Star Rebellion (15 page)

Kuro stopped the progression and waited for Dark and I to catch up before she told him to lean me against the wall, and I could feel my back slide down it until I hit the floor, but I don’t really remember actually leaning against it. I could feel tremors lacing themselves through my muscles, causing me to be tense all over my body. I was slack-jawed and staring at nothing in particular. My thoughts were jumbled, nothing was coming straight. Why was I here, and where was here? Who were these people, what were we doing? Kuro put her face right in front of mine so that I had to look at her eyes. I barely focused on her pupils, which had expanded to cover her entire eye. “Did you look at any of the demon’s faces?” A talking cat, what? I weakly nodded my head. “Ah, great, that means we need to break the paralysis, and the only way to do that is to make her eat one of their eyes.”

Somehow this reached my subconscious through all the fuzzy thoughts. “Hell no!” I shouted as I stood up. After taking a look at Kuro, I saw that she was joking about eating an eyeball. I glared at her and said, “Haha, very funny.” The cat seemed to shrug her shoulders and continued to walk down the path. Apparently it was just a good shock that I had needed. I shook my head and ignored the concerned looks from my companions. Demons suck.

Chapter 9: Lucifer’s Pets

DARKSTAR

Hell was difficult to describe. The first part that we had entered where Water had fallen prey to the demons mental paralysis wasn’t even the beginning of that. If you think of this in terms of a house, that was like the antechamber. Impressive, but hardly close to the real thing. As we passed through a tunnel and into the main part- or what I am assuming is so due to its vastness- was a lot more complex, and in a way, beautiful. The wall behind us arched up into nothing. I could find no discernible end to it, even with my ability to see past the darkness. It was so large, that our footsteps, nor those of the demons, echoed whatsoever.

Everything was put into a dull contrast. The brown, earthen hues were the most definable in the cavern, and all color seemed muted, even that of our hair. It was like a shadow had been pressed against our eyes, not letting us see in full light. Speaking of which, the feeble light that shone through the cavern emitted from hollows in the wall where unwavering flames stood. At a closer look, I realized that it wasn’t fire, nor a light bulb even remotely similar to the one Edison invented so long ago. It seemed like energy itself just glowed from the lantern, which was made of pale stones that seemed similar to weathered bone.

I had to turn away from the wall as Kuro led us further into the Underworld, always sticking to a patch of ground that seemed more trodden than others, though no demon stepped within it.

“Where are we going?” Waterstar asked from her position near Kuro. She was following the cat closely, as if relying on her to shield all of us from whatever dangers we may face here. It wasn’t a bad idea; at least Kuro knew what to expect.

Kuro flicked her tail before responding. She was speaking aloud now, versus the telepathy she had used back in the Cerberus hall. “Toward the Acheron river, which will take us into the true part of the Underworld. There isn’t a ferryman anymore, he was long dead before the Greek civilization that believed in him, but there are other ways of crossing. The dead need an angel escort, but we can manage in a different way.”

I had never heard of the river, but Forest seemed to recognize it. His brows furrowed in confusion as he considered what the cat had told us. “So… the Greeks and Romans had a pretty solid sense of life after death?” he asked slowly.

“Not precisely, but it is closer than other perspectives. This isn’t even a true death; there are points afterward that neither I nor Vladimir know of- I believe Lucifer does not either. Death is still a complex mystery, so don’t think you know what happens now that you have been here.” Kuro didn’t slow down at all during her explanation, and we were all left to ponder this philosophy on our own.

I kept my eyes open as we walked along the path. Bridges connected the two other sides together at near intervals, with curving designs set into the stone of stars and flowers. After a few inspections, I realized that the designs were made of all things from the world of the living, though it wasn’t precisely barren in the Underworld. To my surprise, things actually grew down here, probably more than they did back on Calsh. I bet it was because of the stunning lack of aforementioned gum wrappers. Trees twisted up in arching patterns, as if creating art within themselves. The most strange, and probably interesting, part of the trees was that there was no symmetry whatsoever, when nature normally is the epitome of such. I could probably lay for hours tracing the unusual branches and still never tire of the uniqueness. I wondered if Hell was as bad as people always made it out to be.

A little while later, I realized that the demons still were avoiding the path at all costs. If they needed to get across, they would use the bridges that covered the distance. I questioned Kuro about this, and her response was, “This path is only made for things from the world of the living, whether they be like the normal travelers that are dead spirits or the unusual ones like us.”

“But Kuro, you aren’t from the world of the living, are you?” Water asked.

The cat flicked her tail a few more times, as if annoyed with that observation. “Not necessarily, but I’m not exactly living either. I can still die, but I was created in a different way than most life forms, therefore the laws here do not constrain me fully, nor do I abide by them completely.”

Firestar walked next to me for a few moments and muttered, “Strange cat, eh?” I had to hold back a snicker. I really hoped Kuro hadn’t heard that; I bet the shadow-cat could be a fierce enemy if disturbed.

Finally, as my legs started to ache and my legs felt as if they were to give up, rushing water was heard ahead. I could hear my comrades sighing in relief; hopefully we would rest before crossing the river. If the distance we had just traveled was only the outskirts of the Underworld, then I was concerned about how large this place really was. We didn’t necessarily have a time restriction on getting the animals, but for breathable air’s sake, it would probably be a “the sooner the better” case.

The pollution of air on Calsh wasn’t unlivable, and the landscape wasn’t as harsh as some may think, it just took a sturdy type of person to live there. Most buildings had air filters, and the villagers who couldn’t have such luxuries didn’t fall plague to deadly air. It was just that laborious activities became harder. Calshians were sturdy people. We had more stamina than those on Earth, and our lungs had a larger air capacity. Calshian scientists have theorized that we have evolved to be able to sustain our self on the polluted air, and that is partially what causes our abilities, though not everyone has the powers like those in Star Rebellion. We are mutations of the human race, but our DNA is still similar enough for us to be considered human instead of some other species completely.

It’s just that we would prefer to have cleaner air. It was like a purpose we all sluggishly moved forward to, though we didn’t know the actual reason behind it. Only the NOPCW needed the clean air; they migrate from Earth to Calsh so much that they haven’t learned to deal with the ecosystem on Calsh. Foreststar had described our motive pretty well once. The grass is greener on the other side. We want what we don’t have, and we think it will be better than our current happenings.

“We’ll rest here,” Kuro said as we finally approached the rushing water of the Acheron river. Waterstar collapsed on the bank without argument and stared into the waves. They were a mucky grey color, unlike any water I’ve ever seen before. Fire stretched before joining her, though keeping his distance from the actual liquid. If there was more water than what could fill a bathtub, he usually avoided it.

I peered around us one final time, giving suspicious looks at the demons before joining everyone else by the banks of the river. Forest’s stomach appropriately groaned in hunger once more, though his complaints for food had ceased since the Sunstar incident.

I glanced over at Kuro and raised an eyebrow. She stared me down for a few seconds, blinking one eye, then the other before speaking up. “This time, if I tell you all to stay here, will everyone abide by my request?” she asked, focusing her gaze on each of us in turn. We all nodded our heads, too tired to say much more.

“Fine then, I will search for food. This place may seem strange to you, and without much to sustain life, but you would be surprised. Even the dead and decaying must eat.” The cat left after that, not explaining herself anymore. I swear she enjoyed speaking in riddles that may seem completely normal.

FIRESTAR

Soon after Kuro had left, I laid down on the path, a good ten feet from the water. Fire and water didn’t really mix, if you hadn’t figured that out yet, which is probably why Waterstar and I bicker like little kids. I shifted around a few times and stuck my hands under my head. Dusty paths tend to have rocks imbedded within the ground, and they seemed to know I was trying to sleep. I figured that if I wouldn’t be eating soon, then I might as well get some rest. Vaguely, I saw Water and Forest walk over to a side of the camp out of earshot from everyone else. I didn't think much of it.

I was just about to shift to my back again when the back of my neck started to prickle. I scratched at the skin behind my pulled back hair, but the feeling wouldn’t go away. Finally, I jerked my eyes open and peered toward my left, where the sense of unease was coming from. I squinted my eyes to try and see better in the dim lighting, and eventually I managed to make out the hulking form of some beast. It was probably close to my height and lupine in nature, but it had turned away and walked further in the shadows before I could be sure.

“Fire, did you see something?” Darkstar asked as she saw me looking at the shadows.

I kept silent for a few moments, then dismissed the beast to be a figment of my imagination. I was probably getting jumpy from the anticipation. “No, nothing but shadows.” I grinned at my friend and he rolled his eyes at the pun. You know,
Dark
star and shadows.

My stomach growled in complaint at the lack of food. I was forced to remember that my rescue team had left before dinner was served, and I had no clue how long it had been since then. Time felt strangely warped in this place, which only fed my nerves. I had eaten the last of my bread before we had descended into Vladimir’s chamber, and only the angels know how long it has been since then.

I sighed and patted my stomach as it made more noises. Darkstar laughed at me, though I could faintly hear his stomach echo mine. I hope Kuro came back soon, else we’d all turn into a bunch of moodier than usual teenagers. Back at the rebellion, we all used to joke how everyone there had stomachs like black holes.

Thinking about the rebellion didn’t improve my mood much. I remembered my joke with Arctic how Dark and Waterstar were rebels of a rebellion, and I had dragged myself and three others into the same classification. One of which was now dead, because really, I was to blame for Sunstar’s death. If I hadn’t requested Icestar to come with me, then he wouldn’t have gotten Sun to accompany us.

I looked down at the ground and started moving the dust around with my fingers, tracing articulate patterns in the dirt. Maybe this was a heroic mission, and would be worth the prices paid, but maybe it was a fool’s mission, impossible to complete. Why did we think that we could possibly match the strength of an angel? Because if it came down to us fighting Lucifer himself for the Mystic Animals, I don’t think there was a way we could do it. As far as I knew, no human had bested an angel, even a mutant from Calsh. I don’t think that five of us would make much of a difference when Lucifer has had millennia to become powerful, while the oldest of us was only twenty-something. I wasn't exactly sure of Ice and Forest's ages.

I sighed and laid back on the hard ground, ignoring the lumps in the dirt. My body could get used to it or go screw itself.

WATERSTAR

I'd been sitting next to Fire by the river when Foreststar came up and tapped me on the shoulder. “Can I speak to you? In private.” He looked over to the other edge of the semi-camp area we had made. I shrugged my shoulders and stood to follow him, wondering what was up. It didn't seem very Foreststar like to actually start a conversation. Must be something important.

He sat down with his chin tucked on top of his chin and stared into the land outside of the camp. I took a seat next to him and crossed my legs, picking at rocks in the dirt as I waited him for say what it was he needed to say.

              “I've noticed some things about you.”

              “Like what?” My eyes flickered over to him, but I kept my face toward the ground I was messing with.

              “You're attitude towards others, especially those outside of the Mystic Team.”

              “Yea, what about it?” I could hear the defensive tone in my voice. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him smirk in amusement.

              “Like that.” Before I could say anything he continued. “You don't have to be so mean. I know you know it too. You get a look of regret sometimes, like whenever you said something rude to Sunstar, and I've seen it previously at the Rebellion. People seem to always overlook the silent people so I can watch others freely.”

              “I don't regret it. I mean everything I say, and it's all true.”

              Foreststar shrugged, and continued looking into the distance. “Maybe, or maybe it's your way of feeling better. Of quencing the insecurities.”