Post by Sophie on Dec 24, 2005 11:43:10 GMT -5
Okay, this is the second chapter of The Meeting, the first book of the Starlike series. It's written by moi, so no touchie! Just read and enjoy. As I mentioned in my last post of the first chapter, I do have a lawyer, and I am NOT afraid to use her.
Have fun!
Oh, and one more thing...it's a flashback.
I opened my eyes and heard the distorted sounds of people screaming in my half-asleep state. After a few seconds I blinked and sat up in bed. It was unnaturally warm in my room, and I trudged to my window to let in some fresh air, my eyes unfocused. As soon as I threw open the window, I was nearly forced backward by the hot air. I could hear fire crackling in my village, and the air tasted of death. I was suddenly wide awake, and my eyes suddenly saw the horror outside. I was nearly blinded by all the red. My heart screamed along with the villagers.
I barely remember running outside. When I got there, though, I saw a figure through the smoke and fire. At first, I could not make her out. I squinted. It was a girl, of that I was sure. The long hair gave it away. But…oh no. It couldn’t be. There was only one girl on Eshikra that had hair like that.
Muspelheim was dead ahead, a bloody dagger in her hand. My eyes widened, and I forgot to breathe as she threw it at lightning speed at an innocent villager, a small girl who was screaming for her mother. My sister smiled as the girl stopped running. The dagger kept going after it hit the girl, coming out her back with even more blood on it then before. The girl choked, a disgusting gurgling noise erupting from her mouth. She fell, as if in slow motion, and hit the ground with a sickening thud. A dark red liquid stained the soil around her, and she stopped moving. My heartbeat quickened and it pounded in my ears. An evil laugh filled my brain, and it was coming from Muspelheim.
I turned to see her. It was a terrifying sight. She had retrieved the dagger, and was licking it clean. A gleam in her eye was one that I had never seen before that day. I could not move for fear; my feet were planted to the ground, frozen like ice. To my horror, Mussy advanced toward me. Her dress was stained red, and torn all over the place. She was not wearing shoes and her bare feet were cut and bleeding. The fire in her gaze was filled with so much blind hate I could not even begin to comprehend it at first. Her face was insipid and sickly looking, and she was starting to advance toward me..
“Leave her.” A voice hissed from behind me. I conjured enough strength to look to see the speaker, and nearly fainted. Niflheim was standing about three feet behind me. Stark naked, my other sister’s hair was clumped and stained with blood. Her face was cold and ice-like, almost not Eshikrian.
An glare from her and it unfroze me. I scrambled away, picking myself off the ground. I was outta there! But wait…what about my people? I looked down. Niflheim had grabbed a girl about my age and was in the process of tearing her arm off. The girl was screaming. It was a horrible sound, and Niflheim tossed the arm once it was off to the side, leaving the girl to sort out her death. It would be long and painful for her.
Anger burned deep inside of me, and, in the passion of my fury, I swooped down and grabbed Niflheim by the hair. I dived back toward the sky, and my sister screeched, clawing at me with her long, sharp fingernails.
“Let go, b.itch.w.hore!” she swore, and bit me on the arm. I screamed, and her poisonous incisors dug deeper into my system. It was pain of the devil, and I couldn’t stand it, no matter how much fury I held. I let go of Niffy and prepared to die. In my mind, all I could hear was a scream, not even the pounding of my own heart. A static shock woke me, and I wasn’t even sure if it was real. I was falling. Nif was falling. She turned to me, hate in her flashing eyes, and she leaped toward me in midair, arms outstretched. A shriek escaped her voice box from hell, and her freezing cold hands were suddenly wrapped around my throat. She was choking me, and her claw-like fingernails dug into my neck. I felt blood dribbling down into my nightgown…my blood. Then all I could see was black.
When I woke, both Niflheim and Muspelheim were gone. My heart pounded in my chest, and with every beat my entire body throbbed. I groaned silently, and felt dried blood on my head and neck. Apparently I had survived the fall. Had I, though? Was I dead, in Shadowland? It was possible…but I dared not open my eyes, for fear of the sight that might await me. I lay there, shallowly breathing, my eyes tightly shut. Eventually after what may have been minutes, maybe hours, I opened one eye, then the other. The sky showed signs of dawn and the twilight was fading quickly as the sun rose. Faint white light appeared on the horizon. I sat up slowly and looked around me. It was not Shadowland, but it was a ghost town. A ghost planet, I could say. There was no sound, and all houses were silent, no sign of life emitting from the interiors. All around me were bodies of my people. It hurt me to see my friends, ones that I had so recently spoken to, hung out with, exchanged smiles…dead. They were gone.
I stood and winced; my side hurt. But I had to check for survivors. I limped over to the girl I had known from school, the one who Nif had torn the arm off of. After getting a closer look, my lungs let all of the air out and wouldn’t let anymore in. I struggled to breathe, and I dropped down to my knees. I took in sharp gasps of air, staring at the lifeless corpse. Or was it?
I lay down, putting my ear to her chest. I heard it. A faint heartbeat, but a heartbeat nonetheless. I sat up.
“Cylony,” I whispered, touching her cheek. Yes, Cylony. That was her name. She was cold, very cold. I passed my hand over her mouth, and felt her breath on my skin. “You’re alive,” I felt a tear slide down my cheek and fall onto hers. I knew she could not live her life like this…her injuries were too great. She would be dead soon anyway, within the day. Cylony had been an exchange student from the empire of Ahnouii: a wind goddess. She had been a good friend of mine.
My tears were now choking me, flowing like twin waterfalls down my cheek. I flexed my arms and hands, cracking each knuckle. Then I reached over, placing two fingers on her collarbone, the other hand clasped tightly on her jawbone. In one swift motion, I broke all of the bones in her neck, hearing them all crack and snap. I did not have to check for the absence of a heartbeat. I knew she was dead by the way her body lay there. She did not move. No breath came from her nose or mouth, her organs had stopped their duty. Cylony had been silenced. And I had done it.
I checked for other survivors. About a dozen kilometers west I found my family, grouped together in a tight bunch. My younger sisters were crying, and I hugged them tightly, telling them it would be okay. Aurore had found a few alive villagers and had herded them toward me and the rest of the family. As my mom and the youngest family members cared for them, treating their injuries, me, my father, and the older family members went out to collect the dead bodies for burning. We dug a gigantic pit, throwing the deceased into it. When all of the corpses had been collected in the hole, we covered them with gasoline and set fire to them. As I watched the fire and flame engulf the now lifeless townspeople I had come to know and love, I vowed to myself that, if I ever saw either Muspelheim or Niflheim again, I would kill them upon sight. But they were nowhere to be found, not even among the dead bodies that we had so carefully collected.
What made finding the twin murderers difficult was that Muspelheim and Niflheim could shape shift and chamelionize (change their appearance to the color and texture of the things behind you). They were demons, of course, born to a couple of gods. My parents are so ashamed of them…but nothing can be done. It is how it is.
I don’t know where they left to that night; but they stole the Arodnearn, one of our best ships. It had a speed of 1520 LYPS (Light Years Per Second). They could have gone anywhere. And now they could be anywhere. Anywhere at all.
Have fun!
Oh, and one more thing...it's a flashback.
I opened my eyes and heard the distorted sounds of people screaming in my half-asleep state. After a few seconds I blinked and sat up in bed. It was unnaturally warm in my room, and I trudged to my window to let in some fresh air, my eyes unfocused. As soon as I threw open the window, I was nearly forced backward by the hot air. I could hear fire crackling in my village, and the air tasted of death. I was suddenly wide awake, and my eyes suddenly saw the horror outside. I was nearly blinded by all the red. My heart screamed along with the villagers.
I barely remember running outside. When I got there, though, I saw a figure through the smoke and fire. At first, I could not make her out. I squinted. It was a girl, of that I was sure. The long hair gave it away. But…oh no. It couldn’t be. There was only one girl on Eshikra that had hair like that.
Muspelheim was dead ahead, a bloody dagger in her hand. My eyes widened, and I forgot to breathe as she threw it at lightning speed at an innocent villager, a small girl who was screaming for her mother. My sister smiled as the girl stopped running. The dagger kept going after it hit the girl, coming out her back with even more blood on it then before. The girl choked, a disgusting gurgling noise erupting from her mouth. She fell, as if in slow motion, and hit the ground with a sickening thud. A dark red liquid stained the soil around her, and she stopped moving. My heartbeat quickened and it pounded in my ears. An evil laugh filled my brain, and it was coming from Muspelheim.
I turned to see her. It was a terrifying sight. She had retrieved the dagger, and was licking it clean. A gleam in her eye was one that I had never seen before that day. I could not move for fear; my feet were planted to the ground, frozen like ice. To my horror, Mussy advanced toward me. Her dress was stained red, and torn all over the place. She was not wearing shoes and her bare feet were cut and bleeding. The fire in her gaze was filled with so much blind hate I could not even begin to comprehend it at first. Her face was insipid and sickly looking, and she was starting to advance toward me..
“Leave her.” A voice hissed from behind me. I conjured enough strength to look to see the speaker, and nearly fainted. Niflheim was standing about three feet behind me. Stark naked, my other sister’s hair was clumped and stained with blood. Her face was cold and ice-like, almost not Eshikrian.
An glare from her and it unfroze me. I scrambled away, picking myself off the ground. I was outta there! But wait…what about my people? I looked down. Niflheim had grabbed a girl about my age and was in the process of tearing her arm off. The girl was screaming. It was a horrible sound, and Niflheim tossed the arm once it was off to the side, leaving the girl to sort out her death. It would be long and painful for her.
Anger burned deep inside of me, and, in the passion of my fury, I swooped down and grabbed Niflheim by the hair. I dived back toward the sky, and my sister screeched, clawing at me with her long, sharp fingernails.
“Let go, b.itch.w.hore!” she swore, and bit me on the arm. I screamed, and her poisonous incisors dug deeper into my system. It was pain of the devil, and I couldn’t stand it, no matter how much fury I held. I let go of Niffy and prepared to die. In my mind, all I could hear was a scream, not even the pounding of my own heart. A static shock woke me, and I wasn’t even sure if it was real. I was falling. Nif was falling. She turned to me, hate in her flashing eyes, and she leaped toward me in midair, arms outstretched. A shriek escaped her voice box from hell, and her freezing cold hands were suddenly wrapped around my throat. She was choking me, and her claw-like fingernails dug into my neck. I felt blood dribbling down into my nightgown…my blood. Then all I could see was black.
When I woke, both Niflheim and Muspelheim were gone. My heart pounded in my chest, and with every beat my entire body throbbed. I groaned silently, and felt dried blood on my head and neck. Apparently I had survived the fall. Had I, though? Was I dead, in Shadowland? It was possible…but I dared not open my eyes, for fear of the sight that might await me. I lay there, shallowly breathing, my eyes tightly shut. Eventually after what may have been minutes, maybe hours, I opened one eye, then the other. The sky showed signs of dawn and the twilight was fading quickly as the sun rose. Faint white light appeared on the horizon. I sat up slowly and looked around me. It was not Shadowland, but it was a ghost town. A ghost planet, I could say. There was no sound, and all houses were silent, no sign of life emitting from the interiors. All around me were bodies of my people. It hurt me to see my friends, ones that I had so recently spoken to, hung out with, exchanged smiles…dead. They were gone.
I stood and winced; my side hurt. But I had to check for survivors. I limped over to the girl I had known from school, the one who Nif had torn the arm off of. After getting a closer look, my lungs let all of the air out and wouldn’t let anymore in. I struggled to breathe, and I dropped down to my knees. I took in sharp gasps of air, staring at the lifeless corpse. Or was it?
I lay down, putting my ear to her chest. I heard it. A faint heartbeat, but a heartbeat nonetheless. I sat up.
“Cylony,” I whispered, touching her cheek. Yes, Cylony. That was her name. She was cold, very cold. I passed my hand over her mouth, and felt her breath on my skin. “You’re alive,” I felt a tear slide down my cheek and fall onto hers. I knew she could not live her life like this…her injuries were too great. She would be dead soon anyway, within the day. Cylony had been an exchange student from the empire of Ahnouii: a wind goddess. She had been a good friend of mine.
My tears were now choking me, flowing like twin waterfalls down my cheek. I flexed my arms and hands, cracking each knuckle. Then I reached over, placing two fingers on her collarbone, the other hand clasped tightly on her jawbone. In one swift motion, I broke all of the bones in her neck, hearing them all crack and snap. I did not have to check for the absence of a heartbeat. I knew she was dead by the way her body lay there. She did not move. No breath came from her nose or mouth, her organs had stopped their duty. Cylony had been silenced. And I had done it.
I checked for other survivors. About a dozen kilometers west I found my family, grouped together in a tight bunch. My younger sisters were crying, and I hugged them tightly, telling them it would be okay. Aurore had found a few alive villagers and had herded them toward me and the rest of the family. As my mom and the youngest family members cared for them, treating their injuries, me, my father, and the older family members went out to collect the dead bodies for burning. We dug a gigantic pit, throwing the deceased into it. When all of the corpses had been collected in the hole, we covered them with gasoline and set fire to them. As I watched the fire and flame engulf the now lifeless townspeople I had come to know and love, I vowed to myself that, if I ever saw either Muspelheim or Niflheim again, I would kill them upon sight. But they were nowhere to be found, not even among the dead bodies that we had so carefully collected.
What made finding the twin murderers difficult was that Muspelheim and Niflheim could shape shift and chamelionize (change their appearance to the color and texture of the things behind you). They were demons, of course, born to a couple of gods. My parents are so ashamed of them…but nothing can be done. It is how it is.
I don’t know where they left to that night; but they stole the Arodnearn, one of our best ships. It had a speed of 1520 LYPS (Light Years Per Second). They could have gone anywhere. And now they could be anywhere. Anywhere at all.
