*****
“WAKE UP!” Luna screamed into Squeak’s ear, the ant girl being partially held apart from her curled up position by Falla and Specca both pulling on either side with all their strength.
“It’s not working, she’s not waking up,” Falla grunted with frustration.
“What’s going on, why is she going to die in her sleep?” Specca demanded through bared teeth, straining herself to pry her friend out from her ball.
“Please wake up! Please!” Luna cried out desperately into Squeak’s ear. Falla and Specca continued to try to pull Squeak apart from her ball, both struggling to budge the girl even an inch.
“This isn’t working!” Falla shouted out.
“Wake up!” Luna cried out.
“What’s going on?” Specca yelled out.
Suddenly Squeak shot open from her ball, squeaking loudly as she scrambled around on her side while the other girls were tossed into the walls of the cabin with surprise. Squeak looked around franticly as she regained her senses, then over to Specca with a quick squeak.
“Squeak? Are you alright?” Specca asked worriedly.
“She’s awake, success!” Luna cheered, followed by a small burst of maniacal laughter with a twisted smile. After a second she quickly returned to normal as Falla sat up while rubbing her head with annoyance.
“About time,” Falla spat out.
Squeak looked around quickly, then to Falla and Luna with confusion, then over to Specca while squeaking something urgently. Specca just watched her for a moment then looked over to the butterfly sisters.
“What is going on here, explain this instant!” she demanded loudly.
“TRISKA!” Alyssa shouted out from nearby. The girls all quickly looked towards the entryway of the cabin as Falla and Luna scrambled towards it.
“Come outside, quickly!” Luna called back as they raced out of the cabin. Squeak and Specca glanced to each other then dashed after them, the two stumbling out onto the front seat of the caravan while looking around franticly. They saw the surrounding sights of old trees and tall grass near the dirt road masked by a thick cloud of fog while the sky above was dark. And on the ground next to the caravan they saw Alyssa shaking Triska with a frightened expression, while the teen was lying on the ground unconscious with a shadowy spectral image of herself floating above her body. The image’s facial expression was of agony and sorrow, almost appearing like it was crying. Falla and Luna were standing over them, with Luna looking down at Triska with fearful eyes while Falla was looking up with frustration.
“Alyssa? Triska? Triska! What’s going on here?” Specca called out. Squeak looked up and jumped with a loud squeak, her eyes going wide as she pointed up to something. Specca looked up then screamed in fright, seeing Daniel in the arms of a monster above the caravan.
“Triska, wake up! Please wake up!” Alyssa screamed as she shook the girl.
“Daniel!” Specca cried out as she and Squeak saw the boy in the arms of the airborne monster, its cold blue eyes glaring at them while its skeletal tail coiled around behind it slightly.
“She’s going to die, wake her up, hurry!” Luna cried out. Specca and Squeak looked down to them, then back up to Daniel, then down to the girls as they jumped off the caravan over to them.
“What’s going on, what is that thing up there holding Daniel?” Specca asked franticly.
“It’s a nightmare, that’s what cursed all of you. You were all going to die in your sleep when it stole your souls,” Luna explained nervously. Specca and Squeak looked at her with shock then to each other.
“Our… souls?” Specca asked fearfully. She gasped then looked up at the ethereal monster with fright.
“That’s a nightmare?” she asked with shock. After a pause she blinked then looked at the monster carefully, noticing something that seemed off to her.
‘Wait, if that’s a nightmare, how is it…’
“Triska! Dammit, wake up!” Alyssa shouted into the teen’s ear. All the girls looked down to them while Alyssa was franticly trying to wake the human, all her efforts seeming to have no effect.
“Triska! Wake up, wake up!” Alyssa yelled out again, watching with desperation as Triska remained sound asleep. Her spectral image was slowly shaking its head while crying out quietly in sorrow.
“It’s going to take her soul, do something!” Luna cried out. Specca and Squeak quickly knelt down next to Triska and tried shaking her while Alyssa straddled the girl’s lap and shook her by the shoulders.
“Triska, you have to wake up now, please!” Specca cried out. Squeak kept shaking the human by the shoulders while squeaking franticly with a fearful expression.
“Wake up, Triska!” Alyssa shouted out. Falla watched them shake the girl then glanced to Alyssa.
“Just out of curiosity, what is her greatest fear anyway?” she asked carefully. Alyssa glanced to her then back down to Triska, showing a worried expression while still trying to shake the girl back to her senses.
*****
“Daniel… no,” Triska whimpered, her eyes tearing up as her expression was of devastation. She stood in a field of flowers, the sky above being clear and bright while a warm breeze rolled by. The flowers swayed slightly at her feet while Triska shakily held out a hand towards something, her sobs being faintly heard as she shook her head.
Over in the field of flowers she saw Daniel, dressed with black dress shoes, white pants and shirt along with a gray and black dress shirt on. He was facing towards Triska, but wasn’t looking at her in the slightest. Instead he was looking at three others that were kneeled before him, three girls that were looking up at him with adoring eyes.
There was Alyssa, who was dressed with sparkling white shoes, gray and blue stripped knee-high socks, and a white dress with flowers that were on the straps going over her shoulders. Her witch’s hat was white, the skull ornament still strapped to it with a light blue belt. Next to her Squeak was wearing white high heels, a long flowing white dress that was pulled up over her abdomen sticking out behind her, and had a wreath of flowers on her head with her antennae sticking out over them. Next to her Specca was barefoot while wearing a beautiful white dress as well, the nixie’s tail swaying slowly behind her while she had a white flower behind one of her reptilian fins. All three girls were looking up at Daniel with loving eyes, all wearing white wedding dresses, and all holding bouquets of colorful flowers.
“Daniel… please…” Triska whimpered, her voice seeming to be lost as nobody even glanced over to her. The three monster girls slowly stood up as Daniel smiled at them with loving eyes.
“Thank you, Daniel, for choosing all of us to be your wives,” Alyssa said softly.
“You’ve made us the happiest girls in all of Eden,” Specca adored gratefully.
Squeak merely squeaked something in a soft and gentle tone.
“Of course, I love each of you with all my heart,” Daniel said with a gentle smile.
“Daniel!” Triska cried out, her words still having no reaction with anyone as she sobbed quietly. She felt a cold feeling etching into her heart, the girl slowly dropping down onto one knee as she stared with heartbroken eyes at Daniel. He walked up to Alyssa and knelt down, the boy then gently kissing her as she sighed happily.
“Daniel… not them…” Triska breathed out, the feeling in her heart spreading throughout her entire body.
Daniel stood up then walked over to Squeak, the boy then kissing her as she slowly wiggled her abdomen with a quiet sigh.
“Please, you can’t… leave me...” Triska coughed out, her world fading to black around the field of flowers.
Daniel then walked over to Specca, the boy then kissing her as her tail swayed gently behind her.
“Daniel… Daniel!” Triska cried out, dropping down onto her hands and knees as she felt the cold feeling in her chest turning into a sharp pain. She clutched a hand over her heart as she struggled to look up at Daniel with weary eyes, her vision blurring as she felt weak.
“No… Daniel… I…” she strained herself to say, her breathing slowing down as her mind started to blur.
“Triska!”
Triska wavered slightly as she thought she heard Alyssa’s voice in her head, the witch’s call seeming like a distant echo. Slowly she dropped onto the ground, her eyes closing as everything started to fade to black. Daniel and the other girls looked over to her with cruel smiles and cold glares in their eyes, all of them watching as Triska lay motionless in the flowers.
*****
Alyssa and the other girls watched as Triska’s spectral image stopped moving completely, seeming to lose consciousness and lay still above the sleeping human. The image wavered slightly, remaining motionless as the girls stared at it with surprise.
“Oh no… no… no!” Alyssa cried out.
“Triska! Triska, please wake up!” Specca screamed, tears forming in her eyes. Squeak looked down at the human with teary eyes and shook her head, squeaking a few times as she tried nudging the girl again. Luna held her hands over her mouth with a sorrowful expression while Falla glanced away.
The spectral image wavered then slowly started to lift up, the middle rising up first as if being pulled up by the waist. The girls looked at it with sorrow then up to seeing the nightmare smiling wickedly down at them, letting out a ghostly moan.
“It’s taking her soul!” Luna cried out with tears forming. Specca and Squeak tried to grab the spectral image, their hands flailing through the air as it slowly started to rise up. The head and shoulders phased through Alyssa while the feet were still connected to Triska’s body. Falla glanced to the image then down as Luna shook her head while watching with sorrow. Alyssa stared at the image of her friend then down to the body, the teen remaining motionless as her breathing had stopped.
“No… no! Triska!” Alyssa cried out lunging down and hugging the girl, holding her close as she shook her head franticly. She choked back a sob as she shut her eyes tightly.
“You can’t die, dammit you can’t leave like this!” she screamed into the girl’s ear. The others looked down at her as she held onto Triska for dear life.
“You came after me, when I was heartbroken and falling into despair, you came after me. Even after I was so rough on you and mean to you, you wouldn’t let me be alone, you wouldn’t let me cry alone, you wouldn’t let me fall alone,” she sobbed as she grabbed hold of the girl’s shirt with clenched fists. She trembled slightly as the others watched her, lying atop the teen’s body while the spectral image started to rise up through her.
“You’re proof… you’re the proof Daniel needs as well, proof that humans can coexist with us monsters. You’re just as much proof for his beliefs as I am,” Alyssa said through shaky breaths and tears. She shook her head as she held onto the girl tightly.
“You can’t die, Triska! Daniel needs you, we all do! Do you hear me, Daniel NEEDS YOU!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.
*****
“Daniel needs you!”
Triska slowly opened her eyes, unable to breathe as the world was dark around her. Alyssa’s words echoed in her mind as she struggled to move, her body feeling like it was made of stone. Slowly she started to feel a warmth in her chest, the sensation gradually spreading throughout her body as Alyssa’s crying was heard.
“We need you, Triska, you can’t leave us! Please!”
“Alys... sa?” Triska breathed out, her eyes slowly focusing again. The field of flowers started to become visible, the plants now being dead and decaying while Daniel and the three monster brides were standing around her glaring down at the girl. Slowly she took a breath and started to get up, pushing up onto her hands and knees as her body felt warm again.
“Just stay down, Triska, you’re not wanted by him,” Alyssa scoffed beside her.
“Please, Triska, don’t leave us!”
“Daniel loves us, he chose us to be his, just face facts and let go already,” Specca hissed down at the teen.
“Daniel needs you!”
Squeak merely squeaked down at the girl with a harsh glare.
“We need you!”
“How could I ever love somebody like you, Triska? How could I, when I have such beautiful girls such as these three with me?” Daniel sneered down at her.
“I’m begging you, Triska, with all of my being, WAKE UP!”
Triska clenched her fists as she slowly stood up, looking down with a low growl as her hair dropped down in front of her face. Daniel and the other girls glared at her as she slowly shook her head.
“How dare you…” she growled with anger. Daniel and the others looked at her cautiously as she reached back and unsheathed her sword.
*****
Alyssa and the other girls watched as Triska’s spectral image stopped moving suddenly, the apparition wavering slightly in the air before lowering back down into Triska’s body. Alyssa sat up with a gasp as the others looked down at the body with wonder, all of them seeing the cold glare in the image’s eyes.
“She pulled her soul back,” Specca said with wonder.
“She’s not dead,” Luna said hopefully.
Triska’s image reached back, pulling out an image of her sword and holding it tightly. Alyssa glanced to the blade then smiled slightly.
“Better than that, she’s angry,” she said softly with a confident smile.
*****
“How dare you play with my heart like this, how dare you!” Triska roared as she gripped her sword tightly. Daniel and the girls looked at her with surprise as they slowly stepped away.
“Triska, how could you pull your own sword on us like that, how could you threaten me like that?” Daniel demanded with anger. Triska brushed away her hair from in front of her face and glared at him with fury, the first time she had ever done so. With a powerful swing she struck back and sliced through Specca’s body with a clean cut, then swung around and struck down through Alyssa’s body with a loud yell. As the two slain girls dropped down, their bodies dissolving into black smoke and ashes, Triska swung around and pierced her blade through Squeak’s head, the ant girl staring with shock as her expression remained frozen on her face. Daniel watched with surprise as Triska yanked the blade out, the ant girl then collapsing down into dust and smoke as well.
“You’re not Daniel, you’re not my friends, you’re the reason I’ve been having these nightmares. You’re the one screwing around inside my head!” she roared with fury. Daniel stepped back and held up his hands defensively before him.
“Triska, what’s come over you? It’s me, Daniel, don’t you care about me at all?” he asked worriedly. She growled and walked closer to him, sword held tightly in hand.
“You’re not Daniel…” she hissed with anger. She geared back with her sword as Daniel stared with shock.
“You dare toy with my heart like this? You dare to take the one that means more to me than anything in the entire world, and twist him around like this? You dare try to taint Daniel’s precious image in my head like this?” she raged. Daniel stepped back with fearful eyes as the sky above crackled with lightning and thunder, a powerful wind gusting through the field and blowing away the dead and decaying flowers. Triska’s hair fluttered around behind her as she held her sword up high, sheer anger seen in her eyes as she glared at the image of Daniel, the image she knew wasn’t the real Daniel at all.
“Triska… calm down,” he said nervously.
“Calm down? Calm DOWN?” Triska yelled out. She growled with fury in her eyes, her hands clutching her sword’s handle tightly. She shook her head slowly, and then swung down with a vicious roar, cleaving through Daniel’s image with a powerful strike. The blade carved down through the body and struck into the ground, the image of Daniel exploding into ash and smoke as Triska screamed out with unrivaled anger.
“YOU MONSTER!”
*****
Alyssa and the girls watched as Triska’s image swung forward with her sword, the phantom blade phasing through Alyssa as she smiled down at her fri
end. The image seemed to let out a powerful yet silent roar before fading away completely. All the girls watched Triska closely, noticing that her chest started to rise as she was breathing once again.
“Triska…” Alyssa said softly. Slowly Triska’s eyes opened, looking up at seeing all the girls looking down at her with wonder. Specca and Squeak smiled with relief along with Luna while Falla merely watched with a blank expression.
“What… happened?” Triska asked quietly. Before she could move Alyssa lunged down and hugged her close, with Triska looking past her with surprise.
“Don’t you dare leave us again, do you hear me? Never never,” Alyssa pleaded while holding the girl tightly. Triska glanced to her with wonder as Alyssa smiled with closed eyes.
“Alyssa… was… that you I heard?” Triska asked quietly. Alyssa nodded and leaned back from her hug.
“Yes, and if you ever tell Daniel I said any of that I’ll make you sorry,” she said softly, smiling with relief. Triska looked at her with wonder then smiled slightly. She blinked then noticed Falla and Luna looking down at her still.
“Falla? Luna? What are you two doing here?” she asked.
“Oh, us? Well, we’re here because of that,” Falla said simply, pointing up into the sky. Triska looked up then gasped as she saw Daniel in the arms of a strange monster.
“Daniel!” she cried out as she and Alyssa quickly got back up on their feet. Alyssa held out her hand, summoning her staff into her grip as she glared at the airborne monster.
“That’s what cursed all of us, it put us in those endless nightmares to break our spirits and take our souls. It’s a spirit monster, a nightmare,” she explained with hatred.
“It was trying to take all of our souls by killing us with our worst fears, and it nearly got yours, Triska,” Specca added while looking up at the floating monster with anger and frustration.
chronicles of eden - act I Page 79
