Chapter 16 - Lifeless
The three of us kept close to the nearby trees as we progressed deeper into the forest. We took our time, moving from one tree to the other once Kiernan told us the coast was clear. Every so often, one of us would call out for the boys, but our efforts were futile.
“Where are they?” Vivian murmured to herself as she followed behind us.
“They got to be close. Stop talking so loud,” He ordered.
"You're talking louder than me!" She hissed back, her voice rising slightly.
“Shh!” I hushed at the two of them as we got to the next tree. We stopped there and waited once more as Kiernan looked around it. Again, I noticed the strange way his ear muscles twitched as he turned his head to listen.
“We’re still a safe distance away from them.” He told us finally.
A sudden idea came to my mind. “Let’s split up so we can find them faster.”
Kiernan turned and looked at me, contemplating it.
“That makes sense. It’d be faster and easier. I’ll stick with Elara,” Vivian said as she placed her hand on my shoulder.
His eyebrows narrowed in thought. Finally he let out a defeated sigh. “Fine. Just be careful. Call out quietly if you find one of them.”
Vivian stepped back, confusion on her face. “But how will you-”
“Don’t worry, I’ll hear you guys. Now go,” He told us.
Giving a light shrug, Vivian turned and led us in the opposite direction. I stayed close behind her as we headed to the next tree. Looking back, I was surprised to see that Kiernan was already gone from sight.
We were about to move on to the next tree when she abruptly stopped. I stepped back, stopping myself from walking into her.
“What’s wrong?” I whispered as I became alert. “Did you hear something?”
“No… It’s just that, you don’t think they got caught do you?” She said, looking at me with true concern in her eyes. Growing up, Vivian had always been the strong one who hid her feelings from others. She’d always kept up a barrier. It made me happy to see that she still wasn’t afraid to show her emotions in front of me. I suddenly realized that even though we didn’t really know these boys, we still had that connection with one another enough to care.
“No, I’m sure they’re fine.” I said, but I didn't sound so convinced myself. I bit the inside of my cheeks softly as I looked back in the direction of the van. “Why don’t we stick close to the trees and go back and check to make sure?”
Vivian was quiet as she thought about it. “That’d make be feel better.” She confessed. “I need to know that we at least tried Elara.”
“I know, so let’s go.” I grabbed her hand and gave it a light squeeze. Letting go, it was me now who went ahead first to lead us. After a couple of minutes of walking, I froze when I heard the sound of a twig snapping. Vivian heard it too as we stood silently behind the safety of a tree.
“Got you!” A man exclaimed suddenly. I jumped at the sound of his voice, bracing myself for the sting of a tranquilizer dart. But it never came. I realized he hadn’t seen us.
“Ouch! Hey! Let me go!” A boy shouted. I looked at Vivian behind me, our eyes widening. It was Tyler out there.
I peered out from behind the large tree trunk, spotting the two of them. “Stop struggling!” The man ordered as he struggled to apprehend the fragile teen. Like the other two we’d seen, he had on an official uniform similar to what a sheriff would wear. The St. Luna’s official logo, a crescent moon with a smaller star next to it, was pinned on his shirt pocket.
But even for his small frame, Tyler put up a fight. I gasped to myself as my eyes caught sight of the gun in the holster on the man’s belt.
“We need to do something!” Vivian panicked as she saw it too. I nodded frantically as I looked around for anything that could help us. But there was none.
My heart began to race as I felt time ticking away. I couldn’t do anything. We couldn’t do anything. That man out there was at least twice our size. And he had a gun. I slumped down against the tree, drawing my knees up and hugging them as I rested my forehead on top. I rocked back and forth in thought, panicking. I couldn’t do anything to save Tyler. I need help. We need help. The words repeated in my mind over and over again. Throughout this whole time, the sound of the two continuing to struggle with one another filled my ears.
“Oh my god.” Vivian suddenly murmured. I lifted my head up, fearing the worse. I stared out at the darkness ahead of me as I listened. Silence. I realized it had gone quiet and they had stopped moving.
“What the hell? What is that?” The man yelled. There was a hint of fear in his voice.
Confused, I quickly scrambled to my feet, peering out from behind the tree. I furrowed my brows in confusion at what I saw. A medium-sized dog slowly made its way toward the man and Tyler. It looked like a beagle. What was a dog doing out here all alone though?
I noticed there was something smeared across its side. Paint? No, it was an open wound I realized. But what were those things falling off of it? I squinted my eyes, trying harder to see. They were maggots. That was when I realized a part of its skull was peeking out on top of its head.
This thing wasn’t alive and lost, it was dead and never found! Bile began to rise up in my throat as I realized what was happening. Swallowing it back down, I looked at Vivian and saw that she was staring at me.
“You’re doing this aren’t you?” She murmured, barely a whisper. I could see she was a bit freaked out.
“No- I mean, yeah. But…” My words trailed off as I looked back at the scene.
The burly man had let go of Tyler now and was slowly backing away. He covered his nose with his hand when the decaying stench hit him. “Oh god!” He exclaimed, sickened.
Tyler slowly inched away to the left, away from the man and the undead canine. Thankfully, its attention wasn’t on him but instead on the Facility worker.
“That’s it,” The man muttered as he took his gun out of its holster. A shot was fired at the dog, causing it to fall to the ground. A moment later, it picked itself back up and continued its trek toward the man. “The hell? Why’s it still moving?” Another gunshot rang out. And again, the dog picked itself back up. Fearing for his life, the man let out a yell before turning to flee. He tripped over a root, falling to his feet. Scrambling back up, he ran away shouting for help.
Tyler saw his chance to escape and turned to head the other way.
“Wait! It’s us!” I shouted as I ran out from behind the tree. He heard my voice and stopped, realizing it wasn't them.
He jogged over to us, fear still etched on his face. “Boy am I glad to see you guys,” Tyler said as he collected his breath.
“Same goes for you,” Vivian agreed. I smiled at them, glad to see he was safe. “Uhh… Elara?” She elbowed my side gently. I turned around to see what she was looking at. The dog sat a couple feet away from us, waiting for its next order. It stared up at me with its lifeless eyes, just waiting. A shiver ran down my spine. It was just so creepy. Sure it must have been a cute little thing when it was alive, but right now… Not so much.
Vivian crouched down, observing it but keeping her distance. “You know, it’s kind of cute once you get past the whole undead thing and the maggots oozing out.”
My face twisted at her words.
“You have to release its soul,” Tyler suddenly said. I looked to him, confused. What did he mean?
“Do dogs even have a soul?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I finally get it. You’re a necromancer. Like in my video games. You can control the dead and stuff.”
“Well how do I uncontrol it?” I looked back down at the decaying dog.
“I don’t know. How’d you get it to come out?”
I looked up in thought. How did I do it? I thought back to what was going on in the past five minutes before realizing it. “I- I was thinking to myself how much we needed help.” I began, trying to form my words right. “It must have heard me nearby.” I looked down at it. Its lifeless eyes stared back at me.
“Okay… So you were concentrating and calling out for help. Why don’t you try imagining its soul leaving its body and see what happens?” Tyler suggested. I thought about it. It didn’t hurt to give it a try. I’d feel bad if I didn’t. The thought of it continuing to roam the Earth undead forever was not something I wanted for it.
Nodding at his suggestion, I closed my eyes and concentrated. I cleared my mind first, only seeing complete blackness. I imagined the dog in my head next, its beady eyes with no life. Slowly, I envisioned a white soul releasing itself from its body before drifting away. My eyes shut tight in concentration, I replayed the scene over and over again. This went on for a few minutes and I was about ready to give up.
I jumped at a sudden touch on my arm.
“Elara. Look,” Vivian whispered.
I slowly opened my eyes, allowing it to adjust to the forest’s darkness.
There on the ground was the dog. It was no longer sitting up. Instead, it had fallen on its side, inanimate and finally lifeless again.