Power Within Chp. 7

                                           Strange places, Dangerous Inhabitents.

    The sun was high in the sky by the time the female finally pushed me away to arm’s length so that I could stare into her orbs, which had so many emotions fluctuating within them.
    “You should return to the place of knowledge now. It will be safer for you there.” Her words were stern and had a sort of urgency to them. I looked around and saw the mini versions of her run into the school right after she had spoken. I opened my mouth to inquire what was wrong, but she silenced me with a simple, “Go.”
    She pulled me to my feet when I didn’t move and shoved me towards the door rather violently. I turned to see what the matter was and froze with slight shock. Standing across from her was a tall, slim form. A ghostly white face free of wrinkles and out of its back…elongated tentacle-like structures reached out.
    In the back of my head I heard it, the familiar drum-like rapping. ‘Why do you flee from me dear child?’ his voice sounded sorrowful. ‘Do you no longer trust me, now that you see me for what I am?’
    “John…” the words left my mouth in a hushed whisper. My eyes didn’t leave him and my body didn’t dare move. I watched as the female Veteres stood between me and him, and observed with great horror as his arms launched with anger towards the mother. He was going to do to her what he had done to the things in the basement. “John stop!” they both paused to look at me, and I saw John tilt his head, and the female urge me back inside. I shook my head at her. “Don’t hurt her, John.”
    ‘Why?’ it was a simple question, and a hard one to answer. ‘What will you give me, for not hurting one who deserves it?’ It was a question I had not expected in the least. I felt my eyes widen as I searched my brain for a possible answer. This was not the John I had known for all of my life. ‘Perhaps I will consider sparing her life…if you return with me.’
    “Do not listen to a word it is telling you child. Everything is says are lie—“ a tentacle around her neck silenced her and solidified my choice.
    “Alright! Just, let her go!” he once more tilted his head at me before tossing her aside, and holding out a hand to me. I hesitated but a moment before taking that hand, glancing back to the female Veteres for long enough to say that I was sorry. The next thing I knew John was hugging me close to him and we were off the roof and in the woods just beyond it. And there we walked his right arm constantly on my shoulder. I felt like I was being escorted to execution, or something of the kin.
    Most of the walk was in utter silence as I was escorted around, over, and under obstacles on my way, presumably back to my mother and Jessie. How did it come to this? Everything has been so simple before, easy even. Now…everything was just so wrong!
    ‘You know you worried her when you fled.’ His voice was still just as soothing as ever as it beat through my head, and it easily calmed my nerves, and numbed the anxiety away. I nodded towards his question in response to my sudden calm. Why had I run away from John? He was still caring, and still wanted to protect me, so why had I run away? It was growing harder to remember with each attempt I made to retrieve the reason. As such I soon stopped trying, lest the reason would be lost forever. ‘Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter now. The point of the matter is, that you are going home now, a home which will be a far better place than you have ever known.’ His words made me smile, and I nodded, eager again to be with my John.
    Yet, it was a dream…as most things seemed to be of late. As we took a few more steps forward, I stopped, hearing a voice behind us. It was distant, and I couldn’t quite make it out.
    ‘What is it?’
    “I’m…not sure.”
    We both paused and listened, and then I heard it, the familiar voice, that I was shocked I had forgotten all about. Van, he was calling my name and he sounded frantic. I turned to face where his voice was coming from, and then, it all clicked, and the ease vanished. John…was a taker of children, and he was taking me! I felt the hand on my shoulder and tensed. Something which I instantly wish I had not done, for it alerted to him that his soothing voice no longer worked. I felt the energy crackle from him, and turned to face him, backing away slowly.
    ‘I had hoped we could do this the easy way, Avery…it fills me with such sorrow that you have selected the hard way.’ His drums now sounded thunderous as his many appendages grew from his back.
    “Avery! Defend yourself you daft girl!” I turned to see Van jumping up onto the trunk of a tree, before turning my attention back to John. I had to defend myself from the one who had basically been a father to me. I grabbed the nearest thing to me, which was a large stick. And braced myself to do exactly what Van had just suggested.
    As one of his tentacles neared me I swatted it away with the stick, as well as two others. Efforts that proved to be largely in vain, as the next thing I knew, my right wrist was securely gripped by a tentacle. I swung with the stick with my left to try and release it, but another appendage gripped the stick and tore it away from me tossing it with a great deal of force at Van, who I saw barely dodge. Then my left hand was trapped, and I felt myself lifted by my arms, as yet another one wrapped its way around my waist, winding up my torso and finishing at my neck. I struggled against it all, but the only thing I could successfully do was to kick my legs, which did practically nothing. I went to scream out for John to let me go, but another one covered my mouth like a gag, and any plea I made was instantly silenced. I looked back towards Van, to see if he was well, but I saw nothing of him.
    ‘It was a nice try Avery. But you should know better than that by now.’ His voice was almost taunting as he held me there, his head leaning forward in such a way that I thought his neck to be two times longer than it likely was. He tilted his head as I continued to struggle, his voice once more pounding through my head. ‘I did not wish for things to be this way, Avery, you must believe me on this. You chose this path, and thus you are thus unable to blame me for what happens.’ Sorrow overtook my very being at his words. I had brought this upon myself. I was a fool, and big fool. Had I not run, I likely could have passed off to Diana that I merely knew they were hunters. Nothing more…it could have been so much better than this. This was all my doing.
    I stopped struggling and merely hung limp in his appendages then, giving into the sorrow that crept its way into my heart. I felt my body sway to and fro as John carried me onwards, at an incredibly quick rate. I had not known he was capable of moving so fast. He used his extra appendages, which seemed to be infinite, to move across the ground, remarkably swiftly. I closed my eyes, accepting my fate, which was likely to be akin to what my mother—Diana did to my father. I was to be killed, and John was to bring me to my executioner. I was exhausted. If I was to go to my end, I would rather sleep through it. And so, when the darkness came to take me, I welcomed it with open arms.
                                      ***
    I awoke to a faint stream of light trickling in from a crack in the roof of wherever I was. It was a dull, almost blue glow, penetrating a blackened night whose chill caused me to curl up into a fetal position as I tried to discern where exactly I was. It was far too dark though, and my eyes didn’t seem to want to adjust. I reached my hand out, trying to grope at anything to get an idea of where I was…an action I regretted. A sharp pain in my palm alerted me that I had just grabbed something sharp. My hand almost instantly recoiled itself and was held to my chest. I could feel the blood start to ooze out and in an effort to stop it, clasped my hand tightly shut. I waited, for hours it seemed before my eyes adjusted, comforted only by the sting of my hand. I was in what looked to be some manner of shack, a shack which had long since been abandoned judging by the vine-like structures which wove their way through cracks. There were shards of glass, and drywall literally the floor, and if I had not been wearing shoes I would not have dared to even try to walk upon the ground.
    With each step across the littered surface a crack and crunch could be heard, almost echoing around. The shack, I found, wasn’t a shack, but rather a room in a larger structure, one with barely anything left of it but the beams, and parts of the roof. It was night time that much I could tell from how dark it was…what I could not tell, was where I even was. Everything looked so different. I had been in the woods quite a bit in my childhood, and never once had I ever seen anything quite like this. This was just…weird. Perhaps this was what the afterlife looked like? If so, I couldn’t understand why so many people seemed to think death glorious and justified if this was where you ended up.
    The weight upon my back alerted me to the fact that I still held with me my backpack, which meant; I might actually still have my light. I paused, feeling around its surface and insides for the familiar metal device. My efforts were justly rewarded for soon my fingers wove their way around its hilt, and with a click, the darkness around me illuminated. This place…it really was a mess. It looked as though it had been burnt to the ground at some point in time. My curiosity piqued by what could have possibly happened here, coupled with the fact that I didn’t want to wander off until it was day, drove me to stay and explore. There was debris everywhere, and it was almost impossible to take a single step without making some semblance of noise. A fact which I soon came to realize was both a curse and a blessing. As I rounded a corner, I heard another set of footsteps from behind me.
    Without any hesitation I bolted into the nearest room, and turned off my flashlight, where I rested in other darkness and sank to the floor, trying not to make any noise. All the while I heard the calm, calculated steps of another walking ever nearer to my location. My eyes saw nothing but darkness for the longest time, until by some twist of luck, fate, or karma, my eyes adjusted and I was able to make out the figure of the one walking around. It was a man, looking to be about nineteen years in age, wandering around, with long brown locks that fell sleekly around his face. There was a wild look to his posture, which alluded to just how dangerous he could be. I could feel it deep in my guts that this man was not someone who I wanted to alert to my presence. He walked right on by me, not even stopping, whistling a sort of tune as he did. I couldn’t fathom what they were doing out here this time of night, but then, I couldn’t fathom what I was doing out here this time of night, so I guess that made us even.
    “Come out come out come out.” He whistled again, and I began to wonder if they were looking for me. “Oh come on fucker, I know you are here. I heard you…No? Okay.” He started grumbling as he began to move off, but paused a moment, to glance back right at me. I do not know if he saw me, but he definitely looked right at me, before continuing on his way. Any idea I had of exploring the rest of the building died with that encounter. No way in heck I was moving from this spot. I clutched the flashlight tight to my chest and waited.
    The waiting was the worst, knowing what I now knew, and knowing that no one knew where I was. It was awful, and it was enough to drive someone mad…or would have been, if it weren’t for all the crazy things I had seen prior. I got through it by thinking of happier times, when Jessie, John and I would play together in the woods. It had been so nice back then. So peaceful.
    I don’t really know how long it was just me, sitting there reminiscing, but soon the place was tinted red with light, which alerted me to the fact that morning was here at last. And with the light, I achieved confidence enough to leave my place of hiding, and try to leave this place. I rose, a bit too swiftly it seems, for with my rise, came a thud, a loud thud, from a loose piece of dry-wall which I successfully helped to collapse. I froze, hoping the man from before wouldn’t suddenly come running back down the halls. I waited for quite a while too, but nothing came. This encouraged me as I sighed and walked out of the room, latching my one source of light in the dark onto my backpack and walked through the halls. It all looked so different during the day, almost welcoming. I was hesitant to leave the one structure that I recognized in the area, but…the choice was ultimately taken from me. I started hearing whispers coming from the room next to me, and then, I saw the most mind-blowing thing I had ever seen before in my life. Out of the wall, I saw the same creature which had attacked me in my home appear.
    It looked up towards me suddenly and I stiffened. A foul odor hung on the air, and it growled at me, starting to move closer. That was the last straw for me. I turned and ran quicker than I have ever ran before…straight into the man from last night.
    “What the?” were the first words out of his mouth as he turned to face me, but I wasn’t going to stay to let him get a look at my face. I was around him the moment he turned to face me, hurriedly saying sorry as I bolted down the hall, or would have, had his hand not caught my arm in a firm grip. “What are you doing out here little girl?” his voice was dangerously low, and his eyes seemed to hold a kind of insanity. I could not keep the fear out of my voice as I struggled in his grip. “Hey. I fucking asked you a question.”
    “Please, let go. That thing, it will get me otherwise. Let go!” I tore my arm downwards lifting my knee in the hopes that the hit on his arm from my knee would make him let me go, but it didn’t. It only caused him to laugh as he dragged me with him, back towards the one thing I had just run away from.
    “You mean this fucker? Oh he’s harmless, not really, but still.” He laughed as he and it had some manner of conversation that confused me to no end. They spoke of others, some who they were hunting, of others like John, and of hunters. It was the oddest thing I have been privy to, and I was forced to hear it all. And then, the ultimate question was asked.
    “So why you chasing her?” I tried to struggle against the man’s grip again, but he still held firm as he turned to me and pulled out a very long knife. “Stop struggling.” Needless to say I stopped immediately. Another hour of odd conversation before the man turned to me with a large grin that looked more akin to a predator who had at long last found its prey. “Is she now? Well now that is fucking wonderful. You, fucker, you are coming with me. Come on move.” He pulled me roughly back down the way I had come from, and beyond the room I had left. I was in the hands of a mad man now, a mad man who worked with the monster from before. Things couldn’t possibly have been any worse at this very moment in time.