Authors: Trevor Booth
Trudging through the waist-high snow, Te’oma couldn’t help but think back to the warm, grassy fields he had left. Ariana, Julius and Xerxes walked along with him, unaware of such wonderful places. Although it was slow going and the snow below was icy cold, the sunlight above shone a bit of hope into their hearts. Xerxes walked at the front, pretending to know how to read the map, with Alto only inches from his side.
Julius walked a few steps behind Xerxes, keeping a close eye on the direction he was heading. They all knew the way there very well, but they wanted to let Xerxes feel important.
Ariana and Te’oma walked a fair way behind, holding each other’s hand for fear of losing one another again. Te’oma knew that something had changed. He was distant and quiet.
“Are you ok?” asked Ariana.
“Yes,” mumbled Te’oma.
“Are you sure?” enquired Ariana again.
Te’oma grunted in reply, not raising his eyes from the snow. She stared at him intently with her big beautiful eyes, squeezing his hand.
They walked for many hours through thick snow, until they finally reached the edge of the forest – or what used to be a forest. It was just thousands of dead, grey trees sticking out of the snow. Leaves hadn’t grown on the trees for hundreds of years.
Once they stepped into the forest, the temperature seemed to drop by ten degrees. The sunlight that had been warming them became obscured by the tightly woven branches that connected each of the dead trees.
They walked for barely five minutes, before the eerie evening light started to play tricks with their eyes. They saw things that weren’t there, shadows flickering as if there were people moving between the trees.
“Maybe we should camp for the night. That light isn’t getting any better,” said Xerxes.
Xerxes laid his small tent out as one large, flat blanket, protecting them from the snow underneath.
“I only hope it doesn’t snow tonight,” said Julius as he sat down, resting his weary body after the day’s walk. Xerxes sat down and Alto snuggled in tight for warmth. Ariana sat down too, but Te’oma continued to stand.
“Are you going to join us?” asked Xerxes.
“Yes, but there is something I have to do first. I saw some wood on a dry patch of land not far back. I’m going to get it and see if I can make us a fire,” said Te’oma, before promptly walking away.
Ariana looked at him strangely. “I don’t recall seeing any dry patches,” said Ariana.
Te’oma didn’t respond. He was feeling the urge to be alone more and more.
He walked through the old, dead forest, staring down at the snow. Thousands of thoughts raced through his head. The wind became even colder as the sun started to disappear, but it did not seem to affect him. He was getting angry again. This time, he had no idea why, but he could feel it burning through his veins.
As he trudged along, he started to notice that the snow he was walking on was melting. He turned around to look at his tracks and saw that his footprints had turned to water.
Te’oma was suddenly whacked on the back of the head. He fell to the ground, cradling the aching spot. He rolled over in the snow and looked up. Two men, dressed in heavy bronze armour and carrying swords and shields, were standing over him. They had large helmets obscuring their faces. Their armour was not made of the kind of metal you would expect from anyone of any standing, it was old and rusted. One of the men had his sword firmly pressed up against Te’oma’s chest.
“Are you alone?” asked the man, pressing the sword harder into Te’oma’ chest. Te’oma did not respond. The blow to the head had hurt him quite badly. All he could do was cradle the back of his head and wince in pain. “Answer quickly or I will take your life,” urged the man. Te’oma looked at his eyes and realised that he meant business but, for some reason, he could not reply.
The man looked across at his companion. His companion looked around nervously. “Just do it quickly. This place gives me the creeps,” he said. Suddenly the Shadow appeared behind the two men. He stretched his arms out and, as he did, thick, black smoke poured out. The smoke filled the men’s armour making its way up from their feet to their heads. The smoke swirled around violently inside their armour like a storm. Screams came from the smoke. The men stumbled around, trying vainly to remove their armour. They bashed at their helmets, trying to get rid of the sound. The men dropped to the ground. The Shadow lowered his hands and the smoke instantly disappeared and the screaming stopped. Te’oma got to his feet and looked down at the men. There was nothing of them left, only the armour and their swords.
“Take it. I have a feeling your friends may need it soon,” said the Shadow before disappearing.
Te’oma returned to the camp, carrying the armour. He threw it down on the tent. Ariana jumped to her feet, ran over and gave Te’oma a warm embrace. Te’oma let out a large sigh of relief. He could feel the warmth of her body against his and that gave him hope.
“Where did you get all that?” asked Julius.
“I just found it lying on the ground,” said Te’oma anxiously.
Ariana picked up a chest plate. There was a worn-out symbol on the front of it – two lions standing side by side, surrounded by a circle of stars.
“What is it?” asked Xerxes curiously.
“This was the symbol of Dentari’s people,” said Ariana.
“Who was Dentari?” asked Xerxes.
“He was someone very special,” said Ariana, as she dropped the shield to the ground. “They must have all been slaughtered, just like our people,” she continued, sitting down on the ground.
Te’oma touched the back of his head, feeling the lump. The warm embrace he felt only a moment ago had been replaced with guilt. They died because of him.
The night passed slowly. While Xerxes, Julius and Ariana struggled to sleep because of the bitter cold, Te’oma was kept awake for a very different reason. He was finding it harder, with every passing night, to sleep. His dreams had become so vivid that he was afraid that he would hurt someone. He knew he couldn’t control his new powers and these people were the last part of himself he had left to hold onto. Eventually he drifted off to sleep.
Te’oma was rudely awoken by a splash of water in his face. He shook his head and tried to wipe away the water, when he realised that his hands were tied behind his back. The water dripped over his eyes, blurring his vision. He could make out Ariana sitting next to him, tied to the same tree. He shook his head again, clearing the water out of his eyes. He looked around to see all of them tied around the same tree. “Ariana,” he whispered. “What’s going on?” asked Te’oma. Ariana turned to face him. Her face was bruised, with burn marks all over it.
“What did they do to you?” pleaded Te’oma, burning with anger.
“They came so quickly and we couldn’t wake you up,” said Ariana, with desperation in her voice.
Te’oma was suddenly struck from above. He looked up to see a hybrid standing before him. But this hybrid was different. Its muscles were large and rippling, its veins flowed with fire and its eyes were like a white-hot flame. The hybrid leaned over and looked Te’oma up and down.
“No talking,” said the hybrid in a deep, gargled voice. The hybrid stood up and walked over to six other hybrids standing by the trees.
The rope was tightly woven around their hands and strapped to the tree. Te’oma wiggled all he could, but there was no way to wiggle out of these restraints.
“Te’oma,” said Xerxes quietly. “Is that you?”
“Yes,” said Te’oma.
“I didn’t think you were going to ever wake up,” said Xerxes, relieved.
“We tried everything, but you were in some sort of deep sleep,” said Julius.
One of the hybrids sniffed the air. “Will you shut up?” said Ariana.
Te’oma pulled at the rope, trying to snap it.
Julius screeched in pain. “Stop that,” said Julius. “Every time you pull the rope, it tightens on the other side,” continued Julius.
“Sorry,” said Te’oma coyly. “Why are we alive? Don’t they usually kill first?”
“I overheard them talking about Antastus and then one of them mentioned your name,” said Ariana.
“My name?” asked Te’oma curiously when, out of nowhere, the Shadow appeared before him.
“I’ve been serving you five minutes and how many times have I had to save you?” asked the Shadow rhetorically. Xerxes’ ears pricked up.
“Quit your chattering and get us out of this,” said Te’oma impatiently.
“Come now. A rope like that should pose no problem for you. Just burn through it,” said the Shadow.
“What’s he talking about Te’oma?” asked Xerxes.
“Nothing,” replied Te’oma. “Just untie the rope,” he commanded the Shadow.
The Shadow smiled back at him. “I may serve you, but you have a lot to learn,” he said, disappearing into a puff of smoke.
“Hey! Come back!” shouted Te’oma.
A hybrid turned around and grunted with anger. He stomped over to Te’oma. “You need to learn your place,” said the hybrid.
The hybrid clenched his fists, then placed his knuckles against one another. The fire in his veins started to pulsate throughout his body. It pulsated faster and faster, running down towards his hands, causing them to slowly turn a fiery red colour. The hybrid smiled as steam poured out of its hands.
“No. Please don’t,” pleaded Ariana.
The hybrid ripped his hands apart as sparks flew out. “Let’s see your big mouth talk after this,” said the hybrid. Te’oma looked back unfazed. The hybrid reached back, then punched Te’oma in the face with all the rage he could muster. Te’oma’s head snapped back violently. Ariana closed her eyes. She couldn’t bear to watch.
Te’oma’s breathing got heavier. His chest heaved in and out with every breath. With his eyes closed, he turned back to face the hybrid. There was not a mark on his face. The hybrid looked on confused. He was leaning back to punch him again, when Te’oma opened his eyes.
Fire burned through his eyes, almost bubbling out of his sockets. The hybrid stared at him in shock. Te’oma tightened his grip on the rope and, almost instantly, it turned to ash. He got to his feet and stood toe to toe with the disgusting hybrid.
A unified roar of displeasure came from the other hybrids as they saw Te’oma standing face to face with their brother. Xerxes and Julius quickly scurried over to the pile of Dentari weapons, while Te’oma had the hybrid’s attention. They sneaked back to the tree and handed Ariana a sword. The three took a deep breath, then stood firmly behind Te’oma.
Te’oma and the hybrid stood unmoving. The other six hybrids walked towards the group with a menacing purpose in their eyes. They roared with delight as the fire burned brightly through their veins. One of the hybrids clenched his fists and held his knuckles together.
“Oh, no you don’t,” yelled Ariana, as she ran over towards the hybrid. In the blink of an eye, she hacked her rusty old sword straight through each of the hybrid’s arms. Its hands fell to the ground and a red, lava-like substance flowed out. All seven hybrids screamed out in pain, as if they were somehow connected. Te’oma took advantage of this moment of weakness. In one swift motion, he took the sword from Julius’s hand, swung it around and cut off the hybrid’s head. The hybrid dropped limp to the ground.
The remaining hybrids banded together. The pain from their fallen comrade still burned within them. Te’oma walked towards them slowly. The sword was humming. The heat from his arms was radiating through it, causing it to glow red. The hybrids spread out and attacked the group one on one. Te’oma did his best to stop them. He killed two of them in very quick succession, but they were very quick creatures. Ariana and Julius were quickly locked into combat with the fearsome beasts.
The last hybrid stalked Xerxes. Sensing his weakness, he walked around him, almost teasing him. Suddenly, the hybrid leapt high and crashed into Xerxes. The two fell to the ground in a heap. The hybrid screeched, then took a bite out of Xerxes’ arm. Te’oma turned around and saw the wound. The fire disappeared from Te’oma’s eyes, leaving him vulnerable. The hybrid stood before Te’oma, smiling with delight. He lifted his sword up, ready to end Te’oma’s life when, suddenly, his eyes turned black and the Shadow’s hand appeared from the inside of its mouth. The hybrid slumped to the ground. The three remaining hybrids turned to see the Shadow. They scurried away in fear as fast as they could.
“Never let your heart get in the way of your rage,” said the Shadow quietly in Te’oma’s ear as he walked towards Xerxes. He knelt down at Xerxes’ side.
“I’ll be ok,” said Xerxes, fearing the Shadow. “The bite isn’t very deep.” Ariana raced over to his aid. She tore the sleeve off her top and wrapped it around his arm, stopping the bleeding.
“I, for one, am very grateful you turned up,” said Julius, looking at the Shadow. “If it wasn’t for you, we would never have won.”
“Won?” laughed the Shadow. “They were merely a scouting party. There are far worse enemies hunting you four. You didn’t win today, you just didn’t die.”
Xerxes got to his feet and started hobbling. Ariana and Julius helped him along. “We must continue on. We have a long way to go yet,” said Xerxes, wanting to get as far from the Shadow as possible.
“This would have been over much sooner if you had just embraced Drake’s power,” the Shadow told Te’oma, loud enough for all to hear.