Elli
October 9, in the year of 8845, Reminis Calendar (RC)
Elli jerked up from her dream. Roxy lunged at her and grabbed her arms. “What did you see?”
A tingle of electricity coursed through Elli’s veins, and she slapped Roxy’s hands away. “It’s none of your business.” She didn't know whether her dream was true. The fact that Vadiraj claimed her as his bride made her want to hang herself, but a part of her was dissolving and melting into the way he said it. Her real anger, however, was caused by Dominic. She thought of Sam and fished out her jukebox.
Roxy stopped her. “What do you think you’re doing? You can’t tell them. If the Vampists find out that you told them, they’ll kill the students.”
“How can you be sure about that? If the students know they’ve been supplying their blood to the Vampists, they’ll fight against—”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about, human. Think: for weeks, their magic skill is lost along their blood. They won’t be able to win over the Vampists. Use your brain.”
Elli wanted to argue back but Marko placed a hand on her shoulder. “Roxy is right. What we can do now, is to constantly check on the students whether they're all right. I've communicated with Sam just now. They're fine so far. Come, let’s set off now.”
As time was steadfastly slipping away from their grasps, they set off, even before the cockerels could sing their songs. Afar, the sun took its own sweet time to stretch its pink fingers, having waked up from a long sleep. Apart from the snapping sound as boots landed on fallen twigs, the forest was filled with an orchestra of frogs trilling, monkeys calling, and birds chirping.
Sunrise, it always meant new hope, but in the deepest halls of Elli’s soul, she knew they had no hope left. She saw the armies of Vadiraj, stout and vicious. How could they, a small troop of nine, fight him? She silently hoped that they could invite more to join their quest, if she still could hope.
Marko walked side by side with her. He must have felt that too. Though their bodies stood next to each other, their souls had drifted farther and farther. He didn’t say a word, but Elli could sense his misery. She knew he was fond of her, but she’d only accept him as his brother, because of… Vadiraj. No. Why am I calling his name? He’s tricking my mind again. Elli shook her head, and her clammy arm brushed against Marko’s, sending him leaping aside with alarming shock. Pink splotches spread across both of their cheeks, a kind of demureness not because of excitement, but awkwardness.
They walked till an opening when a fight blocked their path. A light green creature with a rectangular body was shooting leaves out of its scalp. Another white furry creature with a round body brought a flute to its mouth and blew a tune. The leaves turned limp in mid-air and dropped to the ground. Out of nowhere, another creature with a shade like underground mud hopped out of the bushes. It shook its ball-like body and grey spores were shot out of its black pouted mouth. Stench like rotten plants infused the air, and the creatures that were fighting against one another coughed.
“We should stop them. They'll kill themselves,” said Elli.
“They are the Plantacean Creatures, the most ancient and benign brethren in Tanglewood. Don’t worry, fighting against themselves is just a past time for them. We should get going,” said Maxim.
“They are adorable. I wish I could have one as a pet.”
“I could persuade one to be your pet, but it would be after this journey comes to an end.”
The group continued treading past the forest. Elli looked back and saw the creatures had stopped fighting. They were now sharing berries; the U-shape of their beaming eyes motivated her to continue her journey. For many hours the group trotted through a floor of mangroves until they reached a lake. Its sparkling water was so beguiling that it dazzled the eyes of the onlookers. Red and orange and yellow algae coated the bank of the lake.
“I can walk no more. I need food!” Rooney grumbled. His stomach drummed in agreement.
“Hush, you are the smallest amongst us all, yet your metabolism runs the fastest,” said Maxim.
“Don't belittle us pygmy, Jackal. We're the strongest kin and thus our metabolism runs the fastest.” Rooney dropped on the mossy embankment of the lake.
“Maxim, we shouldn’t stop. This place… I strongly suggest we prolong our journey. We only need to climb over the small mound of hill over there, and we'll reach the desert,” Vortex advised.
“There'll be no food to treat our hungry friend in a desert. This place though sinister, is filled with scrumptious quail eggs. We'll rest for thirty minutes before advancing to the desert,” Maxim told Vortex. The latter bowed and set off with Freda to search for the quail eggs. Maxim stared at the lake, a gleam of fear shone through his eyes. “I'll stay away from the lake if I were you.”
“What's so baleful about this place?” asked Elli.
“We call it Death Valley. In the lake, dwells a type of creature that even we, the patrols of Tanglewood, dread. This creature is no beast of Mother Nature. It's a monster that maims all living flesh it comes across. I won’t speak of its name here, as it projects bad vibe and will entice the monster."
They finished off their meal in a rush and was about to depart when a low growling voice came from their back. Too late, the monsters must have smelled the fragrance of the boiled quail egg from afar. Their palate must have been triggered and they came further to investigate the source of food. Spinning around, the nonet found themselves staring eye-to-eye with a shoreline of monsters that looked akin to crocodiles. The monsters had coffee-brown hides and bodies longer than planes. Their jaws opened wide and could have swallowed three humans at the same time.
The scent of blood, now taking over the fragrance of quail eggs, was so alluring that the monsters attacked without further tarrying. One of them crawled forward and clasped its jaws on Rooney’s left leg. Rooney's scream tore through the afternoon air, sending flocks of birds flying out of the bush. The other monsters became more aggressive and drew closer to their weakening prey. The monster which was clutching on Rooney's leg earlier turned defiant, seeing its food being snatched away. Swinging its tail, it batted two monsters away, before pulling Rooney down to the lake. His blood turned the crystal clear water to an egregious shade of red. The monster had even begun to chew off his flesh.
Marko pulled out his wand and set a fiery rune that scared the monster away. Elli dragged Rooney further away from the shore. His bones and ligaments dangled from his naked flesh. Marko fished out his second remaining nectar. While he focused on chanting some mantra, more monsters advanced towards them. The monsters had hides that were so thick that even the Jackals’ rakes couldn't penetrate through. The Jackals had to resort to throwing giant rocks at the monsters, trying to scare them away.
At the other side of the lake, Lukas was duelling with a monster with scornful eyes. Even a look at it made him shiver. He stabbed at its eyes relentlessly. While the monster opened its jaw and wailed in pain, Lukas shot an explosive rune into his mouth that blasted its body apart. Roxy cast lightning onto a monster and it turned to a barbecued crocodile in next to no time. Benedict used four of his hands to strangle a monster, while his other two hands blocked the monster’s tail that was constantly whipping at him.
Another monster darted towards Lukas. Maxim sprang forward and knocked Lukas aside. He then pounced on the monster nearest to them and drove it into the water. But the last standing monster bounced into the air, and sank its fangs into Maxim’s waist. With a low growl from its belly, a green fume ejected from its nostrils. Maxim coughed at the fume and his limbs became paralysed. Roxy cast another lightning and blasted the monster apart.
Vortex sat Maxim on the gory ground filled with blood and torn flesh. Like Marko, the Jackals had healing ability. Vortex placed a hand on Maxim’s waist and willed his healing power towards the wounds. The wounds sewn up but Maxim looked dreadful. He tried to move his limbs but found them dangling like leaves out of water. Vortex looked at him with a worried frown, and Maxim nodded feebly.
“The breath of the monster is venomous and can be lethal, if not treated in hours," said Vortex. "Even our healing power can’t exile the toxin. We must seek the aid of the blind witch. Fortunately, she stays at the edge of the desert. Maxim is now fighting the poison with his power and he can still walk.”
Marko chimed in. “The injury on Rooney’s leg is too profound. I can only cease the bleeding and hold the bones in position. Though the wound causes no lethal harm, it's still beyond my power to totally heal it. One of us must carry him along the journey. I hope the blind witch can attend to both of them.”
“It's all the fault of my stomach,” Rooney groaned in pain.
“There's no use crying over spilt blood. We must set off now,” said Vortex.
Benedict held Rooney with his two hands and comforted him. After grabbing their belongings, Vortex led the way. The little time of climbing over the small hill doubled as the team needed to stop hither and tither, when the victims groaned at the pace. Marko and Lukas flanked Maxim’s side to prevent him from rolling downhill. They spent an hour and thirty minutes until they saw a spread of red desert. The wind blew over its surface. Sand particles twirled up to the sky and waved at them, like the fingers of some evil phantoms, welcoming them to the pit of forever hollowness.