Crimson Nightmare

by Zoey Rivera

  “If you kill me, Aidan will find you. He’s been waiting to kill you for years now,” Johnny half heartedly threatened. Richard let out a heartfelt guffaw. He loosened his grip on Johnny and let him fall to the floor as he laughed.

  “Little brother’s got a bit of a grudge, now does he? Never did get along with that twerp. Probably still hiding behind his sister to fight his battles. How is Shy these days? Staying fed?” Richard asked.

  “She's fine and Aidan is doing fine on his own as well. He's not the little kid you jerked around three years ago. He's a hunter now and if you don't let me go,” Johnny started to try and move away. Richard cut him off as he interrupted him.

  “Yes yes yes, the peace loving killer is going to come and get me. Cheyenne and Aidan are living apart now? Ha, only took him three years to stand on his own. Well done. So what of Shy?” Richard questioned once again standing threateningly close to Johnny again.

  “I said, she’s fine,” Johnny insisted.

  “I heard you but where is she?” Richard traced a nail along Johnny’s throat. Johnny’s heart started racing but he remained mute. “Fine, when you run off to speak with her, and I know that must be the only reason you’re this close to the Mir, tell her this for me. I want to make another deal with her.

  I’m sure she is familiar with how a deal with me ends up if I don’t get my way. I want to offer her a seat in my family once again. She knows she was always welcome but I’m getting bored waiting for her return. So tell her, if she doesn’t return by the end of the month, I will put our little brother and his,” Richard allowed himself a chuckle, “hunting skills to the test. If she comes willingly, I just might even forget about old Gwintin. Move along or just stay in Malus.”

  Richard vanished and Johnny allowed himself a minute to catch his breath and gather himself before moving onward. He kept a wary eye out for Richard as he approached Cheyenne’s tree.

  Cheyenne immediately dropped from her tree the moment she saw Johnny limping toward her in the distance. She quickly inspected her friend’s disheveled body for any serious wounds for her to tend to. He winced as she lifted his chin to inspect his neck.

  “What happened to you? Why are you out here? I’ve told you a thousand times, it isn’t safe for you out here!” she scolded Johnny and brought out a health potion from her inventory.

  “The wounds aren’t fatal and I’m not draining my health by being out here. We have more important issues to deal with,” Johnny’s face hardened. Cheyenne stared at Johnny, she had seen his face focused before but never with this level of seriousness to it.

  “What happened?”

  “Richard is near,” Johnny took a breath and continued slowly calculating his words, “and he wants to make a deal with you.” Cheyenne slammed her fist into a tree, not so much as flinching at the power of impact of her fist to the dense trunk.

  “That manipulative sorner trying to weasel his way back into my life. What does he want now?” Cheyenne hissed, seeming as though she was ready to pounce on Johnny just for passing along the message.

  Johnny stuttered out the message, “Richard said that if you join him, he’ll let Gwintin go and stay in Malus.”

  Cheyenne was outraged, eyes wide with fury.

  “He’s making me choose between my life and others again? Why? What does he gain from having me sitting next to him rather than the next broad. I am no more special than any other life in Eden. Why does he insist on tormenting my life?”

  Johnny stood silently, like a child being scolded by a parent. He didn’t know what to say or do, only that he passed on what needed to be said from Richard.

  “I know this is hard to hear but I do have good news. Aidan has agreed to accompany me to Hallifax. So at the very least, for the next three or four days, he and I will be out of Gwintin and we can escape to safety from whatever Richard is planning. Isn’t that good?” Johnny’s eyes were pleading for approval from the enraged vampiress. Cheyenne’s face seemed to soften at the mention of Aidan leaving town.

  “He’s going with you?” Her heart skipped at the news.

  “Not going exactly as much as escorting me to Hallifax and then returning after but, yes. He will be leaving the town for a while to help me transition over,” Johnny explained and Cheyenne’s lips curled into the first honest smile she’s had in ages. “If I can get him to leave with me sooner rather than later, we can be out of here before the end of the month.”

  “Why do you need to leave before then?” Cheyenne asked.

  “O-Oh, that’s when Richard is coming to collect you,” Johnny replied nervously. Cheyenne’s face dropped as she considered what to do.

  “Alright, I have a plan but I’m not sure how much you’re going to like it,” Cheyenne said. Johnny raised an eyebrow and looked at her skeptically. “It is going to involve trashing your shop.” Johnny let out a boisterous laugh that took Cheyenne by surprise.

  “Aidan already took care of that bit, I’m afraid. Earlier today there was some attacks on the town again and surprise, surprise, Aidan just so happened to find the fight wandering into my shop. He took no mercy on my poor shop. The whole place looks about ready to collapse,” Johnny let out a heavy sigh recounting the pathetic state of his shop. Cheyenne’s lips curl into a mischievous grin.

  Johnny burst into Aidan’s room, “Aidan, the woman from earlier. She’s in my shop. I saw her as I was cleaning up and I ran as fast as I could over here. I didn’t see her following me,” Johnny panted and gasped for air as if he had run a marathon, despite the shop only being a short pace away from Aidan’s homestead.

  The sudden noise made Aidan shoot awake. It was exactly for situations like this that Aidan slept in Eden instead of logging out to rest. He always felt like he needed to be on alert. This just proved him right. He lept off this bed and equipped his sword from his inventory. He secured Johnny behind him and then scanned the area for threats. He waved his hand slowly across his field of vision and recited the incantation, “Et videant oculi mei omnes.”

  He closed his eyes and opened them once again, now able to see beyond the walls obstructing his vision and through the floor. Once he had confirmed that there was no one around, he closed his eyes once more and released the spell. With barely a glance over to Johnny, he lept out of the window and raced toward the shop. Johnny stood alone in Aidan’s room for a second, staring at the third story window Aidan had just leapt out of without hesitation.

  “I could make that jump,” Johnny approached the window and looked down. “If I wanted to jump, I could make that jump.” He convinced himself of this as he exited out of the room and walked down the stairs and through the front door of the inn's downstairs tavern.

  Johnny joined Aidan inside of his shop as Aidan was sweeping the area for the intruder. Since he had just used his sight spell, he didn't have the mana to use it again so quickly. He slammed open the door to the back room and searched the area thoroughly before returning to Johnny’s side.

  “You’re okay? Did she say anything? Give any hints where she was headed?”

  Johnny firmly shook his head.

  “No, I don’t know where she has gone but I know that I’d like to be gone right now,” Johnny looked around the room as if he was double checking that Aidan hadn’t missed a corner where she could be hiding. Aidan tilted his head confused by Johnny’s words. “Aidan,” Johnny looked directly into Aidan’s eyes, “I want to go tonight, please. I don’t feel safe living here for one more night. We have to go now.”

  Aidan nodded understandingly, he knew that the sooner he got Johnny to Hallifax, the sooner he would be able to deal with the situation here.

  “Alright, pack up. We’ll leave once you’re ready. I’ll go get the horse,” Aidan comfortingly squeezed Johnny’s shoulder to calm him down. “I’ll be back soon, so pack quickly.” Aidan made his leave to the stables and Johnny scurried about as he packed what he could into his inventories.

  Later that night, just before the sun was ready to br
each the horizon, Aidan and Johnny left Gwintin for their journey to Hallifax. An oculi whirred past them and into the cover of the tree line of the Mir Forest. There, Richard stood with a wry smirk on his lips watching the two wanderers make their escape. He chuckled to himself and tsked at the careless couple. He scanned the tree line around him, once normally and once with enhanced sight. Without a word, he slowly pursued Johnny and Aidan.

  Cheyenne watched Richard carefully, concealing herself under a cloak she had charmed with the gift of invisibility, as he followed after the boys. She steadied her breath and slowly stalked after him towards the city of Hallifax.

  “Cheyenne, darling,” Richard called out to her without looking back, “I’m thinking of stopping into Malus for something to feed on for the journey to kill your brother, would you like something as well?”

  Cheyenne had only been following Richard for a few hours now, but she was being mindful to stay out of range of his senses, trailing along about ten to fifteen feet behind him at any given time. She knew it was the one proficiency he never bothered with and with stealth being one of her higher proficiencies, there was no way he could have -

  Within seconds he was standing right in front of her, looking directly into where her eyes would be if she were not invisible.

  “Love, I know you are there. Speak with me,” Richard slowly reached out to remove the cape covering Cheyenne. As she allowed the cape to fall to the floor, her face was revealed and her eyes burned into his, unwavering. Richard smiled down to her, “Hello, my love, it’s been a while.”

  “I’m not your love anymore. So, why don’t you do us both a favor and just die?” she snapped at him. Richard’s smile didn’t falter in the slightest. He enjoyed the tension between them, her threats held no weight to him.

  “Cheyenne, my little mouse, didn’t I teach you better?” Richard tussled Cheyenne’s hair affectionately and turned his back on her. “Since you’re here, I’ll extend my offer one final time. Come with me, and we will peacefully live on together in Malus. Hand in hand, the perfect pair to take over.”

  Cheyenne took the opportunity to charge him. Her fingers quickly swiping through her inventory to materialize her sword into existence. It had been a while since she had wielded a broadsword but she knew the durability on it was like new.

  Her blade came crashing down with every intent on killing Richard. He dodged the attack without a scratch on his spotless armor. He flicked his wrist elegantly, not so much as glancing at the inventory screen as he tapped away. In seconds, a mage’s wand appeared into his hand.

  She advanced and slashed her sword, taking any opening she could find. He effortlessly danced through her attacks. Toying with her by casting beginner’s deflection spells. She cried out as she rushed him once more.

  “Volito,” Richard flickered out of the sword’s path but he miscalculated his ending location and tripped over a root. Cheyenne seized the opportunity, raising her sword to the moon. It began to emanate an impressive purple glow as she pointed it down to Richard’s fallen form.

  “Enervo,” her voice just above a whisper, the spell cast and paralyzed Richard on the forest floor, leaving him completely helpless to her whims. She stepped closer to her ex-lover, looked toward the oculi that was anxiously anticipating her next move, and smirked. She won.

  Within a matter of seconds, Cheyenne found herself pinned down by ten of the vampire kin that were watching the fight. A muscular vampiress with platinum locks that twirled to her hips rushed to Richard’s side. She released him from the spell with a potion from her inventory and glared over to Cheyenne.

  “Shall I kill her, Richard?” She seemed too excited to be offering to murder someone in cold blood.

  “Ha, you never did know how to fight your own battles,” Cheyenne scoffed at Richard. He turned toward her with a raised eyebrow and waved off the woman with the blonde hair.

  “No, Sarah, it’s fine. She isn’t a threat to me anymore, you can relax,” he beamed an overly confident smile considering he was about to die only moments ago, as far as Cheyenne was concerned. He focused his attention back to Cheyenne,“and, when pitted against you, it was always hard to keep up with all the fights. Besides, unlike you, I’m not afraid to reach out for help when I know I need it.”

  The blonde woman, evidently named Sarah, backed away from Cheyenne. Cheyenne’s eyes welled up with tears as she struggled in her confinement, the vampires no longer needed to hold her down after paralyzing her body in place and levitating it for show, so the oculi could all see her reactions clearly.

  Richard walked up to her and held her chin between his thumb and finger.

  Inches away from her face, his lips practically brushed hers as he spoke, “I am going to kill Aidan and make you suffer by doing it slowly. I’ll let him think he has a chance, maybe even get a few hits in. Then, I will pierce his back with a dagger,” Cheyenne could feel his other hand trace along the left side of her spine, stopping just before her tailbone. He began dragging his nail up along her back, “I’ll slice his back open right in front of your eyes. Paralyzing him the old fashioned way. No magic or spells; just pain and blood. And after I’m finished starving you in your isolation chamber, we’ll watch him bleed out onto the floor and I’ll let you lap up every last drop of your brother’s blood. He’ll try to scream out in agony, but he’ll be unable to catch a breath or make a sound.”

  If Cheyenne could move, she’d cringe. She’d cripple onto the floor and sob. She’d weep her soul out of her chest. Instead she just hovered there.

  Numb.

  Richard’s lips curled up as he brandished his fangs, exposing them to Cheyenne.

  “Every good story has a villain, now be a good little hero and put on a nice show,” she dropped to the floor and laid motionless for a moment. She let the weight of the choices she had sink in one final time.

  The oculi swarmed around waiting for Cheyenne to do something, anything. Agonizingly slow, she got back to her legs and began to hobble away from the gathering of vampire kin. Richard watched her limp away, his hands locked on his waist, and a vile smirk on his face.

  “Kayden, come hither,” Richard demanded. An imposing, muscular man with olive brown hair and skin that was oddly tanned for a vampire. Outside of Eden, Kayden was a convict who was originally trying to make a new start. Until, of course, he met the Lon clan and was transformed.

  The six-four giant man twitched and shook as he approached Richard. He scratched on his arm as he rocked back and forth in place, waiting for his orders.

  “I have a task for you.”

  Chapter 5

  Johnny had been humming the off-key tune for the last ten miles and it was starting to get to Aidan. He shook his head at his redheaded friend and continued to press forward, holding onto the reigns of Johnny’s horse as they walked. The thoroughbred trotted along as best she could with Johnny riding on the saddle. Aidan studied the stallion as it seemed to absent-mindedly follow along with him.

  He found a slight amusement in a creature being so trusting of another in a world like Eden. Even though the artificial intelligence of the creature didn’t allow for truly unique movements of the horse or free will, he still found it heartwarming to have something in this world still being able to trust. Johnny nudged Aidan with his foot. He looked up at him, concerned he had spaced out for a moment too long. Johnny smiled down at Aidan walking and Aidan gave him a smile back.

  The journey to Hallifax wasn’t very far. As Johnny had said back in the shop to Cheyenne, it was only truly about a fifty mile journey. So, idealistically it wouldn’t be that bad of a trip. The real issue with it was that over thirty miles of that trek was through the Mir Forest. It wasn’t that Aidan or Johnny hadn’t been through the Mir before. Aidan used to monster hunt for coin back in the beginnings of him learning how to survive in Eden, and he knew that from time to time Johnny would venture out there as well. He presumed Johnny only hung around the outskirts of the forest whenever he did go though. Stic
king to the areas that only low risk creatures like oozes and unusually large rats presided.

  What worried Aidan, though, was that the area of forest that they would be crossing through was filled to the brim with trolls, wolves, and other dangerous beasts that he may be able to defeat one-on-one but against a whole swarm. He couldn’t ensure Johnny would be safe, even with him there. Aidan let out a heavy sigh as he envisioned the colossal arachnids spinning their nests up in the tree tops.

  He swiped his arm to pull up his proficiencies and checked through them. It wasn’t as if they were anything to scoff at, Aidan had trained day in and day out for the last three years making sure he was on the top of his game for survival but they still weren’t enough for him. He was still very limited when it came to close ranged attacks.

  The best he could do would be to keep them at mid to long range and focus on edging them off with his magic. It would give him a better chance at lasting with his lower health recovery. Even though Johnny was here with more health potions than he could ever need, they were still a part of his shop, he couldn’t abuse that resource and not expect to have to pay up afterwards with money he and Johnny both knew he didn’t really have.

  Aidan’s brow furrowed as he focused on strategizing for the journey ahead. Johnny looked down at his travelling companion from atop the horse and pursed his lips into a pout at Aidan’s face.

  “You think that hard and you’re going to exhaust yourself with ‘what-ifs’ before we even reach the tree line, let alone actually get into a battle. Then I’ll have to save the day, and your pride can’t be having that, now can it?” Johnny’s jests snapped Aidan back into reality for a moment.

  “How are you so calm when it comes to the Mir? I see you go in there from time to time when we’re in town and you still come out like the same scrawny Johnny who's never lifted a weapon in his life,” Aidan chuckled. Johnny’s jaw dropped from the offense.