chronicles of eden - act I (95 page)

"No… Daniel… help me…" she said shakily. She screamed as she closed her eyes, curling up into a ball as the shadow moved towards her, the cabin turning pitch black as she peeked through her fingers at the approaching darkness. As it got closer a skeletal hand reached out towards her with a ghostly moan.

"DANIEL!" Specca cried out, shooting up from her dream with fright. She breathed heavily as her eyes were wide with fear, the girl then quickly reaching over and grabbing her glasses. Putting them on she saw she was sitting up inside the cabin with the others staring at her with surprise. Alyssa and Daniel were sitting in the front again while Triska and Squeak were sitting across from the nixie against the wall like before.

"What? What is it?" Daniel asked quickly.

"You ok?" Alyssa asked curiously. Specca caught her breath and held a hand to her head.

"Oh my… it was just a dream," she said shakily.

"About Daniel?" Triska asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Like you haven't had the same," Alyssa commented flatly. Specca shook her head and slumped against the wall as she calmed her breathing.

"Are you ok, Specca?" Daniel asked worriedly. She nodded and looked to him with a relieved smile.

"Yes, I'll be fine, Daniel. Just… a bad dream," she said before looking down.

"About Daniel?" Triska asked puzzled.

"How could that be a bad dream? He's so dreamy," Alyssa said happily as she looked at the boy with a giddy laugh. Daniel chuckled and shook his head amusingly at that comment. Triska rolled her eyes while Squeak watched Specca curiously. The nixie shook her head to gather her senses then reached over to grab a nearby book.

"It was nothing, just my imagination running wild about creepy monsters. I just need to focus on something to take my mind off of it," she reassured as she opened the book and adjusted her glasses. Squeak crawled over next to her and looked at the pages curiously.

"So you're going to read a story about monsters to take your mind off of a nightmare about monsters?" Triska asked flatly. Specca smirked slightly and nodded.

"Reading helps me relax, Triska, and I'm well aware these are just stories. Besides, I feel in control of my own imagination when I'm reading a book, reading about such things doesn't frighten me," she said with a shrug. Squeak looked at the pages closely then tilted her head with a simple squeak. Specca glanced to her then looked back to the book. She paused for a moment then slowly looked back over to the ant girl.

"Did… you want to read it after I'm done?" she asked carefully. Squeak looked at the book curiously then showed a puzzled expression.

"Does she even know how to read?" Triska asked. Squeak glanced to her then back to the book. After a moment she looked to Specca and squeaked a few times, the nixie watching her with a careful eye.

"Um…" Specca said slowly, and then looked back down to the book. Squeak pointed to it and squeaked a few more times. Specca glanced to her then back to the book.

"Do you want me to read it to you?" she asked looking over the ant girl. Squeak nodded with a simple squeak. Specca hesitated for a moment then showed a small smile.

"Sure, I'd be happy to, Squeak," she said looking back down to the book. Squeak sat close to her and looked at the pages, her eyes darting around at the words with wonder while her antennae twitched a bit. Specca started to read from the book, the story about a lone woman who crossed through the outerlands while being chased by murderous bandits. The heroine ran through tall fields of grass and tried to lose her pursuers in an old forest, hearing horses and yelling behind her as she was hunted down like an animal.

The group listened to Specca's telling of the story about the human that tried to outsmart and elude the bandits while hoping to cross the outerlands and reach her love far away. As the nixie told the tale she started to get a bad feeling in her chest again, reading another page then pausing with a concerned expression.

"Don't stop now, Squeak's loving it," Triska said looking at the ant girl. Squeak nodded with a few quick squeaks as she kept looking at the words in the book, her antennae twitching slightly before she looked from the book to Specca then back again.

"Yeah, keep going. This is getting interesting," Alyssa added as she and Daniel were looking back at the nixie, neither of them seeing the fog starting to form ahead of them as the caravan traveled along a dirt road through fields of tall grass and by old trees.

"Please, Specca, continue," Daniel said kindly. Specca slowly looked around at them then smiled slightly.

"Of course," she said softly before looking back down to the book. She continued through another two pages, the group listening how the murderous bandits were catching up to the woman of the story. After a while Specca stopped reading as she felt that uneasy feeling growing in her chest.

"Specca? What's wrong?" Triska asked.

"Are you ok?" Daniel asked. Alyssa looked back ahead at seeing the fog building around them.

"Whoa, Lucky, slow down," she called out. Daniel looked back outside and around as Triska watched Specca curiously.

"So much for our sunny weather," Daniel said with a shrug.

"Specca?" Triska asked. Squeak looked at the nixie as the girl was showing a concerned expression. Specca glanced around as everything seemed to be playing out just like it did in her dream before. Slowly she looked down to the book and closed it, staring at the cover with worried eyes.

"No…" she said under her breath.

"Specca? Are you ok?" Daniel asked as he and Alyssa looked back to the nixie.

"This book…" Specca said nervously, recognizing it as one of the many books she read at the Ashwood library before. However it wasn't one of the books that Daniel had packed for his trip. Specca blinked then looked over to Daniel with fright.

"Where… did this come from?" she asked nervously.

"What do you mean where did it come from?" Alyssa asked puzzled.

Suddenly a crashing sound was heard in front of them, the witch quickly looking back to seeing a large tree falling down onto the path through the fog.

"Whoa! Lucky, watch it!" she yelled as she yanked on the reins. Lucky neighed and tried to change direction, the horse running alongside the tree as it crashed onto the ground. The caravan banged against the trunk of the tree and scraped against it, with a large branch passing by and striking off one of the wheels. Daniel was thrown off of the driver's seat to the side as Alyssa fell back into the cabin, the other girls bracing from the shock before the caravan clipped another large branch and flipped onto its side.

"Daniel!" Triska cried out before all the girls slammed into the wall as it became the floor, the caravan crashing to a halt as fog billowed around it. Lucky snapped free from his reins and took off crying into the unseen as all the girls groaned weakly inside the cabin.

Specca slowly opened her eyes, regaining her senses as she was lying down on the dirt path. She heard rowdy laughter and shouting along with a few horses nearby, her eyes slowly focusing as she felt her body aching. She saw through her glasses that had a crack in one of the lenses bandits surrounding her, the men dressed in darker clothing as they all had wicked smiles on their faces. Specca tried to move only to realize that she was tied up, the nixie lying on her side while her arms and feet were bound with rope. She looked around frightfully at the humans that were surrounding her, the bandits laughing and eyeing the girl with cold smiles while a few others were standing around the wrecked caravan. Some of the men had axes held over their shoulders from chopping the tree down while a few of them were rummaging through the travelers belongings. A few dark horses were standing off to the side as a group of men walked towards the dirt path with Triska struggling in their grip. She was tossed down onto the ground next to Specca, the human having her hands tied behind her while her feet were bound as well. Her sword and dagger were missing while she had a few tears falling from her face.

"Triska… Triska, what's happening?" Specca asked fearfully as Triska thrashed around with loud screams.

"YOU BASTARDS!" she yelled as the men laughed at her. Specca looked at her with fright then over to the side, gasping as she saw an ant girl tied to a tree. Squeak’s body was bloodied as her hands were tied in chains and held up around a branch, the girl held up onto her feet as she squeaked weakly. There were a few men standing around her, some of them holding clubs while others had torches. Squeak shakily looked over to them as she squeaked fearfully, her mouth dripping with blood.

"No… no! Squeak!" Specca cried out. A bandit swung his club across Squeak's face before another did the same, the men ruthlessly beating on the ant girl as she squeaked weakly.

"Leave her alone! LEAVE HER ALONE!" Triska yelled before a man pushed her head down with his boot. He chuckled and looked over to the other men with a nod. Specca watched as one of the men wound up and struck down on the head of the ant girl with a sickening crunch. Squeak twitched then dropped limp in her restraints as the man laughed.

"NO!" Specca screamed before one of the bandits dropped his torch next to the dead girl's body, the fires flaring up and spreading onto the tree and ant girl.

"SQUEAK!" Triska cried out. The bandit holding her down laughed and looked down to them amusingly.

"You actually care for a monster? And you named it too, how cute, haha!" he laughed, twisting his foot as he pushed her down into the dirt. She screamed out in anger as she thrashed around while Specca stared at the burning tree with horror. The man laughed a bit then motioned others towards him.

"What about this one? Does she have a name too?" he asked with a chuckle. Triska and Specca looked over with teary eyes to seeing Alyssa being dragged towards them, the witch kicking and screaming while her focuser was in the hands of a nearby bandit.

"Alyssa… Alyssa!" Triska cried out.

"Alyssa, huh? Aw, such a sweet little name for an accursed little witch," the man said with a smirk. Alyssa was thrown to the side as she kicked around, collapsing down as the bandits laughed amusingly. She shakily looked up to seeing three large dogs rushing through the crowd of humans, the animals snarling and barking as they raced towards her. They got to an inch away from her before their rope leashes snapped taught, the animals halting in place as the witch stared with wide eyes. She screamed and franticly scooted back on her rear before a bandit grabbed her by the shoulders, the girl staring with fright at the wild dogs.

"What's wrong? They want to play with you, sounds like they want to be your new friends," the bandit laughed as he nudged her forward. She shrieked as she tried to scramble away, the bandit laughing before lifting her up and walking her closer to the dogs.

"Stop it! You're scaring her!" Triska yelled out. The bandit looked back to her with a laugh as Alyssa screamed and kicked wildly while watching the dogs with fright.

"Scaring her? But all little girls love to play with puppies, see?" he said, the bandit then throwing the witch over to the dogs. She landed down with a thump as the animals swarmed her with vicious snarls, the girl screaming in agony as the men around laughed at the sight. Triska and Specca watched with horror as they saw the dogs mauling Alyssa, the girl's screams being heard over the animals as they tore her apart. One bit down on her arm as another snapped at her leg. The third went straight for her throat, the animal biting down and crushing in the girl’s windpipe as she let out a gurgled cry.

"ALYSSA!" Triska screamed, crying shakily as the witch fell silent while the dogs chewed on her. Specca stared at the sight with wide eyes as she saw the witch's hand slowly drop down lifeless while the dogs ripped off scraps of flesh from the body.

"No… this isn't happening… this isn't happening!" Specca screamed as she shook her head.

"I'm going to kill you! All of you!" Triska yelled as she thrashed around under the bandit's foot. He laughed and shook his head.

"This one's got some fire in her, I love that in a woman!" he called out with a laugh. Others around laughed as well while Triska yelled out in anger. From the crowd of bandits two came forward holding Daniel up by the arms, the boy beaten and bloodied as his head hung low. They dragged him over to the path and dropped him down, with Triska and Specca staring at him with fright as he collapsed in front of them.

"DANIEL!" Triska screamed.

"What did you do to him?" Specca cried out as she tried to move. A man stomped down on her back and kept her pinned, the girl coughing as she stared at Daniel with wide eyes.

"Aw, is he special to you? Is that your boyfriend?" the leader asked as two others walked over to him, the men grabbing hold of Triska and holding her down. The leader unsheathed his dagger and held it close to her face, the girl staring at the blade with wide eyes.

"So would it make you sad if I slit his throat?" he asked with a chuckle. Triska looked at him with fright as the other men held her down.

"Tell you what; I'll spare his life, since I'm so nice like that. But you're going to have to make it worth our while," he said with a grin. She trembled as the men brought her up to her feet, seeing the way they were looking at her. The bandit held his blade to her throat then slowly drew it down the middle of her shirt between her breasts, the girl shaking her head as she was held firmly.

"Get away from me you goddamned-"

Before she could finish the bandit punched her across the face, the girl coughing out before he grabbed her shirt.

"Put out or it's lights out for you and your worthless boyfriend," he scoffed as he ripped the shirt off of her. She was thrown to the side as she screamed, the bandits around grabbing her and bringing her down onto the ground.

"No! Triska!" Specca cried out as she heard her friend shriek as the men laughed and ganged up around her. She heard them ripping the clothes off of the human, with some of the men whistling and calling out playfully as the teen was held down on the ground screaming. Specca struggled to move before she heard a sword sliding out of its sheath, the girl looking back to seeing the bandit holding her down pulling out Triska's blade.