*****
The sky was filled with endless clouds, a haunting wind passing through the air with a ghostly wail befitting the scenery it echoed within. Jagged precipices outstretched from the bleak rocky mountains, a desolate gray cast over the landscape as light didn’t pierce the gloomy ceiling above but rather bloomed unnaturally within the barren wasteland that was devoid of all life. Literally.
Sitting on her legs with a forlorn gaze up at the worrying clouds was Squeak, the ant girl dressed in an untouched tunic and pair of boots while her antennae swayed in the breeze that passed by. Looking to her hands she slowly felt her body being whole again, patting down her hips and breasts while seeing that she was in one piece, although could easily tell something was very different about her now.
“Daniel,” she said, speaking clearly in a heartbroken voice as she looked to the sky again. Slowly she stood up, her weary gaze moving around the desolate canyon she now found herself standing beside. “What is this place? Where am I? How… how did I… oh… that’s right…”
Looking down to her chest she peeked under her tunic, seeing her skin appearing perfectly fine without any scar or blemish being visible where she had been impaled.
“This… this can’t be…” she worried, taking unsteady steps in circles before suddenly halting, her hand slowly moving up to rest over her heart to feel nothing beating inside her now. “Is this… real? It can’t be. Surely I’m dreaming. I must be. Mustn’t I? Am I really… oh… no…”
Grabbing her hair in distress she began crying as the reality of what happened replayed in her mind.
“No. That wasn’t a dream. Jacqueline, she… she… oh good lord, no. I can’t be dead. I can’t be! No! I can’t really be dead! Please, let this be some horrible dream! Wake me up! Somebody wake me up from this horrible nightmare! Daniel! Daniel, help me!”
“Hey,” a voice called out, with Squeak jumping from the sound before turning to see three ant girls dressed in red garb waving at her from further away.
“What are you doing?”
“We need to keep moving.”
“Why are you going that way?”
“What?” Squeak asked. “Are… are you talking to me?”
“C’mon,” an ant girl said running up to her. She grabbed Squeak’s hand and started pulling the confused girl with her back to the others. “The angels will get mad if we stray too far from the path. We have to keep walking this way to reach Vexus.”
“Angels? Path? Vexus?”
“Hurry, we need to catch up with the others,” another ant girl urged before they all started heading off with Squeak in tow. As they led her down a rocky trail between the tall bluffs Squeak couldn’t help but notice that rather than showing fear or distress about their situation the other ant girls appeared more relaxed and carefree about it.
“You just arrive here?” one of them asked her. “I can tell by your face, you look a little confused.”
“Um… I guess?” Squeak unsurely replied.
“Don’t worry about it. When we got here we were lost too.”
“It’s easy to get turned around out here, there’s like nothing at all out here but the same looking highlands. We haven’t seen anything else, not even a damned sign. That’s just horrible and lazy trailblazing if you ask me.”
“The angel we met told us to stay on the trail. Easier said than done, the path leads all around these weird mountains. You just know some lost souls probably wound up really lost out here for who knows how long.”
“Uh…” Squeak managed to say.
“Hey, your uniform is blue,” one of them pointed out. “You’re not from our nest, are you?”
“She’s right,” the one holding Squeak’s hand agreed. “You’re not part of our colony. But you fell here, which means you fell in Green Haven. How did you die there? What were you even doing there?”
“Me?” Squeak asked pointing to herself. “Um, well, I was… um, killed, I guess.”
“Haha, no shit,” an ant girl laughed. “We all bit it today, couldn’t you tell?”
“Yeah,” the one holding Squeak sighed. “Some idiot screwed up and set off all our bombs before we were ready. I was blown to pieces before I could say a word.”
“Haha, yeah,” another agreed. “That was really loud, wasn’t it? We must have blown all of those fucking savages sky-high after our site detonated like that.”
“Wait, you girls caused that?” Squeak asked. “When Green Haven erupted from below, that was because of you?”
“You were there when it happened? Yep, that was because of us. We were rigging a shit-ton of bombs beneath the forest as a little surprise for the coldhearted bitches above. Tell us, did we wipe out those filthy assholes in the blast? Did we take them down with us in a hellish inferno from which there was no escaping?”
“No. I mean, you probably killed some of them. The entire forest was set on fire, and then Eden started exploding from below with rivers of lava bursting forth. You cast all of Green Haven into total chaos with your digging.”
“Boo-yah!” an ant girl cheered as she and another bumped fists. “That’s what I’m talking about!”
“Serves those murderous whores right. You mess with the Breakfell Ants and you get blown up! Woo!”
“I wish I could have seen their faces. That must have been an awesome show!”
“What is wrong with you girls?” Squeak demanded. They all came to a stop as she yanked her hand free and backed up from the puzzled girls. “Why did you lay siege to Green Haven? Why did you set the forest on fire? Why would you attack the elves? And why are you so cavalier about our situation? We’re dead! We’re dead and we’re never going to see our loved ones again! Doesn’t that upset you? Doesn’t that bother you at all?”
“Well, first off, we’re always ready to die,” one of them replied with a shrug. “I don’t know how your nest operated, but ours prides itself on strength and bravery. We’re not afraid of anything, even death.”
“We work with rocks that go boom on an everyday basis,” another chimed in. “Dying isn’t something we fear or even care about. Honestly, if I had to go out, which I did, I would prefer to go out in a fiery blaze of glory, which I did.”
“All that matters is our colony’s survival,” the third proudly declared. “That’s what we fight for every day. And for your information we weren’t going to attack the elves, we were only after The Sisterhood. Those fucking monsters killed our queen and threatened our people. Dying in the line of duty isn’t anything to regret for us, especially if we’re able to knock those goddamn demons flat on their asses in the process.”
“They killed your queen?” Squeak worried. “That’s horrible. I’m so sorry to hear that, I didn’t realize. Wait a moment, now I remember, I encountered a worker from your nest a few days go. She was dressed in your colors, she said her people were at war and that was why they were excavating large chasms in Eden to slow down their enemies. Saffron was her name.”
“That’s one of our lieutenants,” one of the ant girls beamed. “One of the best ones if you ask me.”
“You met her? Isn’t she totally awesome? I heard she could blow up an entire mountain if she wanted to.”
“She… was very rough to talk to,” Squeak replied with a weak smile. “Very quick to throw a punch if provoked, but she seemed like a good soul.”
“She is,” an ant girl agreed. “I hope she’s still alright. She was supposed to be at the digging site with us today, but last I heard she was running late for some reason.”
“Knowing her she’s still alive and beating the shit out of those Sisterhood bitches with her bare hands,” another smugly reasoned.
“Lucky girl,” the third sighed before they started walking off together. “Oh well. At least we caused trouble for The Sisterhood before we died. That’s something to be proud of. All that’s left to do is remain confident that our sisters can finish the fight.”
After a few steps they stopped and looked bac
k to see Squeak having her head lowered with tears running down her cheeks.
“Hey, are you okay?”
“Aside from being dead of course.”
“What’s wrong? What do you have to cry about?”
“Just like you said,” Squeak whimpered. “I’m dead. I’m glad… that you girls can find something joyful to carry your spirits forward still, but… I’m afraid I don’t have much to smile about right now.”
“Don’t worry about biting it,” an ant girl reassured, the three monsters walking back and gathering around Squeak. “Hey, c’mon, it’s not so bad. We all have to die eventually, it’s a normal part of life. Don’t let that get you down. You at least led a good life that you’re proud of, didn’t you?”
“Of course I did,” Squeak softly praised. “I was blessed with finding a man who loved me for who I was, not what I was. I had a mate, a family, a wonderful home. I had everything… everything I ever could have dreamed of having…”
“You had a man?” an ant girl exclaimed. They all looked to one another with bright smiles before crowding closer to Squeak. “Back up, you’re saying you had a man of your own? How did you get a man? Where did you get him?”
“Was that why you were in our territory? Were you sent to populate a new nest for your people? You dirty, sneaky infiltrator; you were pulling a fast one on us and spreading your nest into our land. That’s pretty bold. You’ve got spunk, girl.”
“Was your man ripped with muscle?” another purred. “Was he tall and handsome? Was he enormous? How big was his cock? Did it threaten to split you apart when you fucked him? Spare no details, I want to hear everything.”
Squeak confusedly stammered something in response as they giggled and swarmed her with questions before a loud whistle was heard. Looking over to the side they saw an elven ranger dressed in darker apparel waving at them while holding a skeletal bow that gave Squeak the chills just from seeing.
“Let’s move it, ladies!” Shadow called out. “Come on, we need to get you all through processing. I told you to stick to the path and keeping walking, so get a move on.”
“Sorry!” a red ant girl apologized. “Sorry, Ms. Angel!”
“We’re coming, we’re coming!” another insisted as the three girls quickly took off along the trail.
“Tell us more if we meet again!” the third called back to Squeak with a wave. “I want to hear about how big he was! All the details, I mean it!”
Squeak slowly waved to them with a bewildered look on her face, watching the three girls hurrying past the elven ranger who motioned them on with a wave of the hand.
“And I told you, I’m not an angel,” Shadow dryly reminded them. She watched the girls heading off while giggling with each other then glanced over to Squeak, seeing the lone ant girl remaining still with a puzzled expression.
“I said let’s move it,” Shadow called out again. “Get your ass in motion, young lady. Let’s go.”
“Me?” Squeak asked pointing to herself. “Go? Where are we going?”
“To Vexus, I already explained this to you and your sisters a little while ago, remember?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I… just got here… I think.”
“Great,” Shadow sighed as she started walking towards Squeak. “Another new soul to deal with. Today is really a busy day, they just keep coming and coming. It really is a slaughter up there.”
Squeak backed up a step as the ranger approached her, the ominous ghostly whisper from her bow causing her to shiver nervously while the elven woman herself didn’t appear too threatening. She was dressed a little more outlandish than most elves she had seen that day, yet her peaceful expression and sympathetic eyes seemed a little reassuring at least.
“Okay,” Shadow said, walking up in front of Squeak and carefully surveying the surrounding area for any other lost souls wandering about. “I’ve been doing this all day and I’m a little tired, so I’m giving you the quick version of answers to questions you probably have. Yes, you’re dead. No, I’m not here to eat your soul. Yes, I’m dead too. No, I can’t take you back. Yes, you really are dead so get over it. And no, I didn’t make this bow out of the bones of fallen souls such as yourself, it was a gift to me for taking on more responsibilities down here in the underworld, so please don’t start screaming from seeing it. Can’t tell you how many people freak out when they see it at first. Anyway, my name is Shadow, and I’ll be your guide to reaching your afterlife. The pleasure is all mine.”
She opened her mouth to speak again as she turned her eyes onto Squeak, the woman halting for a moment before going wide-eyed as she slowly looked over the ant girl in stunned silence.
“Um…” Squeak carefully said. “My name is Squeak. Nice to meet… you?”
“What the fuck?” Shadow exclaimed. She grabbed Squeak by the jaw and tilted her head around, examining her from different angles before she quickly circled the ant girl and anxiously stuttered something that only came out as gibberish.
“Is something wrong?” Squeak worried.
“What are you doing here?” Shadow cried out. “What is the meaning of this? How did you get here?”
“What do you mean? I died, so… I was supposed to come here, wasn’t I?”
“What do you mean you died?” Shadow demanded. “How? How did you die?”
“I was stabbed by a terrible monster,” Squeak pouted. “She snuck up on me and ran her sword clean through my chest. Filthy, cowardly whore.”
Shadow got in front of Squeak and peered closely into her eyes, so close that Squeak nervously leaned back as the woman was getting right in her face with the most intense gaze she had ever seen. Backing up a few steps Shadow pulled out a scroll from behind her, rolling it out with a flick of her wrist and holding it up to quickly read through it with a sharp eye.
“No… no… no,” she said looking back to Squeak. “Wrong. This is wrong. This is… oh for fuck’s sake! Not again! You have got to be kidding me!”
“What’s wrong?”
“You’re what’s wrong! You’re not supposed to be here!” Shadow cried out. “Your soul, it has so much life still attached to it! 63 years’ worth of life! You weren’t fated to come down here now, you weren’t supposed to die anywhere close to this date! This wasn’t on my ledger at all!”
“What do you mean?” Squeak asked shaking her head.
“What do I mean? I just told you exactly what I mean. You’re not supposed to be here! Your soul has life in it still, so much life! You’re not supposed to be down here yet. How can this be? How can… but you… oh fucking hell! This is not what I wanted to deal with again!”
“Again?” Squeak nervously asked as the raging woman was rather frightening to her. Shadow froze while straining to calm herself, her hand shaking with the scroll in it before she slowly breathed out and shook her head.
“Look, here’s the problem. You died, but you weren’t supposed to, get it? Your soul still has life in it, and life needs to be expired before going through processing. A soul with life still attached to it can’t go through processing, understand? It really fucks up the system we have down here, and that’s not exactly looked kindly upon by my superiors.”
“So… what does that mean?”
“This is bad!” Shadow shouted at her. “Oh this isn’t good. This isn’t good at all. If it was just a few weeks we could make do, but… fuck, 63 years? How the fuck do these unreasonable changes keep happening? First those desuwraiths come through here and now you show up too! What the fuck is happening up there? This isn’t how fate is supposed to go, who’s screwing with our system up there? I have the souls of desuwraiths and ant girls showing up when they’re not supposed to by a longshot and I’m missing the souls of an orc and lycan who were supposed to show up but never did! Oh my god, I am so dead when the boss hears about this, and I’m already dead to begin with!”
“The boss?” Squeak repeated.
“She was royally pissed before, but now I have
to go and tell her it happened again, and she’s probably going to blame me for it like she did the last time! I’m innocent here, I swear!”
“I’m sorry, could you please slow down and explain this to me?”
“I haven’t messed with fate in years! I’ve been trying really hard to follow the rules down here, I mean things get kind of boring and I need to spice it up now and again, but I haven’t fucked around with anyone’s fate for so long now! Okay, there was the incident with those two male humans a few weeks ago, but c’mon, they were fucking hot archers and I’m still a woman for crying out loud! Not to mention they were going to die anyway, what was so wrong with speeding up the process so we could have a little fun before they passed on? They were into me and goddamn was I into them, especially when they really got into me. I mean fuck, their arrows were huge! You know what I’m saying, girl?”
“Uh…” Squeak slowly replied.
“But that didn’t screw with the grand order of things! I mean, not totally! Sure, their faction lost that silly little skirmish or whatever it was they were doing at the time, but who cares? Fate corrected itself in the end and we got everyone that we needed to pass through down here! So fate can surely correct itself again with these anomalies, right? Right? It has to, it just has to! Please tell me it’s going to!”
“I… have no idea,” Squeak said as she looked around for literally anyone else to talk to. “Should… should I be going somewhere right now?”
“You can’t go anywhere, don’t you get it?” Shadow cried out as she shook the ant girl by the shoulders. “Dammit, this is not what we need to deal with right now! We have a fuck-ton of souls to pass through, we don’t have time to deal with yours being here like this! Fuck, this is not going to end well for me! Why does this crap keep happening to me, nobody else I know has to deal with shit like this!”
“I’m sorry?” Squeak exclaimed as she was shaken back and forth. “I don’t wish to be a burden upon anyone! Um, please calm down! You’re supposed to be my guide down here, right? Well you’re freaking me the hell out, so kindly get a hold of yourself!”
Chronicles of Eden - Act XII Page 42
