Clash Of Worlds (47 page)

They fear this forest as much as I do,
the princess realised. Kara had not advanced very far inside of the woods when her horse fell to the ground, fatigued from the hours of running. The girl cried out as she was sent tumbling into the stump of a large tree.

She took her time getting up, slowly pulling herself to her feet with the aid of a few low branches. Cuts and graziers covered the girl’s body and her clothes became badly torn during her fall. She looked around for Silver, wondering what had caused the horse to fall. She spotted her fallen companion a little further back on the forest pathway. Her fall had sent her hurling quite a distance. Kara began to make her way toward the horse, but as she put weight onto her left ankle, a painful sensation sent her falling to the ground once more.

The princess had done some serious damage to her ankle during the fall. It was heavily twisted. Kara managed to hobble over to her fallen horse. As she approached, the sound of faint growling could be heard in the distance. It seemed that some of the Hellhounds had overcome their fear and entered the forest after all. They had already locked onto Kara’s scent and were cautiously proceeding through the trees towards her.

The princess knew she stood no chance of evading the beasts on foot, especially given the fact she could barely walk due to the condition of her ankle. The only way she would be able to escape the creatures was with the aid of Silver. Speaking of the horse, the poor animal hadn’t lost it’s footing on the rough terrain which might have caused it to fall. This is what the princess had originally thought had happened, however upon examining the horse, it appeared that Silver had collapsed due to sheer exhaustion. After all, the horse had been forced to gallop for hours without any rest.

“Come on Silver, we have to go,” said Kara who patted the horse on it’s long thick neck. The horse was going nowhere, though; it had galloped for the last time. Kara could see from the look in the horse’s eyes that the animal was hurting. The horse slowly closed its eyes for the last time. Kara knelt down by Silver and stroked his head softly. She knew the life had faded out of him.

The sound of howling could be heard from a section of trees just beyond them. This one was significantly louder than the previous one, so much so that it startled the princess. She knew the Hellhounds were closing in on her. She rose to her feet and took a few steps back, wincing in pain as her injured ankle took the weight of her body. Kara could only manage a few steps before a group of hellhounds, four in number, emerged from the trunk of a tree close by.

The princess turned around and faced her foes. She had nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. She wasn’t going to let them take her without a fight though. She picked up a branch off the ground, which had broken off a tree when she and Silver had fallen. The hellhounds seemed to smile when they saw the princess arming herself with the log of wood. The idea of working up an apatite on prey that would try to resist them appealed to the savage beasts. They stayed close together, walking at a slow and methodical pace. Then the pack spread out, lining up in a row as they began to circle the princess.

Kara held the branch up much like a baseball bat and was ready to dish out a swinging blow at the first Hellhound that was willing to try their luck in taking her down. If truth be told, the situation was hopeless and deep down she knew it. It was only a matter of time.

Suddenly out of nowhere, a horrendous screeching noise filled the forest. Kara held her hands to her ears to protect them, screaming out as she did so. The hellhounds began to cry out, clearly enjoying the noise just as much as the princess. It was like nothing they had ever heard. The sound was deafening and went through the princess. Kara gripped her ears in a desperate attempt to keep the unholy sound out. The noise was starting to make her ears sting. The sound eventually began to fade out. Kara and the hellhounds began to look around them, wondering where this strange sound had originated.

Kara sensed they were not alone. She felt the presence of another amongst them, high above in the trees. A shadow like figure leaped at great speed from one treetop to the other. The hellhounds shuddered in fear. They knew only too well about the rumours of the formidable creature that resided within the forest, the Dark Archer.

Since the Dark Archer’s confrontation with Auron and Lucius over two years earlier, the half man, half demon had laid dormant. However, he had been drawn, like he always was, to the presence of trespassers within his domain. The demon had in fact been watching events unfold since the princess had entered the forest on her horse. He had no idea whom the young girl was, however, he was well accustomed to the creatures that pursued her.

The Dark Archer leaped into another tree, and then another. Kara and the hellhounds were now stood side by side, united in their fear of what was lurking high above them. The tension filled the air as they stood in deadly silence. Only the sound of their breath could be heard.

Suddenly the Dark Archer fired an arrow into the heart of one of the hellhounds. The beast cried out as the blade pierced through its fur and into its tough skin. The shadow like figure leaped from the trees, its black robe flowed behind him in the wind as he landed on the ground of the woodlands. He landed on one knee and slowly rose up. The Archer stared into the eyes of Kara and the hellhounds. He had the blackest eyes, and gave them a look so cold, that even the Hellhounds, creatures spawned from the depths of Hell, began to tremble in fear. His long dark hair covered half of his face, however through the hair, the shine of his red left eye, a demons eye was just about visible.

One of the hellhounds bared their teeth and plucked up the courage to charge towards the Dark Archer. The demon was unmoved, not evening flinching at the oncoming onslaught. The creature leaped up and opened its mouth, its teeth aimed directly at the Archer’s neck. Just as the hellhound looked poised to sink its fangs into him, the Dark Archer quickly raised his right hand and caught the creature around the neck. He slowly squeezed the neck of the beast, taking the life force out of it completely.

The remaining three hellhounds charged towards the Archer together, realising that the only chance they had to take down the demon was using strength in numbers. Kara stumbled backwards as the beasts charged forward and she fell to the ground. She watched as the Dark Archer took on three hellhounds. The demon easily overpowered the beasts, slamming one of their heads to the ground before it could bite him. Another of them managed to sink its teeth into the Archer’s arm. The demon groaned a little, almost a sign it was in pain. However, the hellhound soon paid for its attack as the shadow like figure plunged an arrow through the beast’s neck, sending it so far through that it ploughed out the top of the hellhound’s head.

The two remaining creatures gave each other a quick glance. They realised they were overpowered and outmatched. They took a few backward steps before turning to retreat out of the forest entirely.

Kara remained motionless on the floor as the Dark Archer, who had his back to her, walked quietly along the ground near the corpses of the two fallen hellhounds. She watched in silence as the demon pulled the two arrows it had used to slay the creatures from their dead corpses. It clearly was fond of its arrows and wanted them back.

Has he forgotten about me?
Kara thought about making a run for it or even creeping slowly away. She looked around, seeking a route in which she could make her escape.

Then the Dark Archer stopped what he was doing and stood still. Kara wondered what he had stopped for. Had he realised she was there? He still had his back to her and had not seen her.
Please don’t turn around.
The princesses’ heart pounded, almost breaking her chest as it did so. She tired to breath as slowly as she could, trying not to make even the slightest of sound.

The Dark Archer turned around quickly to face her. Kara’s heart sank, she began to breath a lot heavier now. The demon tilted its head slightly to the right, looking at her with his one human eye, his good eye. He slowly began to walk towards her. Kara had never felt so much terror flow through her soul as she felt at that very moment. She trembled in fear as she crawled backwards trying desperately to flee. “Please…don’t hurt me,” she muttered as she continued to stumble back.

The demon gave a small smile as it slowly stalked its prey.

Chapter 15: The Order Of Chaos

In her dreams, she and Chad lived a quiet life, a peaceful one out in the country. They would take their young boy out for walks by the lake and would throw bread to the ducks that swam in it. Chad had given up his life as an agent a long time ago and they now lived on a small farm. Her father and Chad had grown to become friends and Mr Cooper would often visit them on the farm. He would eat and drink with them. He had learned to love Chad as a son and he had long accepted them as a couple. They were a proper family at last.

Stacey had seen the dream so many times before. This time, however, it ended a different way. Now she began to fall. She was falling for what seemed like an eternity. She was falling into nothingness, darkness all around her. Chad was falling too. He reached for her and she held out her arm. She pleaded for Chad to take her hand. As much as he tried, he could not reach her and so she fell.

Stacey slowly opened her eyes. Her vision was blurred and it was a while before she could see anything clearly. As the girl’s eyesight gradually improved she could make out that she was in a white room, lying on a bed inside of a hospital room. After James had pulled her stricken body from the sea, a few locals had taken her to a nearby New York hospital. She had slept for two days since then and James had kept a watching brief over her.

Luckily for Stacey, with the search for Chad still ongoing, her absence had gone unnoticed by her father, who was leading the search. If Sergeant Cooper had come to know that she had been inside of the apartment with Chad when Lucius had struck it down, her hidden relationship with the missing agent might have been compromised. As it was, their secret was still safe, at least for the time being anyway.

The bedridden girl began to look around the small hospital room as she tried to figure out just exactly where she was. The last thing she could remember was the explosion inside James’ apartment and then she and Chad falling down from the cliff. A hospital nurse stood before her and she adjusted a few buttons on the machine that had wires that were attached to Stacey.

“Ah, you’re awake. It’s ok, you’re going to be fine,” said the nurse in an attempt to comfort her. A man stepped from behind the nurse. At first Stacey thought it was Chad, however as her eyesight fully returned she realised that the man’s hair was blond rather than brown.

James…not Chad,
she realised
.

The nurse glanced over to James and smiled. “You’re a very lucky lady. This young man hasn’t left your side!” The nurse had wrongly assumed James and Stacey to be partners. After checking Stacey’s blood pressure and a few other things the nurse finally left the room, leaving James and Stacey alone to talk.

“James, where’s Chad?” asked Stacey, who’s words seemed strained. She was still very weak and frail from her fall.

“I don’t know…” said James, who could not hide his concern. He and the World Order had searched every inch of the wreckage of his apartment beneath the ocean but had found no sign of Chad. “What happened up there?”

Stacey shuffled as she struggled to sit up in the bed. James moved over to help her. Stacey composed herself and began to talk once more. “Chad…he…he started talking to himself.”

“To himself?” asked James.

“No…it was like…he was talking to somebody else. It was him…the strange man,” said Stacey, almost forcing the words out.

“Lucius.” James had already suspected that the white haired man was behind the attack, but this confirmed his suspicion. “I’m sorry you got involved in this Stacey. He was looking for me.” James felt a little guilt at Stacey’s current condition.

“Why? What does he want…with you…and Chad too?”

“I’m not sure, but I’m going to find out. Don’t worry I’ll find Chad, and I’ll make that bastard pay for what he’s done!”

Stacey took a deep breath before mustering the strength to speak again. “James, you have…to get me out…of here. If my father finds out.”

“One step ahead of you. I didn’t give your real name to the staff here so you can’t be traced. However…” James began to think. With this hospital being so close to his old apartment, it was too risky to leave Stacey here. “Hang on, I’ll be back ok?”

Before Stacey could say another word, James left the room. A few moments later he came back and this time he was not alone. He pushed in a wheelchair. He carefully lifted Stacey from the bed and into the chair. The girl was wearing a standard white hospital dressing gown. She wasn’t too thrilled by the prospect of going out into the world wearing such clothing but James had none of her actual clothes with him so the gown would have to do for now. He wheeled her through the corridors of the hospital. The pair looked around nervously in case a member of staff stopped them, but they had no need to worry. The hospital was overcrowded and all of the doctors and nurses seemed rushed off their feet. The corridors were littered with patients waiting to be seen for treatment. Most of them had been left unattended, lying in beds or sitting in wheelchairs.

Earlier in the day, James had overheard a group of doctors taking about an increase in the number of patients suffering from psychotic breakdowns and depression, amongst other things. The curious thing about all of the symptoms was that they seemed to be mental, rather than physical cases. Even more curious was that all of the people had no previous record of physiological problems.

James thought nothing more of it and concentrated on the matter in hand. Besides, what could he do about it anyway? He was no doctor after all. He focused once more on getting Stacey out of the hospital and to a safe place. He took her to a small motel on the outskirts of the city and nursed her to health over the passing days. He juggled this duty in-between his search for Chad with the rest of the World Order. Finally, after a week, Stacey was strong enough to leave the motel.