"No… no! Daniel!" Alyssa cried out.
"It's taking his soul!" Specca screamed as she and Squeak stared at the spectral image with fearful eyes. Falla and Luna watched the image waver slightly above Daniel's body while Triska looked down to him with fright.
"DANIEL!"
*****
Daniel was standing out in the open plains, the sky above being dark and cloudy while all around were thick veils of mist drifting about. His expression was of disbelief and sorrow as he saw three monster girls glaring at him with anger.
"You lied to me, you were never going to consider me," Alyssa said through bared teeth, her eyes having a few tears dropping from them as she choked back her sobs.
"You just wanted to use me, like a walking library, how could you?" Specca shouted out, crying behind her glasses as she trembled with frustration.
Squeak merely squeaked something at Daniel with discontent, her eyes watering up as she clenched her fists in anger.
"No, that's not true, how could you all think that?" Daniel pleaded as he shook his head worriedly.
"You just used me to get a free ride out here; you were never going to mate with me at all, were you?" Alyssa yelled out accusingly.
"You just said you'd consider me so I'd be your guide, you used me like a tool. I trusted you!" Specca shouted out.
Squeak waved her hand around threateningly, squeaking at Daniel with stern and sharp squeaks while she raged about something in her own language.
"That's not true; I didn't use you at all. And I was telling the truth when I said I'd consider you, that wasn't a lie," Daniel pleaded, reaching out for them with sorrowful eyes.
"Shut up! I can't believe I fell for your lies, letting a mere human use me like this," Alyssa scoffed as she turned to walk away.
"I used to think humans were wonderful creatures, now I see they're nothing but real monsters," Specca whimpered, turning around to walk away as well.
Squeak merely squeaked something with a few tears dropping from her face, and then turned to walk away while squeaking quietly to herself.
"No! Alyssa, Specca, Squeak! Please, come back, that's not true, I never lied to you!" Daniel called out as the girls vanished into the mist. He ran after them, looking around franticly as the endless fields of haze drifted around him.
"Alyssa! Specca! Squeak! Please don't go, please!" he called out.
"How could you?" Triska said from behind, her voice strained and shaky. Daniel looked back to seeing Triska standing behind him, looking at him with teary eyes.
"How could you ever choose a monster over me? How could you even think about choosing a goddamned monster over me?" she yelled out at him with frustration.
"Triska…" he said, turning back to face her with worry.
"Are you happy now, Daniel? Did you prove your point? I hope you're satisfied with yourself, you dragged us both out here for nothing!" Triska shouted out with anger.
*****
"Wake up, Daniel, it's not real, nothing you're seeing is real!" Triska cried out, shaking Daniel by the shoulders franticly.
"Don't let it scare you, Daniel, it's not real!" Alyssa yelled as she shook the boy's arm.
"Whatever you're seeing is an illusion, it's just a dream! Wake up!" Specca cried out as she tried shaking his shoulder. The other girls watched as Daniel's spectral image showed a heartbroken expression, shaking its head slowly as it stared ahead at something.
*****
Triska slowly walked towards Daniel, sobbing with a devastated expression as Daniel watched her with concern.
"You had us come out all this way, and for what? Face it, Daniel, humans and monsters are never going to coexist like you dreamed of, it's never going to happen!" she shouted out.
"Triska… you can't mean that, I thought you believed in me as well," Daniel said shaking his head with disbelief.
"I did, and I was a fool to trust you! I can't believe I let you trick me like this, everyone in the village was right about you! You're out of your mind, blind to the world around you. I nearly got raped by a succubus because of you, and for what? Because you think you can talk to these things, and that they'll just listen to you?" Triska demanded with frustration.
"But… Alyssa, Specca, and Squeak…" Daniel said worriedly.
"They're gone, Daniel, they left us out in the middle of nowhere! They were never going to help us; they just wanted you because you've got a penis! How can you be so blind, they just wanted to use you to breed with, just like all monsters do!" Triska yelled out with anger.
"No, they wouldn't, they're not like that…" Daniel defended softly.
"Yes they are! They just wanted to hump you, Daniel! Why else would they have come along with us? To help us? To help us find monsters that wanted to be our allies? Wake up and face the world for how it is, Daniel, that's never going to happen!" Triska raged while glaring at him.
"No, you're wrong, that's not how it has to be," Daniel said shaking his head. Triska looked at him anger and frustration, her hand slowly reaching back towards her sword.
"I wasted my life believing in you, trusting you, following you out here. You're going to be the death of me and all those you drag down with you in this suicidal crusade of yours," she growled, grabbing her sword and slowly pulling it out.
"Triska, what are you doing?" he asked fearfully as the girl kept walking towards him, with him backing up nervously as she glared at him with her sword in hand.
"My mother was right, nothing good could have come from you or your beliefs," she said coldly, her eyes showing no warmth or kindness in them.
*****
"Daniel! Daniel, please, wake up!" Triska screamed into Daniel's ear, franticly shaking him while the other girls watched with fearful eyes. His spectral image wavered slightly above his body as it showed a frightened expression.
"It's not real, whatever you're seeing it's not real!" Triska cried out as she desperately tried to wake him up.
"Please, Daniel, you have to wake up! Don't leave us!" Alyssa cried out, tears falling from her face as she kept shaking his arm.
"You promised to knock me up; you can't do that if you're dead! You promised!" Falla shouted while shaking his leg. The other girls didn't even bother glancing to her or commenting on her single-minded concern, instead they all kept watching with worried eyes as Daniel remained motionless while his spectral image was showing a frightful expression.
"No, not like this, he can't be taken away like this," Specca shakily whimpered while watching the spectral image over Daniel. Squeak shook Daniel by the shoulder and squeaked loudly into his other ear, trying again and again to reach him in his dream. She then looked back and jumped with a loud squeak as the nightmare floated into the cabin, the monster phasing partially through the ceiling above so that most of its tail was sticking out above the caravan. The other girls looked up to see it suspended above Daniel, the monster watching the spectral image of the boy with a cold smile.
"No! Leave him alone, get away from him!" Specca cried out as she franticly flailed her hands around at the nightmare. The monster's image distorted and parted around her hands with black clouds of smoke, then reformed again while keeping its eyes locked onto its prey.
"You monster, you can't take him from me!" Triska yelled before she swung up with her sword, the blade sifting right through the ethereal monster and whacking into the ceiling. The nightmare reformed again from being cut across the shoulder and chest, not being distracted in the least as it let out a ghostly moan while holding a hand out towards Daniel.
"Daniel! Daniel, wake up, wake up!" Alyssa cried out into Daniel's ear.
*****
"Triska, stop," Daniel pleaded as Triska glared at him, the girl slowly moving towards him as the mist around them started to turn red. The sky above shifted to a dark night while the ground below them became dead and lifeless, the grass seeming to dissolve into ashes before drifting away in the breeze.
"I hate you…" Triska growled.
&nb
sp; *****
"Daniel! You have to wake up! Please!" Triska cried out, watching the nightmare above smiling coldly down at the spectral image of Daniel. Triska shook her head and looked back down to Daniel, quickly clinging onto him for dear life.
"Daniel!" she screamed, holding onto him as the nightmare above continued to stare down at its victim.
*****
"Triska, you can't mean that…" Daniel said with disbelief, seeing Triska's cold glare as she geared back with her sword. Her eyes showed pure rage as she clenched her blade's handle, her teeth bared slightly as she stepped closer.
"That kitsune should have left you for dead, saving your life was a horrible mistake," she hissed. Daniel stared at her with shock as a cold feeling started to etch into his heart, his body feeling heavier as he struggled to breathe properly.
"Triska…" he said quietly, his voice shaky while the world around started to turn to a deep crimson.
*****
The girls watched as the spectral image's expression became of sorrow and disbelief, wavering slightly while the nightmare above let out a ghostly moan.
"No… Daniel… Daniel!" Alyssa cried out with wide eyes.
*****
Daniel backed another step as the ground below became barren and parched, appearing to lose all life as the mist around became a darker shade of crimson. The sky above held no stars, only pitch darkness seen overhead as Triska's blade cast a soft red bloom from the surrounding haze.
"Triska… not you too," Daniel breathed out with sorrow.
In a flash Triska lunged towards him with a forward thrust, followed by her furious yell that echoed out into the surrounding unseen.
*****
Daniel’s spectral image jerked about slightly, showing a shocked expression, before slowly falling limp as all the girls stared with horror at the sight. The image wavered slightly as the nightmare above let out a ghostly wail.
“No… he can’t… he… no!” Specca cried out. Triska shakily sat up and stared with teary eyes at Daniel’s image which was no longer moving, its eyes slowly closing as its head started to hang down.
“No…” she shakily breathed out.
"Daniel!" Alyssa screamed as she gripped her hat with fright. Triska trembled as she stared at Daniel's image, her heart skipping a beat as she felt a cold chill run down her spine.
"No… no! NO! DANIEL!" Triska screamed out in agony, dropping down and holding onto Daniel. Squeak stared at the boy's image with shock and slowly shook her head, a few tears welling up in her eyes as she squeaked quietly. Triska cried out as she held onto Daniel, her tears dropping down onto his neck as she clung to him tightly. Alyssa stared at the image with horror then looked down to seeing Daniel no longer moving, his chest remaining perfectly still. She gasped and quickly held her hands to his chest, feeling no heartbeat or breathing.
"No… NO!” she screamed out, shaking her head with a frightful expression. Triska cried out into the air, tears dropping from her face as she shook her head violently. Specca held a hand over her mouth as she started to cry, tears welling up behind her glasses as she shook her head in sorrow.
"Daniel! DANIEL!" Triska yelled out, holding onto Daniel from around the neck and keeping him close as she felt her own heart breaking.
“Daniel! Daniel, please don’t die!” Alyssa sobbed loudly as she held onto his arm desperately, tears dropping from her face.
"It's not real, Daniel, it's not real!" Triska cried. The girls looked down to her with remorseful expressions as she sobbed loudly, holding onto Daniel as her arms trembled.
"Please, Daniel, wake up! Don’t die, please don’t die!" she shouted out, shaking her head as she shut her eyes tightly. The group watched as she sobbed loudly while holding onto the boy that was no longer breathing, her cries being heard over Alyssa, Specca, Squeak, and Luna’s whimpers as they watched with devastated eyes. Falla clenched her fists with frustration and looked down, shaking her head slowly as she closed her eyes. Triska trembled then started to loosen from her embrace, her body feeling like it was drained of strength as she wept quietly.
"Daniel… please don’t go…" she shakily cried. Slowly she looked over to his face as she struggled to hold back her tears, seeing that he wasn’t breathing and lying perfectly still.
“No… you can’t leave me like this…” she pleaded softly. Taking an unsteady breath she held Daniel close, resting her head next to his as the others watched with pained expressions.
"Daniel… I don't know if you can hear us… or me, I don’t know if any of this is reaching you. But… you have to know something…" she whimpered with tears dropping down onto the floor.
*****
"Tris… ka…" Daniel strained out as his eyes slowly began to close, his hands holding onto the bloodied blade that was pierced through his chest. Triska glared at him as she held her sword with one hand, her other holding onto his shoulder and keeping him pulled forward.
"Shut up, Daniel, just die," Triska said coldly as the surrounding world started to turn dark and hazy. Slowly the red bloom from the mist faded away as everything started to vanish into the darkness.
*****
"I've… wanted to tell you something, ever since we left Edgewood, ever since we were little. I've wanted to tell you, but… I was too scared," Triska choked out between her sobs as she held onto Daniel, trying to control her breathing as she continued to cry. Alyssa, Squeak, and Specca glanced to each other with remorseful looks then back down to Triska, all of them knowing what she wanted to say. However none of them felt the urge to interrupt her this time.
"Daniel…" Triska said softly. She started breathing heavily as she glanced up to seeing Daniel's spectral image, his eyes closed as his hands had dropped to his sides. All the girls watched with sorrowful eyes as the image started to slowly rise up towards the nightmare, the monster letting out a small ghastly wail as it smiled coldly at its victim. Triska trembled as she felt her heart aching, her breathing becoming ragged, her hands shaking, and her mouth quivering. She struggled to hold in her tears, to pull back her screams, to pray that this was all just a nightmare of her own, that none of this was real and that Daniel was alive and well.
"No… Daniel…" Alyssa whimpered as she watched with teary eyes. Specca and Squeak started crying as they watched with sorrow, both shakily reaching out for the spectral image that continued to rise up towards the nightmare. Luna started crying as well while Falla watched with frustration and despair.
Triska started breathing heavily, her gasps for air drawing everyone's attention. She began to shake with disbelief and agony, her body unable to remain still or calm down. The group watched as she started choking, struggling with something that was working its way out of her throat. She breathed heavily and rapidly, her mind racing as she witnessed Daniel's soul being taken away by a monster. She couldn't take it anymore, couldn't hold it in any longer; any fear she had before was thrown into oblivion as she quickly hugged Daniel close and buried her face into his shoulder, crying out with every ounce of strength she had the three words she so desperately wanted to tell him.
"I LOVE YOU!"
*****
Daniel's eyes shot open, staring ahead with shock as Triska's voice echoed in his head.
"I LOVE YOU!"
Triska stared at him with surprise and disbelief as he slowly looked up, straining to move as the distant yet powerful words reached him. His body felt cold, dead, and rigid. Yet a small fire seemed to burn within, just enough to remind him what the warmth felt like from inside. Slowly he felt the impression, although faintly, of somebody holding him and their warm breath on his neck.
"Tri… ska?" he breathed out.
"Just die already!" Triska yelled out. Daniel looked back to her, seeing nothing but rage in her eyes. Not once had she ever shown so much anger, so much hatred towards him in all the years he had known her. She growled and pulled him closer, pushing the blade further out behind him as it carved through his body. Blood spilled down his s
hirt and pants as he struggled to stay awake, staring into the harsh glare of Triska.
"I love you, Daniel, I love you!"
Triska looked around with a startled expression, seeing that the world had stopped falling into darkness around them.
"What is this?" she shouted out. Daniel slowly looked down, seeing the blade that was struck into him, seeing his blood that was dripping down on the steel as well as his clothing.
"Please come back, Daniel! Come back to me!"
Daniel shakily reached out and grabbed Triska by the shirt, the girl looking back to him with surprise as he was glaring at her with weary eyes.
"You're… not Triska," he coughed out. Triska looked down to the blade then to him with disbelief.
"No… how can you still be alive? You should be dead by now," she said with confusion. Daniel growled then grabbed Triska's dagger, the girl looking to it with surprise as he yanked it out and geared back with it.
"Impossible, how?" Triska cried out. Daniel let out a hoarse yell before striking down with the dagger, plunging the blade into Triska's head with a crunch. She jerked slightly before remaining still, staring at Daniel with wide eyes of shock. Daniel gripped the sword's handle and slowly pulled it out, cringing and straining himself as he gasped in pain. With one final pull he yanked the sword out then threw it over to the side, struggling to remain standing before he then pulled out the dagger from the girl's skull. She dropped down to her knees and wavered slightly before slowly looking up at Daniel, her eyes turning into cold blue orbs while her hair started to shift to black.
chronicles of eden - act I Page 81
