by Lyle, Travis
The predators and prey stop attacking and run for the trees. The approaching horses from the north contain riders. Scott races past the blockade towards the riders as if celebrating victory. I yell out,
“Scott, Nooo!”
I can see a vine as thick as my arm whip through the air grabbing Scott. A voice echoes loudly like a megaphone hooked up to concert speakers,
“Scott Jones you don’t belong on this land. Your sentence is death.”
I watch helplessly as Scott is slowly being shoved through a branch on the tree. Scott’s intestine’s dangle on the tree limb like garland on a decorated fir at Christmas time. Screams of pain and agony bellow from the dying man, but quickly turns to silence as he bears his death. Screaming out in rage to the trees,
“What do you demons want from us?”
A response quickly follows before the horse riders approach.
“Your deaths!”
The trees anchor themselves in the ground with their roots, keeping little distance from the barrier. They wait to kill us off one by one. The people on horses ride up to the trees as if suicidal. Sounds of intimidation echoes from the riders, trying to scare the trees or us. The trees do nothing to the riders, but even so I’ll not risk anyone else stepping foot out of here.
A few of the riders leave their horses and walk up to the trees hugging them as if they’re family, because that’s exactly who they are. I stand there watching this in confusion. A dark red skinned man walks through the barrier up to me. He speaks to me confidently as a leader or chief would,
“What you have here is a choice that involves the lives of everyone left on this continent seeking shelter from my kin. You already know they can’t hurt you while inside this barrier, but without going outside of it you will not be able to survive. That leaves one other option, my people.”
Still in shock, three words are all I can say.
“Who are you?”
Replying in the same confident tone,
“Who I am doesn’t matter at this time. What does matter is if you want to live, so listen up. Two days everyone in this haven can’t seek shelter from the weather. In fact you all must sit here in the open and not move.”
A strong female voice speaks from behind me,
“What if we need to go to the bathroom?”
A deep toned tree voice echoes through the barrier,
“Then piss yourself until we say otherwise. You’ll learn humility for once in your life.”
I look around and everyone is out here with me right now on their knees. The man leaves walking out the barrier, then the band rode away without saying anything else. The trees stood watching and waiting. Others begin to quietly talk trying to pass time. Off behind me to my left I hear a scrawny embarrassed male voice,
“Fuck! I guess I’m first.”
Even through all that’s happened, laughter begins to flow from many in the crowd. Yes, he pissed himself. A man in the back quietly says while holding his stomach,
“Awe, I shouldn’t have eaten the last jar of jalapenos.”
That evening just before the darkness came, we see predators lurking in the distance. No noises came until darkness, then hissing, rattling, and roaring screams from the other side of the barrier. Creepy bird sounds resonate of laughter, maybe of things soon to come. Cackling like hyenas is the last new sound echoing through the air driving fear into us, breaking our silence.
A young man, the one who ate the jalapenos, stands up and says,
“Fuck this shit.”
Running to a tree within the safe haven, he presses his back up against it and pulls down his pants. Relieving his bowels, growls churn nearby making it hard to distinguish if it’s from his disgusting actions or that of something else. Wolves rush in from the darkness, viciously tearing and dragging his body away. Screams and cries from nearly everyone sent a woman running when a wolf brushed up against her. The brushing wolf drags her away kicking and screaming bloody murder.
A very large, nearly giant wolf with long silky black hair that blends well with the darkness looks at me snout to face. This wolf must be the leader of the pack as he has many scars proving his worth in battle. Staring the wolf down in his beady black eyes, I have the feeling they’ll not stop taunting everyone until I’m dead. With shakiness in my voice I still proudly say,
“If you spare the lives of ever one else, I’ll be proud to die for them in their place.”
Everything grows silent to the point you can hear a needle falling to the dusty ground. Steam begins to roll from the nostrils of the wolf. He blows his nose in my face causing snot to drench me. He turns around and walks away from me knowing I will not back down. The other wolves follow him with their blood soaked heads. I exhale a sigh of relief. The wolf leader leaps over his pack and anchors his jaws around my head. I feel excruciating pain quickly fading to blackness and death.
From that moment no other survivors dared to move until the Natives arrived back on their horses. One of them stays behind teaching them the new laws of the land. They still can not leave the barrier, for that’ll definitely bring them a sure death. Other colonies of survivors are placed under the same humiliating test across the North American continent. Most people had done what was asked of them and survived, leaving very few colonies to be slaughtered in the process. Now we’ll rewind time to learn what happened the moment Amanda Mason vanished from the golden Goliath, Hollister Wolf. We will continue the story as the beautiful Queen of North America.
Feeling that this giant isn’t my threat, I sense the presence of that worthless immortal Sleeping Star nearby. Like a sci-fi movie I’d watched during my childhood, I vanish into air as if being teleported. Reappearing within a hundred feet in front of the giant Jaguar, he stops dead in his tracks from a full gallop. Standing up he transforms into his original self. Lightning arches from his fingertips. Sparks light up the cloud encumbered sky in a near firework display bringing forth unnatural disasters.
Clouds of smoke rapidly drift away from me turning into human form still burning in flames. They run up and stab him with a sword covered in the same flame. It looks to be merely an extension of their reach. After each stabbing force, the flaming spirit returns back into a cloud of smoke and flows like a breeze back to me, their Queen. They don’t allow Sleeping Star the chance to fight back. The sound of rumbling quakes and the feeling of ground vibration quickly tread this direction. Over the hills, thousands of grimace black figures appear.
Wall clouds tumble across the sky causing this location to quickly look like natures Armageddon. Tornadoes blister the ground, tossing hundreds of tar covered monsters in every direction away from the battle of me and him. Sleeping Star tries to electrocute me, but his powers can’t penetrate mine. Likewise, I’ve yet been able to kill him. With each devastating blow that my spirits can produce, like magic he’s healed as if nothing has ever happened.
Some of the tar covered beasts finally break through the disasters and begin to rip Sleeping Star to shreds. With each loss of limb, another grows in its place. Deep surges of electricity begin to empower him, disintegrating my tar beasts that are directly on top him. Lightning begins to crash down on top of me. The spirits cover me entirety taking the forceful damage of electrocution away from an attempt to immobilize their Queen.
In the distance a loud sound can be heard, sounding as if something huge is running this way.
“Thump, thump. Thump, thump.”
The gold giant approaches the battle field, taking my attention away from Sleeping Star for a moment. Lightning breaks through the spirits striking me, charring my body to near flames. A loud horn pierces through the lower atmosphere where we stand. The golden giant punts Sleeping Star into a tree like he’s merely a toy. The tree begins to intertwine vines around him, holding him down for only a moment.
Sleeping Star’s voice echoes through the encumbering vines,
“Hollister Wolf, I will kill you again!”
I stand speechless thinking,
“Is it possible? No it can’t be. Hollister, is it really you?”
Electricity surges from the vines and the tree holding him down igniting it on fire. The tree begins to shove roots as big as trees themselves into Sleeping Star pinning him to the ground. Within seconds he levitates his way out of the impalement and now begins hovering in front of Goliath. Lightning pummels from the sky crashing down on top of Hollister, melting away the metal revealing an earthly coating which quickly crumbles to the ground.
The true Goliath form is revealed, revealing a flawless crystal giant. White glowing hairs can be seen floating around inside of the crystal casing. These trapped souls must be powering this unseen machine and one of them has to be Hollister. Sleeping Star continues to electrocute him repetitively, sending any disaster against him. My body becomes healed, my heart no longer exceeds with darkness. Running in front of the crystal giant, sounding of anger rages from my voice while moving the staff in a forward motion,
“Errahh!”
The lightning begins reflecting from Hollister and piercing the fingertips from which casted them down. Throwing two fists down by his side, Sleeping Star growls as he falls from his levitation in the sky. Picking himself off of the ground, spirits and Hell hounds quickly encompass him leaving little room to breathe or move. Trees quickly surround us shooting roots and vines all around him. Hollister steps up and stabs his monster diamond sword through him, pinning him into the ground. Sleeping Star yells out while manically laughing,
“Ha, ha, ha… You can’t kill me. How do you expect to defeat me?”
I speak out with a voice that causes the ground we stand on to tremble like a powerful earthquake,
“Even though I can’t kill you yet, as Queen of this continent you will not remain here. You’re banished for your crimes. If you ever step foot on our grounds, it’ll be your last. I command all around to push you from our land to never return again.”
Hollister pulls his sword from Sleeping Star. A bright pulsating white light beats like a heart beat from the blade. Sleeping Star becomes powerless. He tries to shock Goliath and nothing comes from him. I fear his power is only dissipated for a short time. In shock and fear, Sleeping Star runs as fast as his two legs can move. Trees quickly follow behind chasing him through Mexico until they reach the end of our barrier at the man made canal which separates the two Americas. None of us can pass through the barrier without death or loss of power. I’m hoping as he’s thrown across that death will be his sentence.
Sleeping Star stands on the other side surging once again with electricity. Running back at us, the barrier stops any attempt he can make. No amount of his powers can penetrate the protection of the Goliath, the protection of Hollister Wolf. Looking at Hollister, I realize I finally have a moment that I can talk to him, but I don’t know what to say. Instead he speaks to me softly saying,
“Amanda, is that really you?”
Replying with tears from the pain in my heart,
“Yes, Hollister this is the real me. I’m so sorry for all of my cruelty. You’re the love of my life and I don’t want to lose you again.”
For a moment Hollister remains speechless, and then he sweetly says,
“Amanda, I fell in love with you on top of the tree house. I knew deep down inside how beautiful your heart truly is. I just thought your meanness was a cover for your real feelings.”
Tears begin to flow down my face. White and bright yellow lights sparkle around me in a brilliant display. All the darkness that flows around me from my hate begins to turn pale blue, lighting up the night sky. I still feel hate inside of me, stopping my full transformation. My army of Hell hounds line up as if being called to a military formation. Anger, hate, and pain rushes from my soul and the souls of the spirits that I command.
Half of the beasts covered in tar begin to glow in prismatic colors exposing a breath taking sight. The other half, just as breath taking, soaks up all the hate and anger causing them to grow into a much scarier upright form. Even though I can not leave, I send that half to hunt Sleeping Star down and bring me his head over and over again until he wishes he’d die. The other hounds no longer look like they dwelled from Hell rather Heaven.
Their bodies are made of crystal, glow a pale blue color, and their eyes become gold. The spirits walk out of the clouds. The flames that cover their bodies disappear as if extinguished and the same pale blue glow resonates around them becoming their new aura. The spirits now resemble their once human form. Now my heart is truly filled with love. That’s a dangerous thing for me because I’m a woman and a Queen who will fight until the end of this Earth for everything I hold dear. I’m the proud big and beautiful Amanda Mason. This is my story, my legacy, a legend that will not end here.
Chapter Seventeen
Even though the previous chapter is the last chapter, I can’t leave you on the edge without knowing what’s coming next. This will be short, but giving you a taste of the second book in this series. We will begin and end this small teaser through Sleeping Star. I hope you’ve enjoyed the product of my mind.
Flying through the air I find that this land has been untouched by spirits living in the trees. I can’t touch the ground otherwise those beasts will slow me down from what I have to do. In order for me to kill Hollister and Amanda, I must raise my own Goliath. I’ll also have to raise my own army of trees to fight for me. This is only one secret that I know.
Every continent has a Goliath and when the two barriers are up they’ll begin to merge into one giant barrier allowing me to capture the Queen for her blood. With her blood and the blood of her children, I can create more God’s like me. I’ll destroy every continent and bring forth a new age where all will bow before my presence.
I move quickly to a hidden Mayan temple that lay deep in a thick rainforest. There I can activate a soul prism releasing the Native souls here and gain their allegiance. That’s also where their Goliath is hidden as they once protected the prisms of souls ending the dark age of mysticism.
The tar coated Minotaur looking monsters quickly rip my head off just before I enter the temple. My body rolls down the entrance steps inside, while the others collapse the temple on top of me. Yelling loudly,
“Dumb ass beasts, you can’t kill me.”
I’m sure they’ll carry that head back to their queen. I find my way to the glowing cube that only my bloodline can see. Grabbing it, I walk over to the Goliath that lay motionless on a stone pillar.
The cube glows bright white before my touch. Red glowing hairs begin to infect the cube now giving it a fiery essence. Fiery hairs begin to flow out and into the Goliath, infecting it with my anger. This Goliath rises, breaking us free from this collapsed temple. Red hairs flow from the box infecting the trees bringing forth red glowing Mayan and Aztec spirits. I yell out to Goliath,
“Bring forth your barrier and let’s prepare for war.”
A loud horn sounds through the atmosphere the same as the first Goliath. The same prismatic barrier flows through the entirety of this continent and merging into the other. Unlike what happened on North America, all mortal souls on this continent will die. They will be sacrificed for my new army. After my Goliath raises the barrier, half of the Soul Queens Hell hounds that remain on this continent become mine to control. The other half barely escapes my control. I’ll have my revenge on those who casted me away in my previous life. I am Sleeping Star and all will bow before me.
By now I’m sure you are wandering what’s next. How’s Amanda Mason going to save those left hiding in safe havens. Will there be a treaty resolved in the new America for the survivors? What will Sleeping Star do next? When will his new army attack and try to consume the northern continent? Will the southern trees even be loyal to Sleeping Star? When he left to find the Aztecs, what happened there? What about the stone axe that’s only mentioned twice in this book? Does it have any importance what so ever?
I’m sure the questions don’t end there, but much will be revealed in the s
econd book. One big question you may ask is when will book two be available? If I acquire fans, then I’ll finish the second book. Otherwise it’ll be slow as that will then become something to pass my time rather than the dreamy life that I’ve dreamt for since I can remember dreaming. If you tell me you want it, then I’ll write the second story faster. But I’ll warn you ahead of time, the second book holds more twists and unexpected turns that will make your mind feel much like a pretzel.
On a side note, I don’t hate anyone. I’m just the opposite. This was written for one sole purpose, your entertainment and me a way to provide for my beautiful children. This is a fictional story, not real life as you can always look out your window and still see trees in their natural habitat. So please don’t go outside with a chainsaw and start cutting them to the ground. We all need them to breath and with the world today, breathing normal air is even becoming shoddy. Also don’t go on some insane revolt because of past crimes, instead look at current policies that need to be fixed now to protect the future of our great, great grandchildren. Quit kicking the can down the road for our children to have to deal with. Be strong, face the facts with your head held high and fix our issues now, not later.
This country has too many extremely high paid leaders, but what we need is those wanting to lead from their heart, not for their pockets. Everywhere I go I find many frowned faces for one reason or another and a great loss in passion and pride for what they do. The greatest downfall of this country is the loss of pride. Build passion and take more pride in what you do. If you shovel shit, then shovel much shit. If you build homes, then build better homes cutting out your hidden shortcuts. If you’re the leader of a State, then please lead your State better. It’s our jobs now to work for the children, even if you have none, and secure them a better future for tomorrow.
Many races have been wiped clean from the face of this Earth with only skeletal remains remaining for their existence. Where do you see our race in fifty years? We’re no longer black, white, yellow, brown, mixed, and red. If you fail to believe me then prick your finger and tell me what color you bleed because we all bleed the same color. We’re Americans even if many of us were forced to be. Nevertheless I want to see Americans in fifty years.
