the light then back at Samantha who was holding her arm in pain with tears swelling up in her eyes. "Ancient blood. And blacken skies!" The man said as he took another slash at Samantha. "The Shadow's Hand shall once more rise!" With that the blade came from underneath and cut Samantha stomach. Samantha cried out in pain as she fell on her back. Blood was pouring from her stomach and onto the floor. The light had begun to grow brighter. Io stood in horror as she saw Samantha fall over. "Protect her." Were the words she heard but before she could move over and give the man with the dagger and new face lift the ground had begun to quake. The cracks opened and stretched across the room. The light from the cracks grew brighter and brighter. Io lost balance as the floor beneath her cracked and shifted. Bright blue light shinned through. Nyssia remained where she was, unflinching. From her perspective it wasn't a bright light that came out from the cracks, but a large aurora of shadow. Many of the tiny creatures above her that didn't leave fled and ran into the cracks.
Then, from beneath, another figure came up. From Nyssia's perspective it was another dark figure, but this one gave her the chills.
A hand reached out from the cracks. It was a dark green scaly hand. It dung its claws into the stone. It pulled itself up revealing a snout and a long scaly tail. It grinned, revealing its sharp teeth. It was a lizard man. It was wearing a long leather coat which was torn up. A shirt that had bloodstains on it. Pants that were dusty and worn out. He wasn't wearing shoes or boots but instead was barefoot. It had a cutlass inside its large belt on one side and a pistol holster on the other. The lizard man hoisted itself and rolled on the ground. He took a breath and instantly sat up with a curious look on his face. He tap his head a few times and suddenly it hit him. He swirled around back to the crack where he crawled out. "Oh no you little fucker. That's mine!" He pulled out his revolver from its holster. Six loud shots echoed through the buildings. Meanwhile the man with the dagger was puzzled. Samantha laid on the ground bleeding out. Her visions started to become distort. Io stood still. She was about to pounce on the hooded man with the dagger and rescue Samantha but the strange lizard man with the gun seemed to be a bit more distracting. Jane was stunned but that didn't stop her from slowly creeping up behind the hooded man with the dagger to try to help Samantha.
The lizard man stood up. In his right hand was a revolver and in his left was a hat. It was an old hat with a wide brim and has certainly seen better days. "No one touches my hat." He said as he dusted it off and place it on his head. "Who the fuck are you?" He said looking at the strange man with the dagger. "My name is Azer and you have ruined our ritual!" Azer said with anger in his voice. The lizard man chuckled to himself. "Oh dear! What a shame! I ruined your little ritual!" he said in a sarcastic tone while waving his arms in the air. "Goddamn hippies I swear."
It was at this time Jane had gotten to Samantha undetected. Samantha gave a slight cough. She was lying a pool of blood. Her arm was slash as well as her stomach up to her chest. Jane took off her coat and placed it over Samantha to attempt to stop the bleeding. "That voice…." Samantha mumbled to herself.
"You have not only trespassed into our world and ruined a sacred ritual but you also mock us to?" Azer shouted. A few more hooded men stood up, armed with daggers they approached the lizard man.
"Ah that's so cute. Look at all of you. You think you're a real threat." The lizard man said as he placed his hands in his pocket. "Tell ya what. I'll let you guys live if you show me the way o-…" His sentence was cut short as he glared behind the hooded man with the dagger. "Baby sister! Is that you?"
"Ridley…?" Samantha mumbled as she tried to sit up.
Azer immediately turned to see Jane trying to help Samantha. But before he could do anything he suddenly felt a blade tap his shoulder. "Did you do this?" Ridley said from behind. Azer was frozen with fear. In one quick motion he turned around to slash at Ridley. Ridley blocked with his cutlass. "I'll take that as a yes." He said calmly.
"Die blasphemer!" Azer shouted as he thrusted his blade at Ridley.
"Been there, done that." Ridley said as he countered with his cutlass and slashing at Azer. Azer screamed in pain. Blood squirted on the floor. The dagger he was holding dropped to the floor.
"Kill him!" He shouted at the other hooded figures.
The two behind Ridley charged at his. In a flash Ridley suddenly disappeared. The two men stopped and then took a step back. He was gone. Not a trace. Azer held his arm and twirled about. "Where did he go?"
From the shadows came a whisper into one of the hooded men's ear. "I love hide and seek"
Suddenly from behind Ridley appeared and with a single thrust, he shoved his blade into the hooded man in front of him. Blood gushed forward and littered the floor. A loud scream of agony and pain roared through as Ridley ripped the blade from the man and cut down the other one next to him. More screaming and hollering was made. Azer stood motionless. He quickly grabbed his blade from the ground and shoved Jane aside. In a fast motion he wrapped his uninjured arm around Samantha's throat and dragged her to her feet. "Stop right there! Or I'll kill her." Azer shouted. Samantha let out a scream as she was forced to stand. The pain in her stomach and arm was getting more and more severe. Ridley stopped. His face was doused with blood. "Throw the sword down."
Ridley tossed the sword on the ground. "Hands up." Azer said as he tighten his grip around Samantha's throat. Ridley had his hands up in the air. "You've made a wrong move asshole." Ridley said. He gave Azer a slight grin. With a quick twist of his wrist, Ridley's arm swung behind him and out again revealing a flintlock pistol. In the time for Azer to realize what had happened, a bullet carved its way through his skull. Azer's body stumbled backwards and collapse on the ground. Brain matter splattered the walls and the floor behind him. Samantha laid motionless on the ground. Her eyes closed. Jane hurried over to check on her. She wasn't breathing. Her pulse could not be found. Jane reeled back in horror at the scene.
Ridley casually pick up his cutlass, wipe it off and walked over to Samantha. Jane was on her knees, breathing fast with tears in her eyes. She look up at Ridley at froze. Never in her life had she seen someone quite like Ridley. Ridley reached into his coat and pulled out a small vial. It was filled with a red liquid. "Hold her head up." Ridley said to Jane. Jane didn't say anything. She was at a loss for words but still did as she was told. Ridley opened the vial and carefully pour the contents in Samantha's mouth and down her throat. There was a sizzling sound. Steam could be seen rising from Samantha's wounds. Her eyes suddenly opened wide. She screamed out in pain and rolled over. "She's alive!" Jane said. Samantha laid on her back and closed her eyes again. Io ran over and grabbed Ridley by the collar of his coat and held him up. "Alright lizard breathe! Who are you and what are you doing here?" Io shouted.
Ridley just stood there as this six foot tall woman held him in the air by the collar of his coat. "Well if you must know. My name is Ridley. And I'm that one's older brother." He said nonchalantly.
"Oh yeah!? What was it you put down her throat?"
"It was a revival remedy." Ridley said as he held up the empty vial.
"She's breathing!" Jane shouted.
Io looked back at Jane who seemed to be smiling and dripping with tears of joy and ecstasy. She then looked back at Ridley who stared at her and gave her a slight grin. It was a familiar grin, one that she had seen before. Suddenly it hit her. "Where's Nyssia!?" Io shouted as she dropped Ridley on his butt.
Nyssia was still standing/sitting the in same spot she has been this entire time. Her attention though had shifted quite a lot in the past five minutes. She stared out in horror at everything. Io ran up to her, leaping over large cracks in the ground. Io was shocked at what she saw. Nyssia stood there on her knees with both eyes wide open. The bright pink veins that stretched across her face had subsided. "Hey. Hey Red." Io said as she waved her hand in front of Nyssia's face. "That girl has seen shit no one should ever see."
Io jumped around in shock to see Ridley standing there next to her. "She took the eye huh." Ridley then stared at the demonic statue that was now missing an eye. Io looked at him with confusion. "This is bad." Ridley muttered.
"Bad, bad." Nyssia said.
Nyssia spring to her feet and grabbed both Io and Ridley and heaved them to the ground. "What the he-"Io immediately hush as a chill ran up her spine. It slowly crept up her spine and into the back of her head. Something was there. But she didn't see anything. Io looked at Ridley and expected him to look back but his attention was drawn elsewhere. "Bad, bad." Nyssia whispered to herself. "Stay still, don't speak." Ridley whispered as he pulled out his revolver and started to reload. A sudden scream broke the silence.
Jane was suddenly whooshed into the air upside down. "What the hell is going on!?" she shouted as she hung in the air. Ridley got up and drew his cutlass but something seemed to come at him because he instantly ducked and was soon smacked by something much larger then him as he was tossed across the room and straight into a wall.
"Bad, bad." Nyssia said again as she stared up into the ceiling. With another scream Jane was yanked out of the air and pulled straight down to one of the large cracks in the floor. She caught herself on the edge. Io got up and ran to her but was knocked by something. It felt heavy and slimy. Suddenly something grasps itself around her throat and started to lift her. Then black ooze splattered her face as a blade came down right in front of her. She dropped to the ground only to find that Ridley was standing there, swinging at an invisible monster.
"Help me!" Jane shouted as she was pulled into the crack and disappeared into the darkness.
A familiar voice came into Io's head once again. "Protect her." Without realizing it, Samantha's unconscienced body flew past them and was whisked away into the shadows. Io's heart sunk for a moment as this happened. Ridley's jaw dropped. Nyssia stared off into the abyss. It all happened so fast none of them realized what had happened until it was too late. The place started to rumble and quake. The ground began to shake. The cracks started to push themselves against one another and reform. The stone was solid and cold. The cracks were gone. Silence consumed them. The three were all alone. "What the hell happened!?" Io said as she looked at Ridley and Nyssia.
"Bad stuff." Nyssia said.