Little Suzie is a precious soul. Sacrificing others to feed me. I should introduce myself. My name is Eksi. Born of a thousand tortured souls all dead at Suzie's hands! Oh bless her bloodstained heart. I was born yesterday. At Little Suzie's thousandth kill. Not only does she save me but without her, this village would starve. Our village is cut off from civilization. They seem to think our way of life is wrong. We're only dealing with overpopulation! See, we were once a starving village until twenty two years ago. When an eight year old Suzie killed her first tourist. They came to see the house of Lizzie Borden. Gore hunters, I call them. They came looking to see violence and violence they got! Oh her parents were so so proud of her! They decided to call the butcher, Chuck. Who would come out and cook up the fresh meat. Serving it as a celebratory dinner. Theres a reason the fresh meat is on sale all the time. I am a wendigo. Born of cannibalism of a thousand souls. This means I am Suzie's Wendigo. I am spiritually bound to her, meaning we need to eat human flesh to gain more power, and the only way to do so is to kill and eat. I must go now, it seems a poor soul has a flat tire and they are not from here.

Long ago, the god named Hades was born. Forced to rule the underworld while his brothers where allowed the surfaces above. Yes, his job was important, but it was not thankful. Every poor soul of one who had died hated Hades. He was treated with nothing but disrespect, aching and carving holes into his poor soul.

Although in the books read today Hades is seen as an evil, malevolent, and viscious god. He didn’t start off that way. Hades had once been a child. Cast into the position of ruling the underworld the moment he could speak. He was never daddy’s favorite. Darling Hades was a polite child. But he was not strong like Zeus, or fluent in animal speak like Posiedon.

It is unknown to me whether Hades was forced into the underworld because his father thought it best, or if his father hated him. My best guess is, it was the latter. Niether Zeus nor Poseidon where cast into their roles as quickly as Hades was. Once Hades was cast into the underworld, he was not permitted to come back.

Hades heart had slowly turned cold. Only one thing gave him a sense of warmth. Persephone. His wife. Although the stories say that he had kidnapped her, she truly loved him. Those who decided to write the myths, stuck to their classic “evil god of the underworld” routine. Every moment Persephone is away on the surface, the underworld freezes. The moment she returns the underworld is on fire.

Although those on the surface will never understand my broken darling, I Persephone, always will be at his side. Thanking him for his thankless job.

Hi, my name is Maia. I roam the streets of Salem. Haunting what is left remaining. Have you ever heard of a white lady? That is what I am. I was burned at the stake, for my husband claimed I was a witch. And why? Simply because he thought I was having an affair while he worked.

Of course I had an affair! I was betrothed to a man thrice my age and no one even thought to ask me how I, Maia Northerend, felt! These people that I see today, in the old town square! They get to love who they want. Women get to love other women and men other men! Was it really so bad for me to want my own life?

I’ve been alone for so long, and my lover has passed on. I have nothing left to stay for. If possible I’d kill myself to get away from this. The only contact I get is with the red lady, but she’s quite crude. If I may say so. However she was my lover. Turned prostitute after my death. Betrayal. My lover had betrayed me. Having sex with many another. And forgetting about me.

She is no longer the shimmering lady I had fell in love with. She now wishes vengeance upon all who step into her old room. Especially the men. See my lover died a worse death than I. Strangled to death by one who was her client. I care little though. She stopped caring. Stopped caring for me and for her. Should she approach and ask for me back, I would turn her away.

Have you ever heard of a ghost being agoraphobic? Well that’s most of them. Not I, however. I love the streets, despite it being the cause of my blood shed. At first I was scared to step outside. Until I realized I could cause trouble. Im a poltergeist. A white lady, a ghost and spirit. It’s better than being human, but it is far more lonely.

It seems my stair case has arrived. I’ve been hiding from my feelings for so long. Facing it gave me a chance to escape.

Beginning page

January 11th, 2019.

It’s been roughly a month. A month since I took on dreamwalking. I didn’t ask for it. It just happened. One day I fell asleep and I appeared at a school. Awful right? I go to school all day, go home and try to sleep but I wind back up at a terrifying school. Everyone there is my definition of crazy. I’m not talking about the little old lady who sits on a park bench and talks to pigeons. I’m talking about the murderous type. The type that makes your neck hairs stand up. It’s creepy.

I should probably introduce myself now that I have explained my entire predicament shouldn’t I? My name is Eliot. I’m fifteen and I should probably be in a psych ward. Except, everytime I explain what is happening to me, whoever I tell, they disappear. No trace, no goodbye, just poof gone. Last week it was my parents. So you see, I can’t bear to let this secret out. Now, just in case vanishment is transferable through writing, you have roughly two weeks before you disappear. So, I’d get your will in order if I were you.

Do I mean to scare you, you ask? Well, no. I don’t. But I can’t bear to hide any longer. I need to get out of Drakehills. I think I’m slowly losing my sanity. The time I spend at Drakehill Hollow, is getting longer. More dangerous. I fear, I will die soon.

January 12th, 2019

I should never have written in this journal. But I fear it is too late to stop now. The hounds were scratching at my door last night. Their vicious snarls let no one near sleep. I regretfully inform that I woke up still in my room here at Drakehills Hollow. They tried to smoke me out. But they can’t I am smart you see. My gas mask is very handy.

They still come by and try to get through the door. But I am already planning my escape. I am sad to tell you, you have thirteen days left. I heard them talking and it is confirmed. The time you have from being told is two weeks. But time passes by slowly here. Who knows how long it has actually been for you. I still have no idea if this vanishment process is transferable through writing but I must assume that it is. Forgive me!

January 13th, 2019

They are getting desperate to get to me. There is no mercy. For i have told. I broke the rules, for surely, this is my end. I have, two, three days at most. Please! Do not let this book fall into the innocent’s hands! For I see you. I know the man who hurts your daughter. Give this book to him! My hauntings will burn through his soul. Just as Drakehills has mine. You must hurry! They are getting in. I may not be able to hold off much longer!

January 14th, 2019

I have saved myself some time. I do not know how much. I set traps outside my door when I knew they were gone. I believe I got a hound. I heard its whimper. One such of that of a kitten. For I will not go down so easily. I must hurry. There is less time for you. You have eleven days! And I less!

This curse of a secret will not die with me. But with many others. Get this book into the evil man’s hands and you can die easily knowing he will hurt her no more. Tonight you will dream of the man and you will know who this shall belong to next. Otherwise I stay with you. You’d put your daughter in danger. Now, sir! I know you don’t want that. So make the sacrifice. Before you die give this to the man in cold blood. But first. I will need a drop of your blood on the cover to pass on from you. I cannot save you sir. But I will help you.

January 15th, 2019

I know you have not given it to him yet, sir. I am holding off for you. But I really don’t have much time. And you don’t either, Mr. Ten-days-left. I know how sick you are. I’ve told you I can see you. So quickly hand the book off. Feed me your blood! For your daughter! Do it for her! Did you not know I can speed up your days?

Hand me off, or I half your days.

Beginning Page

January 16th, 2019

Hello sir. It’s been roughly a month. A month since I took on dreamwalking. I didn’t ask for it. It just happened. One day I fell asleep and I appeared at a school. Awful right? I go to school all day, go home and try to sleep but I wind back up at a terrifying school. Everyone there is my definition of crazy. I’m not talking about the little old lady who sits on a park bench and talks to pigeons. I’m talking about the murderous type. The type that makes your neck hairs stand up. It’s creepy.

I should probably introduce myself now that I have explained my entire predicament shouldn’t I? My name is Eliot. I’m fifteen and I should probably be in a psych ward. Except, everytime I explain what is happening to me, whoever I tell, they disappear. No trace, no goodbye, just poof gone. Last week it was my parents. So you see, I can’t bear to let this secret out. Now, just in case vanishment is transferable through writing, you have roughly two weeks before you disappear. So, I’d get your will in order if I were you.

Do I mean to scare you, you ask? Well, no. I don’t. But I can’t bear to hide any longer. I need to get out of Drakehills. I think I’m slowly losing my sanity. The time I spend at Drakehill Hollow, is getting longer. More dangerous. I fear, I will die soon.

Now that you have heard my story; listen to my instructions….

It has been two days since our water supply went bad. An unknown virus found itself living in out water. Anyone who drank it went rabid. We have two choices at this point, drink the water or die from thirst.

I still have not heard anything from the other bases on our planet, and we’ve lost contact with the earth. I fear for our base. If we don’t do something soon we will die. All our crops are grown from the contaminated water, and they’ve been coming alive.

Not only are the people and animals becoming rabid, but so are the vegetables. We have killer corn. Funny? Yes and no. They try to force themselves into your body. The only way to stop them is a gunshot to the head. And yes these vegetables, have heads.

As funny as our situation may seem it is actually quite frightening. Even peas come alive, they bounce out of their pods and try to get into your body through any orifices. Even single corn kernels. Do you know how hard it is to shoot a single corn kernel? It’s awful.

Tonight I will set out to Base B. Base B is the closest base to us here at Base A. I intend to take the rest of the people here with me. Those who stay, might not have someone back in time for them. I must get word out. Most people will be reluctant to come with and step out of our base walls. Most of us were born here. This is the only life that was ever known to some of these people. They grew up being told not to step into the outdoors.

I stand in the base square, as I prepare for my speech. “Good evening everyone. As you all know, our water and crops are contaminated with a virus. We are no longer able to survive off of them. We have also lost contact with everyone from the other bases as well as the base on Earth. I fear we have no choice but to leave. If you wish a chance at survival, you must pack your things and meet me at the gates.” The crowd booed and jeered at me. As if I was from a contesting base.

At the end of the night only one third of the entire base showed up. We couldn’t waste time however. “We must go.” I said. Noticing the shaking of my companions from fear. “Jackson, what’s out there?”

“I... don’t quite know.” I could feel the lack of faith bestowed upon me. I wanted them to feel safe, but I didn’t even know if this was safe at all. I slung my shotgun over my shoulder and my duffle bag over the other. My hands shook as I typed in the emergency code for the gate.

A bellowing roar deafened me as the winds blew harshly in our face. We stepped into the great unknown. As the dust settled we saw nothing but dirt and sand. No water. However, we could see the lights from Base B just off in the distance. “Guys, look!” I pointed at the lights excitedly. Lights meant people.

We’d been walking for what felt like ages and the lights were not getting any closer. “Jackson, why aren’t we going anywhere?” The question rang in my tired ears. “I am unsure, could those lights, could they be stars?” I didn’t realize I had asked that outloud. “Jackson?” I didn’t hear her. “Jackson!” I dazedly looked at Cara, “Hm?” something felt wrong. Like I was asleep. “What are stars, Jackson?” Cara had never been outside of the Base. Of course she didn’t know what stars are. “Stars, are beautiful. They are balls of gas in the sky. Just like us, they can die.”

I think I scared her with the mention of death. Her eyes widened in fear. With so many at our base turning rabid, it was normal to me. I didn’t realize how abnormal it was to her. “Hey, guys!” Cara and I turned to look at Darius. “Look!” He pointed at the structure. It was another base. “Let’s go!” I nodded and grabbed Cara’s hand as we all ran for the structure. A large letter “B” floated above it. But it was unlit. So was the base.

The gates to the base were open and there was bodies littering the ground of the square. Their faces twisted up in sinister smiles. The pets’ flesh was slipping from their corpse. Looking outside from the base I saw the haunting lettering, “Save me”. Written upon the gates of the base. I motioned for the rest to follow me in, but Cara refused. We needed supplies.

We searched every house, taking only that which could not be grown and only sent from

the Earth delivery ships. We took ammo, guns, batteries. “Jackson!” Cara’s voice broke my concentration. “Help me!” I ran to the gates to see a rabid trying to grab Cara. It succeeded in grabbing her hair. “Cara!” I threw her my pistol, her terrified expression telling me how much she didn’t want to shoot what was once a human. “It’s not alive anymore Cara! Save her!” That did Cara in. The gunshot echoed upon the deserted wasteland. A perfect headshot. I picked her up and hugged her tight. “It’s okay baby, it’s okay.” She shook like a rabbit full of sugar.

The fight wasn’t over yet. The corpses started to rise. “Fuck! Guys!” I yelled for the rest of my party to stay alert. Most of them had their own weapons that they packed out of fear. I was counting on Caitlin and Sara. The competitive shooters of our base. Our second line of defense next to me. “Headshots everyone! Remember, headshots!” I could hear Sara’s guns going off and the sniper rifle of Caitlin. The thumping of the rabbids hitting the ground was more deafening then the gunshots. Darius swung with his machete, taking the heads of the rabbids off. Cara had tears streaming down her face as she shot at the rabbids approaching the gate. It was a good five minutes until we finished defending ourselves. Cara still clung to her gun, it was out of ammo but she kept squeezing the trigger. “Baby, baby,” I gently lowered the gun, “It’s okay.” Cara fell to the ground sobbing. We finished up looting and left the base, locking the gates from the outside, We wrote “Do not open” on the gate in hopes it would keep from the gates being opened. What we didn’t see was the corpses turn to sand.

Cara held my hand the whole time. Still shaking. Base C was next. Sara and Cait were talking about their guns and how many rabbids they took down. None of this seemed to phase them, but shouldn’t it? I felt like it was inappropriate to make killing what once was us a competition. But I am also the oldest one in this group. At least we got bottled water from the ships delivery service. The sun was starting to rise and we were tired. For the first time in two days we had water. There was only three bottles but we were almost at Base C. “We’re gonna go to Base C, then rest.” Everyone silently nodded.

We reached Base C. And surprisingly, the lights were on. The gates were closed. We knocked on the gate and heard a shaky voice over the intercom at the gate, “Go away! Whoever, whatever you are! Go away!” We all looked at each other. I knocked again. “We’re clean!” I shouted. “We’re from Base A, Base B has fallen!” The gate opened slightly. Just enough for us to squeeze through. The people of Base C were cowering in fear. Sand was everywhere. The same color as the sand outside. “We need to make contact with Base H, they run the water filtration.” The slinky old man in front of me told me. “We can’t leave, we have parties out looking for supplies.” The man was more jittery than the rest. “We will head to Base H, whoever wishes to come with us is welcome to. May we rest here?” The man nodded.

“There’s something wrong with that man.” Cara whispered to me as we all crowded in a house to spend the night. I nodded. However, it was late and we were tired. As soon as my head hit the pillow I was out like a light.

I woke up to the sound of shuffling beside me and Cara getting off the bed. “Cara, honey, where are you going?” There was a muffled response and multiple sets of footsteps. “Cara?” I turned over to see three men dragging Cara out of the bedroom. “Cara!” I shouted. I must have woken up Sara because she ran up to block the stairs, Reaper, her right hand gun pointed at the head of the guy holding Cara, and Torment, her left hand gun was aimed at the guy closest to her. “Don’t move.” Cait said, as I noticed her laser focused on the third man. Darius held the old man in his grip. “Yo, Jackson! I found this one at the door.” His machete was hovering a milimeter away from the old man’s neck.The men in front of me dropped the unconscious Cara on the ground. Raising their hands in surrender. “Tie ’em up lad.” Sara said to me as I went to check on Cara. I just needed to feel her heartbeat. “Got it.” I whispered. I grabbed the bed sheets and duct tape and tied the three men to chairs. Darius knocked out the old man and tied him up as well.

“So, you’re awake.” I questioned the old man. He hissed through his teeth at me. “You fool! You’ve ruined everything!” I was taken aback. “We have no food and our water is contaminated. All that’s left is you. Other humans. You were our only hope!” Cait’s eyes widened in interest. “You thought, you could survive off of your own people?” The man nodded. “You’re sick.” His face turned into a sneer. “You mean to tell me, Dr. Farnum, that you haven’t started eating your people?” Cara shook her head, “Dr. Farmer, is it? No, we haven’t been eating our people.That’s disgusting. The human body is not meant to digest another. Also we came out to save our people. Unlike you lousy fuck who decided to eat your own.” I was taken aback by Cara’s words. She never talked like that. Not even to me when I wanted her to. She always hated conflict. “Get your people to pack their things, you’re coming with us.” I snarled at Dr. Farnum. The fear he was experiencing finally reached his eyes.

We all gathered at the gates to the outside. “Next stop, Base D.” We all looked at each other. “Where’s the old man?” Darius shrugged. As Cait nodded her head towards behind me. “We can’t pack up the whole town!” I told Dr. Farnum as he carried a huge suitcase. With the press of a button his suitcase became pocket-sized. I felt my jaw hit the floor. “Where in the hell did you get that?” He looked at me confusedly, “The delivery ship sent them out. Didn’t you get them?” I sighed. Marcus, he’s so light fingered, I don’t know why we keep him in the delivery line. Darius laughed at the thought of his brother, then turned to tears. Marcus was the first in Base A to go rabid. Darius was the one who killed him. Cait and Sara went to comfort him.”Guys, I’m sorry. We have to go.” With a big thud, Darius fell to his knees.

After about half an hour we were ready to leave. Everyone from Base C who wished to come joined us. As well as Dr. Farnum.”Ready boys?” Cait and Sara smirked as they cocked their guns. I nodded and helped Darius up. “We’ve got about three miles until we reach Base D.” Everyone nodded.

We were about halfway to Base D from Base C when it happened. We encountered our first native beast. A gryphon. But it looked wrong from what I’ve seen in the books. It had no face and its feathers were black and dusty. Soaked in its own blood. It was also, the size of a squirrel. Cait instantly pointed her rifle at it. It didn’t move. And of course, Cait did the most Cait-like thing, she poked it with her rifle. Sara giggled and Cara frowned. But the mini-gryphon still didn’t move. It just fell over. All of a sudden there was an ear-shattering screech. Cait’s eyes turned white as she became unlike herself, yet still unlike a rabid.

“You humans tread on our land. You humans released the curse. Yet you still want more?” Cait screamed like a banshee. Her eyes started to bleed as well as her ears yet she continued to speak. “For thousands of years we guarded our land from trespassers, the gods told us we would be left in peace. Yet where are they? Where are the men that we once called gods? They looked an awful lot like you.” Cait fell to her knees in agony.

“Gather your people and leave. Should I find you still here within the next triple moon, I will not hesitate to kill you.” Cait’s eyes turned purple once more as she started crying. “I can’t see!” No her eyes had not turned purple. It was her entire eye. Both had turned completely purple. Sara ran to help Cait. Dr. Farnum looked as if he had seen a ghost. I tossed the sniper rifle to Archie, from Base C, “We just lost one of our two best guns-men, pray to god that you can keep up.” Archie nodded. The redhead from Base C snatched the sniper rifle. “I can shoot.” Dr. Farnum shook his head. “No, Moira, you can’t.” She pointed the rifle at him, “Yes I can daddy, you ate my son, wanna watch me shoot my greatest hate?” I could feel the anger emanating off of Moira. “Look guys, we’re almost two thirds of the way there lets just go.” As I turned my back there was a gunshot, I looked behind to see the smoke billowing off the sniper rifle, Cait holding the barrel to the sky and Moira sobbing. “You don’t want that blood on your hands. Come.” She held out a hand to Moira and walked with her.

We reached the gates of Base D. The doors yet again open. To reveal the rabbids which were not yet dead. Cait let out a screech and without hesitating shot three in the head. Sara looked at Cait confusedly. “Echolocation, I could feel it when that thing was using my body.” Sara looked down sadly, before getting one of her classic ideas. “Wanna race Caitie?” Cait smirked. “You’re on Fortune, without a penny to her name.” Sara grimaced before bouncing from building to building shooting at the rabbids inside. Cait used her newfound power of echolocation to find rabbids and shoot them. Within three minutes their race was over. “So who kept score?” Sara painted. Everyone shrugged. “Awe come on man!” Sara shouted as Cait laughed.

After looting the base we found plenty of bottled water. I handed it off to Farnum, who put it in his hilariously collapsible suitcase. We also found more collapsible suitcases and clothes. “Alright everyone, we still have daylight, let’s head on to Base E. After that we have three more Bases.” Everyone cheered at the clearing of the base. Caitlin sniffed the air, “Do you guys smell that?” She sniffed again, “Yeah that is most definitely smoke.”

Caitlin coughed. We continued walking while Cait was getting weaker from coughing. I could tell how worried Sara was. Cait’s coughing was pulling the sand deep into her lungs. Sara was holding Cait upright to try and keep her alert, but I could tell she wasn’t getting enough air, her lips were turning the same color as her eyes. Dr. Farnum stopped us. “Give me one moment with her.” He pulled out his suitcase and pulled out a portable breathalyzer. Giving it to Sara to operate. Sara operated it until Cait could continue to walk straight.

We made it to Base E. Caitlin was correct, there was smoke. The building was burning to the ground. “We won’t find anything in there.” Cara looked up at me in terror. “We need to keep going Jackson. We can’t stay here.” I agreed with Cara and motioned to keep going. Moira was complaining about how tired she was, but we couldn’t stop now.

The trip from Base E to Base F was pretty uneventful. Base F itself was a different story. Base F was the only Base on our planet which held a zoo with animals from Earth. The Gate was shut tight. Darius, Archie, and I all worked to get the gates open. Until we heard a viscous roar coming from the other side of the gate.

“Sara we need you here!”

“Go, I’ll take care of her.” Moira said softly to Sara. Sara wasn’t even at the gate when it flew open. A rotten rabid tiger leapt out of the gateway. There was a gunshot, but I knew it wasn’t Sara. “Caitie,” Sara sighed in relief. “Sara! The tiger still isn’t down!” Sara shot the tiger in the forehead. It didn’t even slow down. Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! “Come on, come on, come on!” Bam! Bam! “I’m…” Bam! “Not…” Bam! Bam! “Even making…” Bam! “A dent!” Bam! Bam! For the first time ever I heard Sara’s guns click. The tiger was rushing straight for her now. A loud screech deafened my ears as I saw Cait land on the tiger’s head. Pew, crack crack! Pew, crack crack! Cait kept shooting, even after the skull of the tiger shattered underneath her she just kept shooting. “Sara!” Cait screamed. Her entire body looked as though it was on fire. “God touched.” I heard Dr. Farnum say. “What?” I inquired. “She’s been god touched. Blind, but can still see. Powerful, almost godly.” I nodded, still not quite understanding. “Look, Jackson. She sucked in the dust of those who were cursed, she should be a rabid. But she’s not.” I nodded as I motioned for the team to go in. “Where the hell is Cait?” As if on queue we could hear the sound of Cait’s sniper rifle echoing inside the base, the snarls of wild animals and the screeching of Cait’s echolocation. Sara darted into the darkness after her girlfriend. I grabbed Cara’s hand before she could follow. “Babe, please, stay safe. This is our most dangerous base yet, if we don’t come out, I need you and Dr. Farnum to get to Base H and fix the water.” She nodded sullenly. There was a good chance that she wasn’t going to listen to me but I had to try.

Sara screamed for Caitlin a single gunshot. Then all went still. Moira grabbed a shotgun that we picked up at one of the previous bases and went in. Darius, Archie, and I followed. Sand from the bodies littered the pathways. The gunshots started back up again causing the three of us to run. When we reached Sara we saw how hurt she was. Sara’s left arm was gone. Torment lie on the ground next to it. Cait screeched and we heard her sniper rifle, along with the pounding sound of Moira’s new toy. “Sara what happened?” Darius asked as he picked the pieces of her up. Sara grabbed Darius by his collar and demanded “Torment.” Darius nodded and put Torment in her lap. He carried her out to Dr. Farnum.

“Let’s go help Cait, boys.” I said in hopes of boosting our spirits. Cait screeched again the glow around her getting strong enough to the point where we could see her. She zipped around and around the beast’s head. Shooting it relentlessly. Moira shot at it from the front. I couldn’t tell what the beast was but I knew it was huge. Archie positioned himself with a rifle aiming at the beast’s scaly dead eye. He started taking his shots. I yanked my shotgun off my back and aimed at the jaw. There was no way I was letting the girls have all the fun. In that moment I realized I was becoming less human. I no longer cared that our people were getting sick, that we had to exterminate those infected. I saw it as a game and a sport. I thought of Dr. Farnum and what he had said to me about why he was practicing cannibalism. I was truly turning into a monster. But I couldn’t focus on my thoughts right now. I had to focus on helping Cait and Moira take this beast down. I took a shot. I enjoyed it. I kept taking shots. The beast finally became dazed, Cait landed on the head of the monster and shot it, just like she did with the tiger. “Sara.” Cait said in between breaths. “She’s hurt. She’s outside the gates.” Archie, Moira, and I worked on looting.

We exited the gates of the base. Sara was laying down in Cait’s lap as Dr. Farnum was attaching a robotic arm. “Relax, this is going to hurt either way.” Sara looked up at Dr. Farnum angrily, “Just get it on with.” Cait smiled sadly. Her eyes fluttered between Sara and Torment. Almost as if she could see. Darius sat alongside Sara and Cait, “It’s going to be alright.” I knew he didn’t believe it, but the relaxed motions of Cait told me it was exactly what she wanted to hear. Cara stood apart from the others, gazing over them as if they were ants.

“You okay, babe?” I asked standing next to Cara. “Yeah, I’m alright, but will Sara be okay?” I sighed not knowing what to say to her. The most I could do was shrug my shoulders, “I hope so.” My instincts told me we weren’t going to make it to Base H. But we had already come so far. In our team there had been zero casualties. I wasn’t about to let that go.

It took what felt like forever to get Sara’s new arm on. She spent the next fifteen minutes trying it out. “I can’t shoot quite as straight anymore.” She said this under her breath, of course Cait was the only one who heard it. “You’ll get used to it Sara. We’re going to do this together.” Sara smiled and tried again, this time hitting the empty can into the air with one shot. Cait smiled proudly. “Hey, guys, I don’t mean to rush; well, I mean I do. But we still have two more bases to get to.” It was Archie this time.

On the way from Base F to Base G, the arboretum containing base, Cait was making a modification to Torment, at the permission of Sara. Cait was always good with weapons, she built her sniper rifle. Cait attached a secondary barrel to the gun and adjusted it so that Sara could shoot two bullets at once. Three if she was shooting dual handed. “Happy birthday Sara.” Cait handed Torment to Sara with a small smile. It was obvious Sara had forgotten her birthday, causing Sara to blush while chuckling. “What’s so funny? Did I do it wrong?” Sara smiled. “No honey, it’s just, I forgot today was my birthday. Thank you.” Sara gave Cait a small peck on the cheek.

It took about a total of two hours for us to reach Base G. But when we did, we were not as prepared as we thought we were. The minute we opened the gate, vines fell out and around. The entire Base was a jungle. No doubt it was due to the contaminated water. Suddenly, a vine grabbed Cara. “Cara!” I shouted as I felt her hand leave mine. “Jackson, get me down!” Cara screeched for my help, but before I could draw my gun I heard the multitude of gunshots as the vine was torn apart by bullets. Cara and the vine fell to the sand. The vine withered and darkened before turning to sand. The rest of the plant was still moving. “How do we kill these things? They’re freaking plants!” Sara shouted at the rest of us. “Just shoot!” All of us aimed and let our ears give in to the sound of gunshots, dust was flying everywhere around cara. We had been going berserk for a while, pushing the plants further back into the base, when Cara stood up. All gunfire had ceased as she blocked our view. “Cara! You have to get out of the way!” There was no response. Cara turned and screamed and ran at us. Her mouth foaming. Our first casualty. My fiance, the next sound was that of a gunshot. I watched my beloved fall and wither away. “Cara!” I screamed falling to the ground. This left me open to the plants of terror. It was a weeping willow. An actual sobbing tree, that grabbed me. Everything went dark as it wrapped around my neck.

I awoke to Archie cradling me, surrounded in knee high sand. Everyone was wearing masks. “Cara?” I asked quietly, hoping it was just a dream, I knew better but I hoped I didn’t. “Come on, we have one last base. Base H.” I don’t know how I was able to walk. But it was definitely difficult. The entire journey from Base G to Base H was a blur and I don’t remember much. Cait spent the entire time fiddling with Reaper. Sara watching attentively as her blind girlfriend carefully maneuvered the parts of her gun into fitting another. “You know, you’re quite good at that Cait.” Cait smiled at the comment handing Sara her newly modified gun. Sara slung it and placed her hand in Cait’s. We could all see the lights in the distance of Base H. It looked like party lights. We approached to find the gates open.

Inside of the base there was a celebration. Directed by a man who reminded me much like Cait. His eyes were blood red. Like Cait’s they had no iris or pupil. Just glowing red eyes. However unlike Cait’s delicate, nimble fingers, his fingertips were claws. No, they were talons. Like that which was on the beast back in Base F. Cait grimaced and walked proudly to the man. “Caitlin Cain.” The man looked down on Cait, which she didn’t take kindly. “I’d like access to your water supply.” Caitlin released a demanding voice which I rarely ever heard from her. The man radiated off a green glow as his clothes started tearing. He screamed as he landed on all fours taking the form of a broken gryphon. It’s wings were bone and shattered in places. “Nobody is allowed to drink the water here.” And as if on queue, all the other people faded. “A mirage.” Cait mumbled. “Ah! So you can see!” The red-eyed gryphon let out an eerie laugh. “Congratulations to those of you here. You are the last remaining of your kind on this planet. But I unregretfully tell you that your time of adventures and wonderosity are over.”

“No.” Cait snarled bloody black wings protruding from her shoulder blades. “I won’t let you harm them.” The red-eyed gryphon frowned. “I think I’ll start with…. This one.” He pointed at Sara. Caitlin pulled out her rifle and pointed it at the red-eyed gryphon. “Take one more step and I will shoot you.” Cait’s body radiated the deep purple it had earlier. “There’s a way to save all of us.” Cait said loudly, “I know you know that.” The opposing gryphon nodded. “Yes, but I won’t help you. You’ve contaminated our planet with your presence.” I reached for my gun but Sara smacked my hand away. “You know you can save yourself, but you choose not to, why are you so foolish?” Cait asked the opposer. “I am the oldest of my kind, I am dying. When I die, this planet will die. That’s why your water is sick.” The gryphon smiled. “Except, brother, it doesn’t have to be that way.” It was a voice that came from Cait, but it wasn’t her at all. “If you pass your crown, this planet, it will not die. It is not these people’s fault.” His red eyes looked sad. “I can’t do that to you, little sister. The crown is a death sentence.” Dr. Farnum looked down at his feet. “Actually, it’s not.” Everyone’s gaze shifted to Dr. Farnum. “I found one of your kind in my colony. They wore a crown and one day whilst they slept, I poisoned his crown. I thought he was sent to attack us.” The king glared at Dr. Farnum and leapt. His talons slashing every which way but never once touching Dr. Farnum. “You don’t get to hurt him brother. We were talking.” The king glanced at Cait and back at Dr. Farnum. “I can remove the poison.” The king’s ring was in Dr. Farnum’s fingers. A crown. Dr. Farnum sifted through his bag and pulled out a bottle. He poured the contents on the ring and it faintly glowed. “You should recover within a few days.” The king took the crown back and gave it to Cait. “You figured it out, my sister. This might actually belong with you.”

The second that the ring was placed on Cait’s finger, trees grew and flowers bloomed. Grass started growing outside the gates. The water drained and poured back out through the fountain. “The water, it is clean now.” Cait’s spirit said as her wings faded and her eyes returned to what they once were. It was time to rebuild the once successful colonies.

This was for a challenge, but I didn’t want to spend the coins on it.

#supernatural #zombies #horror #thriller #action #adventure #fiction

I can't remember exactly how old I was. Maybe three? Four, even... I cannot explain all the details, but I do remember some. I remember playing at the park every weekend. Feeling eyes glued to me. It was always the same man. And every weekend, he had a pretty flower with him, one which he'd give to me. My daddy always said never talk to him, but I took the flowers. They were pretty. No matter how hard I try I can not remember the man's face. Sometimes he would ask me questions, I listened to daddy... I never spoke to him. But I did nod and shake my head. He'd ask me things like, if I liked chocolate. Or if I ever did things. Weird things. Things that, I can't write or say because they're just so bizarre. I remember the day I last saw that man, he gave me a different flower this time. It hurt to hold. But it was still pretty. My daddy got angry at him. He called my momma to take me home. Daddy came home late that day. His shirt covered in ketchup and mud. I asked him what happened and why he was so messy and he just shook his head and smiled "You won't be hurt anymore.". I didn't understand what that meant. I watched the news earlier. There was something so similar about the story the told about the little girl who was slaughtered that reminded me of this past. He would give her flowers at the park, and he would ask her questions, only thing different is, my daddy told me not to talk to that stranger from way back when.