False Prophets - Things Are Not Quite What They Seem

Blood for Blood

  Brian was exhausted, his feet were bleeding, and his legs burned from the unexpected workout. Still he carried on gripping the sword with all his might. His eyes were towards the sky as he entered the clouds and ascended towards the top. The fog from the clouds made it so Brian could barely see 10 feet in front of him. The only positive in this situation was that the obsidian was no longer scorching his feet. Strange whooshing sounds began to occur, forcing Brian to duck and weave against the invisible threat. A gust of wind followed every noise, teasing Brian with it's touch. He stood perfectly still to assess the situation. All he could see was a gray mist all around him and the black rocks at his feet. His feet were no longer burning, but they stung and ached from the damage already done. Looking down he could see wet footprint marks from where he was stepping. He picked up his bare foot to look at the bottom, and it was bright red with blood. Splashes of blood could be seen around his ankles and making their way up his calves. Blocking out the pain, Brian stood and listened. The swooshing had stopped for the moment.

Putting one foot in front of the other, Brian continued making forward progress. He had no idea what he was getting himself into, but he knew that he might have to fight for his life. The only reference Brian had for how to use a sword were the movies and TV shows he had seen. This would hardly be enough for him to duel someone with a sword. Just practicing with this sword could leave Brian with a deadly wound if he wasn't careful. Brian had no other choice but to try. Peter and Roger were gone. Harold was not going to come save him. There was no way that Marcus would be in any condition to climb this mountain, and for all Brian knew Beth was already dead and this would all be for nothing.

He hardly had time to try and make sense of his options when the sounds returned. This time they felt like they were getting closer, so close that Brian could almost feel whatever was passing by his body. Then it happened again, this time Brian could see the black shadow and almost make out the feathers of a Skytrotter.

"This was all another test to try and scare him to turn around" Brian told himself as he continued, using courage that was so brave it could have been confused for stupidity.

He wouldn't let these scare tactics get to him. He was going to make it to the top no matter what. Another swoosh, this time the Skytrotter grazed Brian causing him to take a step back and almost lost his balance.

"I must be getting close" Brian thought as he gripped the sword even tighter.

Shining through the fog, Brian began to see the sun again. A few more steps forward and he began to emerge from the clouds. That was when he saw it, a whole town of gigantic bird nests. Bigger than anything Brian had ever seen. Some of these had to measure over 10 feet across and 5 feet tall. Dozens of them spread as far as he could see. The sight was so amazing to see that Brian was almost mesmerized as he looked around at his surroundings. He started to see a few small heads of Birds popping up and down in some of the nests. A few birds could be seen hopping around the nests as well. These birds seemed to be your standard crow size, and Brian felt a sense of relief. The first Skytrotters he encountered appeared to be the biggest birds he had ever seen. It must have been his imagination or an illusion the birds orchestrated to scare off intruders. Letting his guard down, he still had yet to see any of these warrior birds.

This false sense of security was instantly shattered when what could only be described as a dinosaur with wings quietly descended from the sky in front of him blocking his view of the Skytrotters village. Brian stared up in disbelief at this beast of a bird. At least twice as tall as Brian, the wingspan as large as a bus, and foot long talons lay resting a few inches from his bare feet. Brian took a step back and dropped the sword down by his side. There was no use trying to fight, and absolutely no use trying to run.