Chapter Text
Jim wasn't really a moved boy but he had to Eli and Toby had convinced him to come with him he had no choice but now the boy snuck out the back door into the garage he opened the gate slowly and carefully hoping it didn't squeak as the gate went up drove. There was a brief bang and Jim jumped and looked around and listened deeply and intently to his mother. He took this as an opportunity to quickly drive out of the driveway - he pedaled so hard that it cracked. Well he didn't want to be seen. He noticed that Toby wasn't really following him. The younger boy pedaled so hard and panted so loudly that he almost woke up the neighbors. Eli waited in front of his house. It was still a long way on the bike until they reached their friend's house.
"Come on Tobes" Jim shouted quietly so that only he could hear her. The sun was slowly setting and he had to be quick so that his mother wouldn't catch her when she left for the night shift. A metallic flash passed over the city in the direction where the duo was traveling. The two heard the noise that simply couldn't be explained. But we didn't see anything unusual, only that the weak light in the sky was slightly bent. Jim focused on the Fading Light, which was like a double-edged sword. On the one hand, no one would see them in the black outfits. Otherwise she wouldn't see anything. The streets were empty. Not even the smallest bit of rubbish was lying around. Lights were already on in some houses.
The wind picked up a little when they finally arrived at Eli's house. The conspiracy theorist wore a black helmet with a white z on it and was well prepared for the adventure. He carried a black backpack with all sorts of technology inside. Around his neck was a camera in a sturdy case. Eli drove forward on his bike and looked at his cell phone which showed the right way. Even though there weren't many ways to get there, Jim had only been here for a few days and didn't know all the routes yet. Slowly the houses began to disappear and they disappeared into the fog. The water settles on the faces of their young people.
Eli stopped briefly and looked around; he thought he might have seen a creeper. The creature looked at the group of children with the glowing pieces of coal. But the creature was just a figment of his mind.
Be careful young Nakkibit, there is something lurking out there.
The voice in his head echoed through his ears. The boy asked the voice what it meant but he answered no one his voice disappeared into the teaching.
"Into the mist Lauren ghosts and they want to get you." Toby explained, tapping Eli on the shoulder. The boy jumped and almost lost his glasses. Eli shivered and continued to ride his bike in fear, no longer daring to look into the ice-cold walls of fog that snaked around them like walls.
Toby looked around and was nervous. If he had his hands free he would bite his fingernails.
The three children stopped when they reached the spot where the yellow caution tape was blowing in the wind. it was exactly as shown on the news. Eli uses his camera and takes photos of some strange places. Far too large human footprints with claw-like extensions. Eli climbed under the yellow band, his hands covered in strange ash that slowly wrapped around his hands.
Now Jim climbed over the belt and landed awkwardly in the dirt, which was kicked up a bit and spread into the air. The boy started coughing and spitting out the mixture. His mind ached and shapes appeared in a cloud of smoke. It was like memories of the dead that The Chosen One saw. He could see the tall dark figure with lava-colored eyes, holding a sword that glowed the same color as the eyes. He swung the blade so that it formed a tail that flew towards him and threw the boy out of his dream. The boy looked around into the forest and realized it was just a daydream. Toby had to struggle a little more to get over the barrier. eventually he finally made it and hit the ground with a bang as he got caught on the strap.
The boy smiled and made a joke. Before he stood up and gratefully accepted the hand that Jim offered him. A shadow darted through the trees. Jim could see the figure even though he didn't even look in that direction.
When he looked in that direction she was gone, as if the figure was never really there.
"We should hurry up before anyone sees us." Eli said, looking around. He spotted the burned out van being pulled out of the river. He took a few photos of the areas. He discovered inclusion holes on the side of the tank. He picked up a pipe tip from the dirt. Eli took a few photos in comparison to the inclusion holes. A cracking in the bushes caught the attention of the trio, who immediately hid in the vehicle.
Toby was shaking and covering his mouth while Eli seemed calmer. Jim pressed his back against the rusty metal. The cracking sounded again, this time much closer as many branches collapsed under the pressure. The three children breathe in and out slowly so that no one could hear them. Her heart began to beat faster.
Jim's mind began to melt, the cold setting in again but this time it was different. This time his body was completely frozen, as if there was ice under his skin.
In his spiritual eyes he saw him and Eli running from something. A shadowy figure that tried to grab the teenagers with its razor-sharp claws. But they were faster on their bikes. until the creature's fist hit the boy with the glasses, who was only meters away in an old trench. The skeleton still had the tattered uniform on and looked half out of the ground. The glasses-wearing man swung back before realizing what had just happened. The creature stood on top of the ditch and glowered at the injured boy. A rock hit the monster in the head causing the creature to turn towards the boy with blue eyes. The glowing red eyes met the boy's heroic gaze as if he were only afraid of God.
Jim flinched but managed to keep his composure so he didn't make a sound. Jim slowly climbed to his knees to look through a hole to see what was going on outside. The new crack made it clear to him that the visitor was still there. He poked his head out of cover. saw nothing and retreated back to his hiding place. A rattle on the vehicle made all three jump. Suddenly the wall of the vehicle cracked with a loud crash. the teens were just able to get behind the van so they didn't get caught by whatever was there. Jim could see a large clawed hand with dark stone like skin covering the massive arm. Another metallic groan sounded and several objects were thrown around. Eli was now shaking just like Toby. This wasn't a police officer, it was something scary that made the other person freeze. The black monster was at least three meters tall and had glowing eyes like the creature in the dream. Jim winced as the monster stood up and grew even larger before it easily smashed a metal box into a tree. The black, uneven skin looked like dried flesh, as if all the water had been removed. You could still see the veins. It looked like stone. Another blow and something in the cab was destroyed.
"He came...to destroy the evidence," Eli tried to say as quietly as possible so as not to draw attention to himself. Objects kept flying around. Taking a deep breath, Eli realized what he had come to do and crawled to the crack where he had a perfect view of the monster that was still trying to destroy the evidence.
Eli discreetly took photos and made sure the flash was off. He's seen often enough in films how things can go wrong. He also didn't have any rickety objects around. The photos would be perfect for his pad.
When he looked at the pictures he realized how scary the creature was: black skin like The Shadow, broad stature but still humane. Limbs covered in claws. The entire body was covered with armor. It had a kind of crown on its head, or at least that's what its horns looked like. What further amazed Eli was that this monster carried swords in a rather old-fashioned way.
When Eli began to tremble frequently, the others noticed it too. The boy just stared at the last photo but couldn't get a word out.
The van was lifted and the creature roared loudly. The monster's eyes burn into Toby. Jim pulled Eli with who almost dropped the camera. The teenagers ran into the forest as fast as they could.
The van crashed into a tree and broke some branches and hit the ground - this was the end of the vehicle which now completely shattered. The children grabbed their bikes and tried to escape the trees and the claws. The trees swallowed up more and more light. The fog slowly enveloped them. The plumes drew ever closer together like a rope around the neck. The water mixed with the sweat and formed a film over your skin. The trees blurred into a uniform mush.
A tree flew into the air and hit between the bikes, separating Toby from Jim and Eli. The creature chased Jim and paid no attention to the other boy being supported. The creature roared and the claws narrowly missed Jim and hit his bike, causing it to stagger around a bit before Jim finally managed to regain control so as not to hit a tree .
When the trees collapsed, Eli lost his last strength and fell into the moss with his bike on the forest floor. It took what felt like an eternity for The Glasses Wearer to get up and try to move forward. The roar is extremely close but not yet in the clearing.
There were shadows in the trees that Jim could see.
The cold voice in his head spoke and held in his ears.
Be careful, boy, who you associate with
As quickly as it had come, the voice disappeared again.
Jim saw behind him as the figures drew their blades and prepared to jump.
Jim shouted softly, "Run." And pointed to the rocks that rose out of the clearing.
Not a second later they were climbing onto the rocks.
...
Toby moved his arm and leaned on the floor. If he was lucky, the arm was just compressed. The bruises and cuts were bad. The adrenaline was still working in his mind. His bike was completely destroyed. He limped towards the street; he had to get help. The police, the military or even better the animal shelter. This monster he thought. It took what felt like an eternity for him to get to the road and onto the asphalt in pain. In his fluttering eyes he could see a car in the distance that was slowly driving towards him. A familiar figure got out of the vehicle. Toby tried to get up but his body refused.
The man knelt down next to him and immediately started asking what happened, even if he had a dark guess.
Mr. Galadrigal wasted no time in administering first aid. I bandaged all the abrasions and supported my arm and leg.
He invited the boy and drove further down the road.
...
Jim and Eli stood on the rocks as the creature stepped through the trees into the clearing, illuminated by the moon.
One arrow struck the creature, which looked around angrily before being struck by another, which did little damage but some sort of evil spread from the entrapment site. The monster bared its sharp knife-like teeth before drawing two swords that glowed a subtle orange.
Figures shot out of the trees and attacked the creature with targeted blows, making it difficult to counter the soldiers' quick attacks. They hit the creature with a web that swung around the Stone Shell and burst into flames. The creature screamed before a gas was released, causing the monster to stagger. The monster rocked back and forth before finally coming to a stop and hitting the ground.
The ground cracked beneath the teenagers' feet. Eli was able to roll away just in time but Jim was able to roll way down. a few more stones fell afterwards. Eli's glasses hit the ground and shattered. The boy rolled into the expanding gas cloud. his eyelids immediately became heavy and closed again.
...
When the boy opened his eyes again he was sitting by a fire. The soldiers in black armor with white accents and red patterns arrived holding their scary helmets and showing normal faces, each telling their story. Whether it was the look or the scars.
"Is my friend okay?" he asked hesitantly, his voice shaking.
Now one of the soldiers looked at him.
"I doubt he survived being crushed under stones." He said, his almost gray eyes showing no emotion. In the background there were still soldiers wearing their helmets. Which unsettled Eli even more. Was his friend really dead or did he somehow survive this. He couldn't see everything, a lot of it was blurry.
Elis wanted to go into himself; his tears flowed down his cheeks. And wanted to run away but he wouldn't really get far if he was riddled with arrows. The boy looked around, there were about twenty soldiers he could see. someone nearby was sharpening his blade.
"Forget everything you know, you will now be one of us." said the soldier
"But my mother what's-" He was interrupted.
"You shouldn't have stuck your nose into things." Said the soldier. He sets the mask on the horns on the helmet pointing backwards.
He activated his gloves, which glowed a subtle blue, and struck with his fist, causing Eli to fall to the ground and fall unconscious.
...
Jim's joints ached when he woke up under the rubble. the stones did not let any light through. He tried desperately to lift the stone slabs. The rocks didn't move an inch. The boy looked at his body, which was half buried. Jim tried to move but it was useless. He sheltered himself in the pool beneath him and tried to keep escaping - he wouldn't give up. He has to go back to the surface to Eli and Toby the monster is still out there. and the soldiers in Schwaz with the bone-like armor, the helmets were made of an unknown skull and in the colors black, white and red, like the old colors of the country.
Debris crumbled through the cracks, making the boy cough.
The light now completely disappeared from his eyes, leaving him in complete darkness.
You brew me, give me control I show you true power. The voice in his head echoed like a giant cathedral.
Jim took a deep breath before the strength returned to his body, slowly filling every part of his body with energy like a teaching bowl of water.
He felt his hand again and was finally able to move his fingers. He opened and closed his hand before he suddenly became motionless. He was in a deep, sound sleep.
...
The boy with the glasses that were now cracked slowly opened his eyes. He was sitting in a kind of prison in a vehicle he didn't recognize. Two guards stood in front of it, one had the rifle on her court and was ready to do what was necessary.
He heard a voice, probably a soldier.
"With these we can attract some other creatures, get ready it's going to be a great hunt"
A short time later, hissing and clicking could be heard. The glowing projectors warn directed at the creature.
Eli slowly leaned against a cold metal plate. It cooled the pain on his face somewhat.
...
Jim woke up in front of the pile of stones, his injuries were almost healed and some stones are scattered around the cave.
He walked slowly towards the light before he stopped in front of a cliff and looked down at the small stones. The hole would have to be several hundred meters deep. Only a small, narrow staircase led to the direction where the exit was.
Jim carefully went down the stairs, step by step. The darkness almost completely enveloped him, only a few light particles hit his eyes.
After what felt like an eternity he finally came across a door in the wall that was about ten meters high. He pushed against the door and it opened automatically with a creak. Jim slowly entered the cave and looked at the interior writings written in a long-forgotten language. He broke off a torch with all his strength and almost stumbled. He now held the eternal fire in his hand and lit it into the cave towards the large stone wall. He slowly walked towards the wall around a large cathedral.
Jim jumped into a ditch as soldiers marched past him. The tunic was tattered and the armor had seen better days. Through the slits he saw a green glow.
They carried pikes, axes and swords. Had a black cross on the torn piece of fabric. The soldiers look around before the steel door opened and closed behind the warriors.
After what felt like an eternity, he dared to breathe again. He clumsily climbed out of the ditch onto the paved path and crept towards the wall. This was at least fifteen meters high and made of pure deepstone. This gave a picture of almost one piece only a few cracks killed this.
Now he waits patiently at the rusty gate.
It opened and he sneaked in, immediately hiding in a bale of hay. Well, video games are good for something, he thought.