Deception (Axyl, #1)

Chapter One

I wiped my dirty hands on my tight-fitting jeans and stood up. When Claus and I found this body, we were looking through an abandoned house. The man we found was rotting, his flesh stunk of his corpse, flies fluttering around him. His eyes were just mushy, black pits, so I had guessed that he had been dead for at least six months. His bright yellow plainclothes had been covered in dirt, so much that it looked black. We discovered that his clothes were previously yellow after we had taken him in to the Officials to have him buried.

The abandoned house was a mess; dishes, silverware, and clothes were thrown all over the place and rotten food was stained on the beige carpet. I could barely even breathe from the stench. The roof was collapsing in on itself and all the windows were shattered into what seemed to be a million pieces. The cabinet doors fell off when we tried to pry them open. The usually verdant grass outside was dead and overgrown. Basically, the whole house was in really bad shape, it probably was still in that state when the man was still alive.

I tilted my head up to the lead gray clouds. Rain sprinkled onto my face and I closed my eyes, smiling to myself. I had always loved the feeling. The smell of it was probably one of the best fragrances I have ever inhaled. It had always calmed and relaxed me. It even took away my worries.

I looked behind me and saw Claus’ familiar auburn hair in the crowd talking to one of the Officials. My lips tugged upwards. He had always used hand gestures when he spoke. I still remember the exact moment when we met at eight years old. He was -and always has been- my best friend.

The inky darkness surrounded me as I walked into the caves. An owl hooted in the distance, trying to call me out. I could hear the ocean; it’s familiar whooshing making me feel at home. Dirt and rocks brushed against my feet as I progressed further. I outstretched my arm to feel the freezing wall of the cave, leading me deeper inside. I started to feel claustrophobic.

Mommy had said that I shouldn’t go very deep into them, since there were scary things creeping around. I wanted to explore inside them and became very curious, so I snuck out as soon as all of the lights were off inside our steel compound. I tried to be as quiet as I could possibly be.

I peered into the darkness. There was a sound coming from inside the cave.

“Hello?” I called, my childish voice bouncing off the smooth walls. The sound stopped. I continued to listen for a minute longer. When I turned back to retreat, it picked up again, louder than before.

I walked further inside the cave, curiosity leading me. The sound of my feet scuffling filled up the woodsy hair. It was increasing.

I looked behind me for the exit, but I could barely see it. Panic filled me, my mind consuming me with images with gigantic beasts coming into my field of vision and eating me up.

A cry filled the air and I started gasping. I increased my pace, tripping over my feet as I tried to reach my destination quicker. I would’ve passed the thing that was making the sound if I didn’t kick the soft flesh and tumbling over it.

“Oof,” I grumbled as my chest hit the ground. Gravelly sand filled my mouth. My hands scraped against me between my body and the ground, burning. I spit out the salty sand and looked over my shoulder to see a ball of flesh, curled up at the side of the cave. A head popped up, bright eyes boring into my skull. I looked back down at myself, my chest dirty from the fall.

“Sorry,” I apologized, feeling guilty. I looked back up at the boy, who had tattered blue plainclothes and a bruise on his cheek. I stared at it, curious. “How did you get that?”

His sea green eyes glistened and put his head back down on his lap, hiding his face. “Nothing,” he whispered.

I looked around, wondering what had done that to him. I got up off of the ground, walking to go sit by him. “Do you need some help? My mommy knows a good doctor.”