The Summoning - Chapter Three

The Summoning (working title)

 

Chapter Three

 

 

     Erick abruptly woke from his restless sleep when a hand clamped roughly over his mouth. His eyes flew open, and he tried to jerk his body away from the pressing hand, but he was pinned down by Ryan. The dim light told him morning had barely arrived. His eyes widened in fear when he saw the alarm on Ryan’s face, and his lips formed a silent Shhh.

      Erick quit struggling, and Ryan moved off him. He motioned for Erick to follow, then started crawling on hands and knees, keeping close to the fallen tree. Erick followed Ryan as they made their way down the length of it. The splintered end of the log became lost in a tangled web of branches and green-black leaves of the next tree. The thick brush gave them enough cover to peer unseen into the forest spreading out before them.

      Erick heard the sound. The soft plodding of a four-footed animal making its way through the layers of decaying leaves. Slowly the figures wove their way through the trees, coming into their line of sight. Two of them, each riding the strange animals like horses and covered in black hooded cloaks. The material draped in heavy folds and fell past their feet. The deep hoods were pulled up, completely obscuring their faces. Only their hands, clutching the reins of their mounts, were exposed, revealing black skin stretched tight over long gnarled bones. The fingers thinned until they resembled claws more than fingertips.

      The four-legged creatures mirrored the riders’ frightening appearance. They were completely black, emaciated looking, with a moist sheen on the hairless skin. The head reminded Erick of a horse’s, though painfully elongated. Long rows of serrated teeth were set into narrow extended jaws, and the pointed snouts held large slit-like nostrils. Where eyes would have been, nothing but large hollowed sockets remained. Starting at the base of the skull, boney projections proceeded down the neck and must have continued along the back. The tail looked like vertebrae strung together and covered with tight black skin.

      The two riders rode together as much as the forest growth would allow. They ambled at a casual pace, but with a sense of purpose. Within a few long agonizing moments, the closest rider plodded within four feet of the boys. Then, in the heavy oppressive air, the smell reached them. A sickening sharp scent mingled with the overpowering stench of decaying flesh turned Erick’s stomach with the first inhale.

      Erick swiftly clamped his jaws together and pursed his lips to fight back a reflexive gag. Despite his effort to keep silent, a sound came from the back of his throat. The closest rider paused to glance in the general direction of the small noise. His face, shrouded by the concealing hood, didn’t allow Erick to make out any features in the darkness. But he was pretty sure, based on what the hands looked like and the putrid smell, he didn’t want to see what was hidden inside.

      The second rider paused as well, and the seconds continued to stretch unbearably long. Erick could feel the panic rising, making his heart race. His muscles tensed and quivered, readying his body to bolt at first sign of discovery. The rider, though, eventually became satisfied with the silence and started to slowly move on with the second rider matching the casual pace.

      Ryan and Erick remained concealed long after the riders left until certain they were out of earshot. They extricated themselves from their shelter of branches and began to run, flat out, in the opposite direction of the riders. Tripping over gnarled roots, stumbling over rocks, and pushing through grabbing branches, Erick had one thought: We’re in hell.

 

***

 

      Erick, hunched over on hands and knees, retched violently. Not having had anything to eat nor drink for almost a day, it was more a series of dry heaves rasping against his throat. He finally collapsed, breathing deeply. He glanced to the side and saw Ryan sitting a few feet away, watching him with a slight smirk.

      Erick closed his eyes, wondering how Ryan remained so calm. Hunger and thirst he could deal with, although both were tapping his strength, but those … things shook him to his core. Every nerve in his body told him they were evil, and he shuddered to think there could be more in this forest.

      When his stomach stopped roiling around, Erick sat up.

      “You look like shit.” Ryan’s voice held no sympathy.

      “Yeah, well, I feel like it, too.” Erick’s throat hurt, and his head throbbed. With a shaky hand he tried to sweep away the strands of hair sticking to his clammy forehead. Erick found it easier to let his eyes close than trying to keep them open. Everything seemed washed out and distant anyway. Exhausted, he didn’t care if he slipped into the waiting darkness and never woke up. It couldn’t be worse than here.

      “Did you hear me?”

      The loud voice cut through his stupor, and Erick blinked to find Ryan’s face mere inches from his own. He tried focusing on the brown eyes boring into his, but it was just too difficult, and his lids drooped again. He heard Ryan curse, then felt fingers digging into his shoulders. The pain was enough to make Erick open his eyes again.

      “We need to get going. We can’t stay here. We need to find water and get more distance between us and those things.” Ryan enunciated every word slowly and clearly, and the seriousness of his expression suggested he was more rattled than he let on.

      The words and look registered. Erick nodded and tried getting his feet under him. The hands on his shoulders tightened, and Ryan pulled him up, letting go once Erick stopped swaying. Ryan turned, took a few steps, then looked back. Erick took a couple unsteady steps, then a couple more. Ryan started walking while Erick staggered behind him. Just follow. Don’t think. Just follow.

 

***

 

      Not knowing whether mere minutes passed or lengthy hours, Erick was jarred back to awareness by a bright stabbing light. When his eyes adjusted to the brightness of the midday sun, he found he was standing on top of a bank that dropped about twenty feet to a large sparkling and tumbling river. On the opposite bank a wide grassy meadow stretched and rolled until reaching the base of mountains. High grey purple peaks jutted far into the cloudless blue sky. On their side of the bank, the forest continued without end.

      Erick followed Ryan down the steep embankment, slipping every few feet, until he reached the shore. Zeroing in on the water, Erick’s strides lengthened across the sand.

      “Drink only a little,” Ryan called out as Erick dropped to his knees near the water’s edge. He knew Ryan’s advice was probably wise, but when he cupped the water to his mouth and the coolness flowed down his parched throat, he found he couldn’t stop drinking. He drew more and more water to his face and sucked it in, barely stopping to breathe.

      It didn’t take long before he leaned over the sand and threw up. Ryan snickered as Erick rolled over onto his back, closed his eyes, and let the sunlight wash over him. He didn’t care if Ryan laughed at him. He was just thankful they’d found water.

      After a couple of minutes, he returned to the water and sipped small amounts. He glanced over to see Ryan sitting with his legs extended straight out, his upper body angled back supported by his elbows. His face, with eyes closed, tilted back while a light breeze lifted strands of his long wavy brown hair. His relaxed posture gave Erick the hope they were going to stay here awhile.

      They ended up staying the rest of the afternoon resting in the warm sun and drinking the cool water. The sun began to sink lower in the sky and before it touched the horizon, Ryan stood. “You’d better take one more drink before we head back into the forest.”

      Erick’s eyes grew wide upon hearing he’d have to go back into that dreaded place. “Why?”

      Instantly he regretted questioning Ryan when he saw his jaw set. He glared at Erick, but paused before he spoke. “We’re out in the open here. With the noise of the river, we won’t hear anything until it’s too late.”

      Erick noticed the effort Ryan made not to yell at him, so he reluctantly nodded in agreement. He didn’t like the idea of going back into the forest, but he disliked the idea of pissing off Ryan by arguing even more.

      Erick took a last long drink from the river, then waited for Ryan to take the lead. They scrambled up the embankment and walked until the sound of the river was just a murmur in the stillness.

      Ryan picked out a sheltered area where the branches hung low, and the ground was well padded with leaves. “How about you take the first watch tonight? You look better than you did earlier, and I think it would be a good idea if one of us stays awake while the other sleeps.”

     Erick nodded. “Sure.” The request was fair, and he felt rather obligated to comply.

      Ryan returned the nod, then stretched out on the ground. “When you start dropping off, wake me up.”

     Soon Erick heard Ryan’s breathing become slow and deep in the silence. Time passed slowly, and he did his best to stay awake long enough for Ryan to get some rest. When he caught his head repeatedly dropping down to his chest, he gave up and woke Ryan to take over. Erick lay on his makeshift bed of leaves and, without any effort, drifted into sleep.

      He was walking through the gloom of the forest again, anxiously looking for something. The longer it took to find it, the faster he went until he was stumbling and crawling through the forest. He was going too slow! Panic started to set in as he realized he’d never find him. “Wait for me! Don’t leave!”

      Erick heard the muffled galloping of hooves on the forest floor. Turning his head, he could see the black rider coming fast through the trees. A scream caught in his throat, and the ground came up to meet him when his foot caught an exposed root, tripping him. The rider stopped his mount and dropped lightly to the ground. Erick frantically scrambled to get himself off the ground, but he kept slipping on the dried leaves. Striding swiftly, the black figure was almost on top of Erick. A gnarled black hand extended toward his throat. “Ryan!”

      Erick struggled violently against the grip. Something was clamped over his mouth and nose, cutting off his air, while he tried to scream.

      “Shut up!” Ryan hissed into his ear. Erick opened his eyes in the dim morning light to see Ryan’s furious face right next to his. One of Ryan’s hands gripped the back of his neck painfully hard and the other was still firmly over his mouth. Erick stopped struggling, and the silence resumed. Then they heard the soft galloping of hooves on the leaf-littered forest floor.

      Ryan cursed repeatedly in low whispers. Erick’s eyes grew wide, and his body stiffened. Ryan quickly brought his hands down to grab the front of Erick’s shirt. He pulled Erick, seemingly without effort, to his feet and threw him behind a large bush growing next to a massive tree. Ryan grabbed a short thick branch off the ground and hid himself behind the tree. All they could do was wait. It was too late to run.

      The galloping grew steadily louder. It was a lot more than two this time. The dull muffled pounding came to a stop nearby, followed by the sound of riders dismounting.

      Erick had a difficult time seeing anything clearly through the mass of leaves. He adjusted his head, careful not to make any noise, so his line of sight found a small opening. He glanced at Ryan’s back and saw him poised and ready with his makeshift club. Erick wondered if Ryan realized his attempt to defend them was a futile effort given the dozen or so newcomers. He turned his head to peer through the tangled branches and felt the tension in his body lessen. They weren’t the black riders.

      The new arrivals were fair-skinned and similar to each other looks-wise. They were small in stature, none taller than himself, and slender, with narrow angular features and black arched eyebrows. Long arms and legs allowed them to move in a smooth, sinuous fashion. Most wore their long black hair in ponytails.

      Differences between them were subtle; height, hair texture, and some showed graying at the temples. Their clothing, consisting of long-sleeved tunic tops, leggings, and soft-looking boots, were in shades of green, brown, and tan.

      Human-like, Erick determined, but definitely not human. Their eyes more than anything else gave this away. The colors were more vibrant than human eyes. Normal colors of blue, green, and brown, became absolutely striking against the pale skin and black hair. But the gold hue in some and obsidian black in others made these people look completely inhuman.

      Although grateful they weren’t the black riders, Erick had no intention of approaching them. They fanned out to examine the area, and all were armed with narrow bladed swords.

      While he concentrated on studying the visitors, one of them drifted in front of his hiding place. He started at the unexpected appearance. He focused his eyes to observe the passing figure and noticed this one was short, and the hair tumbled long and wavy down the back. Though thin like the others, the small waist gave the appearance of slight curves. The head and upper body turned to almost face Erick, and his breath caught. Female!

      She turned away and continued to silently make her way in front of the massive tree, coming unknowingly closer to Ryan’s raised club. Although he couldn’t see nor hear her approach, Erick could see Ryan was ready to bring the club down at first sight. There were only seconds left.

      Erick sprung from the brush, leaping onto Ryan’s back and thrusting them forward past the concealing trunk, causing them to tumble to the ground. In an instant, Ryan rolled, flattening Erick to the ground while straddling him. Erick saw Ryan’s face twisted in fury and his fist raised. The fist froze when a sword tip pressed against his throat. Erick glanced away from Ryan to see the female’s face cold and glaring, her hands gripping the sword tightly. Erick knew, and he was sure Ryan did, too, she wouldn’t hesitate in running the blade through.

TO BE CONTINUED...