chronicles of eden - act I (101 page)

“DANIEL!” she screamed, lunging forward out of her dream while flailing her arms around. Falla and Luna looked at her with surprise as Specca tried to catch her breath, the nixie quickly looking around at them with shock.

“What… what happened? Where… what?” she asked quickly.

“You’re awake, you’re ok!” Luna cheered as she quickly hugged Specca, the nixie looking at her with surprise still.

“That’s great, now would you shut up and give me a hand with this one, I can’t even get her out of her damned ball,” Falla grunted as she tried to pry Squeak out from her sleeping position.

“Luna? Falla? What are you doing here? What’s going on?” Specca demanded looking around franticly. Luna quickly rushed over to Falla’s side and struggled to help pry the ant girl out of her ball, both sisters grunting with frustration.

“There’s no time, please, we have to wake your friend up before she dies in her sleep!” Luna cried out. Specca looked at them with surprise then to Squeak as she saw her friend’s shadowy silhouette above her.

“Squeak? Before she dies? What happened to her?” she asked urgently.

“Shut up and help us, she’s going to die any second!” Falla shouted out. Specca jumped then darted over, the nixie then trying to pull Squeak out from her ball as Falla yelled in the ant girl’s ear again.

“Wake up! You have to wake up now!” she desperately shouted out.

*****

Squeak ran as fast as she could, her footsteps echoing out inside the darkened tunnel underground as she looked around frightfully. Ant girls were capable of seeing in the dark, at least to a small degree, and although there was no torch in hand she was able to see around her a few feet out before it cut off into total darkness. She didn’t have her pickaxe, she didn’t see her friends anywhere around her, and she couldn’t even remember how she got down in that tunnel to begin with. All she knew was she wasn’t alone, as the screeches and sharp howls of ant-lionesses echoed out behind her along with the skittering sound of their legs as they hustled through the tunnel after their prey.

Squeak ran up to an intersection, looking around franticly as the darkened tunnels that were once her home had turned into an endless maze filled with predators after her. She squeaked loudly as she searched for any sign of Daniel or the others, only to find nothing but darkness inside the empty corridors. From behind her the sounds of the ant-lionesses were heard closing in, their screeches and rustling growing louder in the unseen. Squeak looked around quickly in a panic then raced ahead as fast as she could. From the ground and walls pincers shot up through the dirt, with Squeak looking around at them with fright as she stopped in her tracks. More pincers from the underground predators appeared around her while a few arms stretched out through the dirt, clawing towards her franticly. Squeak ran through the tunnel as fast as she could, jumping over the pincers and racing around them. A few ant-lionesses shot up from the ground behind her while some tried to snatch their moving prey with their pincers.

“Wake… up…”

Squeak glanced around as a girl’s voice echoed in her head, the words seeming like a distant echo over her breathing and short squeaks. She ran towards a door with a lit torch next to it, smiling with relief as she approached one of her nest’s dens. An ant-lioness jumped up from in front of her out of the ground, with Squeak quickly leaping up and stepping onto the monster’s head, then lunging towards the door with a desperate reach. She rolled onto the ground then barged through the door, the wooden boards breaking apart as she stumbled out into the rolling plains. The sky above was cast into a dark night with only a few stars being seen, while all around were heavy veils of fog clouding the surrounding landscape. Squeak looked around with surprise then back to seeing the door gone, the ant girl appearing to be all alone outside.

“It’s… a dream…”

Squeak rubbed her ear and looked around puzzled, hearing the voice from the girl again without seeing where it was coming from. After a moment of silence however she heard something else, a horse’s neigh from nearby. She looked over to where a white horse slowly walked out from the fog, trotting towards her as it grunted a bit. Squeak smiled with relief at seeing Lucky, waving to him with a joyous squeak. She then watched with surprise as the horse shifted into its demonic form, its hair turning pitch black while skeletal wings extended out above. Its tail lit on fire with a bright blaze while its eyes turned blood red, smoke coming from its mouth while it snarled at the ant girl whose expression turned to horror. She trembled as she stared wide eyed at the demonic horse, watching as it started to grow in size while its mouth extended out, the teeth growing and sharpening into fangs as the ground around them cracked apart slightly.

“Please… wake up…”

Squeak stared at the demonic horse with sheer terror, her body becoming rigid as she was frozen in fear. The ground behind her caved in with a loud crumbling sound, revealing a steep incline down towards several ant-lionesses who were all screeching and clawing up towards her. The ground around her collapsed down into the predator’s pit, with her still standing on a small overlook above the pit while the demonic horse stood before her. A cold feeling started to etch into her heart, the girl feeling her body losing strength as the world around grew darker. The monstrous horse snarled as it slowly took a step closer to Squeak, the girl’s eyes locked onto it as her mouth quivered.

“It’s not real…”

The demonic horse let out an ear-piercing screech as its wings arched back, the monster’s tail swaying behind it trailing flames and black smoke. Squeak wavered slightly back and forth, her body frozen solid with fright as the ant-lionesses below screeched loudly while they kept trying to reach up towards her.

“Wake up! Daniel’s going to die, hurry!”

Squeak blinked and slowly looked up, her antennae twitching slightly as she squeaked quietly to herself. She heard the girl’s voice in her head somehow, the words seeming to reach her.

“Please, you have to wake up now!”

Squeak slowly looked back to Lucky, the demonic horse snarling viciously at her as it slowly closed in. Behind her the ant-lionesses in the pit were howling with anticipation for the girl to fall back down to them, their arms outstretched as they clawed towards her wildly. Squeak stared at Lucky for a moment then looked down with closed eyes, her fists slowly clenching as she trembled with fear.

“It’s not real!”

Squeak slowly opened her eyes, glaring down at the ground as she squeaked once.

“It’s just a dream!”

Squeak looked up towards Lucky, the horse being three times its normal size now as it roared at her.

“Don’t let it scare you!”

Squeak bared her teeth slightly, squeaking in a firm tone repeatedly. She glared at the monstrous horse as it took another step towards her, the ground underneath them cracking as the thin overlook started to shake slightly.

“WAKE UP!”

Squeak took a deep breath, and then let out a long and powerful squeak, almost shifting into a screech as she stared down the monster with anger and determination. Lucky snarled then lunged towards her, the ant girl dashing towards it with every ounce of courage she had. The monster was enormous compared to how she saw it before, she was alone and unarmed, and she had nowhere else to run. However, all she cared about was seeing Daniel again, and there was only way to do that.

She ran towards the monster as it lunged down towards her with its open mouth, smoke and flames coming from the sides while it roared at her. With a mighty jump she leapt up onto its head and ran along its spine, gearing back with both fists then swinging down onto the monster’s wings. The bones may have been larger than before, but were snapped down instantly from the powerful girl’s swings, the skeletal extensions nearly breaking off as the monster stumbled forward onto the overlook with a wail. Squeak ran along the back towards the swishing tail of fire, the ant girl then leaping through a fiery blaze and landing into a roll on the ground. She quickly jumped back to her feet and spun around, watching with a cold glare as the monster turned to face her, its wings broken and hanging down by a few strands of sinew. It snarled at Squeak viciously as she slowly walked towards it. However her expression showed no remorse, no tears, and no fear. Her eyes were fixed into a cold glare at the beast, her fists were clenched, her teeth were bared slightly, and her stride was proud.

Lucky let out a vicious snarl before Squeak ran towards it, squeaking in a loud and firm tone repeatedly as she closed in on the monster. The demonic horse lunged towards her with its open mouth, smoke and fire shooting out from both sides. Squeak geared back, and then sent a right hook directly to the monster’s nose as it closed in. Lucky jerked back and screeched before Squeak sent another powerful punch to its head, knocking out a few of its teeth as she squeaked loudly. The horse backed up to the edge of the overlook as Squeak stood there, glaring at it with fury. A massive crevice snapped apart in front of her, the ground and overlook shaking wildly as Lucky screeched loudly. Squeak slowly reached over with her foot and pushed down on the other side of the crevice, the girl squeaking once before shoving the broken overlook away. The ground beneath the horse crumbled to pieces and fell down with the monster, crashing into the dirt pit with a massive dust cloud kicking up. Squeak glared down at the sight as the horse was clawed and bitten into by the underground predators, its legs flailing around as it was pulled under with dozens of screeches and howls being heard from below. As the monster was dragged down under Squeak looked up at the sky, letting out a victory screech, her cry echoing out across the land.

*****

“WAKE UP!” Luna screamed into Squeak’s ear, the ant girl being partially held apart from her curled up position by Falla and Specca both pulling on either side with all their strength.

“It’s not working, she’s not waking up,” Falla grunted with frustration.

“What’s going on, why is she going to die in her sleep?” Specca demanded through bared teeth, straining herself to pry her friend out from her ball.

“Please wake up! Please!” Luna cried out desperately into Squeak’s ear. Falla and Specca continued to try to pull Squeak apart from her ball, both struggling to budge the girl even an inch.

“This isn’t working!” Falla shouted out.

“Wake up!” Luna cried out.

“What’s going on?” Specca yelled out.

Suddenly Squeak shot open from her ball, squeaking loudly as she scrambled around on her side while the other girls were tossed into the walls of the cabin with surprise. Squeak looked around franticly as she regained her senses, then over to Specca with a quick squeak.

“Squeak? Are you alright?” Specca asked worriedly.

“She’s awake, success!” Luna cheered, followed by a small burst of maniacal laughter with a twisted smile. After a second she quickly returned to normal as Falla sat up while rubbing her head with annoyance.

“About time,” Falla spat out.

Squeak looked around quickly, then to Falla and Luna with confusion, then over to Specca while squeaking something urgently. Specca just watched her for a moment then looked over to the butterfly sisters.

“What is going on here, explain this instant!” she demanded loudly.

“TRISKA!” Alyssa shouted out from nearby. The girls all quickly looked towards the entryway of the cabin as Falla and Luna scrambled towards it.

“Come outside, quickly!” Luna called back as they raced out of the cabin. Squeak and Specca glanced to each other then dashed after them, the two stumbling out onto the front seat of the caravan while looking around franticly. They saw the surrounding sights of old trees and tall grass near the dirt road masked by a thick cloud of fog while the sky above was dark. And on the ground next to the caravan they saw Alyssa shaking Triska with a frightened expression, while the teen was lying on the ground unconscious with a shadowy spectral image of herself floating above her body. The image’s facial expression was of agony and sorrow, almost appearing like it was crying. Falla and Luna were standing over them, with Luna looking down at Triska with fearful eyes while Falla was looking up with frustration.

“Alyssa? Triska? Triska! What’s going on here?” Specca called out. Squeak looked up and jumped with a loud squeak, her eyes going wide as she pointed up to something. Specca looked up then screamed in fright, seeing Daniel in the arms of a monster above the caravan.

“Triska, wake up! Please wake up!” Alyssa screamed as she shook the girl.

“Daniel!” Specca cried out as she and Squeak saw the boy in the arms of the airborne monster, its cold blue eyes glaring at them while its skeletal tail coiled around behind it slightly.

“She’s going to die, wake her up, hurry!” Luna cried out. Specca and Squeak looked down to them, then back up to Daniel, then down to the girls as they jumped off the caravan over to them.

“What’s going on, what is that thing up there holding Daniel?” Specca asked franticly.

“It’s a nightmare, that’s what cursed all of you. You were all going to die in your sleep when it stole your souls,” Luna explained nervously. Specca and Squeak looked at her with shock then to each other.

“Our… souls?” Specca asked fearfully. She gasped then looked up at the ethereal monster with fright.

“That’s a nightmare?” she asked with shock. After a pause she blinked then looked at the monster carefully, noticing something that seemed off to her.

‘Wait, if that’s a nightmare, how is it…’

“Triska! Dammit, wake up!” Alyssa shouted into the teen’s ear. All the girls looked down to them while Alyssa was franticly trying to wake the human, all her efforts seeming to have no effect.

“Triska! Wake up, wake up!” Alyssa yelled out again, watching with desperation as Triska remained sound asleep. Her spectral image was slowly shaking its head while crying out quietly in sorrow.

“It’s going to take her soul, do something!” Luna cried out. Specca and Squeak quickly knelt down next to Triska and tried shaking her while Alyssa straddled the girl’s lap and shook her by the shoulders.