* * *
Holly crept silently through the town. The wind catching a door made her physically jump. All her senses were on edge, trying to pick up the faintest smell that she recognised. It all seemed such a long time ago since she was last here. From the furthest reaches of her mind, she could still see herself, innocent of the greed and corruption in the world. She remembered her imprisonment in Duma’s house, with only Carter beside her to protect her. She vividly remembered the smell of Duma’s stinking breath, decayed and rotting, but still whispering sweet promises to her of gifts and magic and returning home to her Mom. Memories of the terrible days of sitting there alone came rushing back, of crying for her lost life with her family and friends. Lost times of chasing Kerri along the riverbank, of dancing with the boys in the meeting place, twirls and spins, watching the hems of her dress and petticoats rise higher like a spinning top as she spun faster and faster. It was only last summer, but it seemed like a different lifetime in her memory.
Holly stopped, the faintest smell of something she recognised touched her. Duma! It’s him.
The unmistakable foul smell of Duma was here. The one responsible for her life being destroyed. The one who’d dragged her away from her own world and turned her into someone who now only cared for holding onto an object that would give her neither food nor drink nor happiness, and that she knew would one day likely lead to her death.
Holly crept deeper into the deserted town, following the foul smell until she reached the central square. She recognised the Town Hall, where she’d been brought when she first arrived. A macabre fascination urged her on, just to see again the place of her corruption, the place where it had all begun.
The heavy oak doors were open, the smell of Duma strong within.
He’s still here! Holly was shocked.
Conflicting emotions ran through her.
Revenge! she thought. Let him see me now, strong, powerful, and years away from that little girl dragged here in tears, wanting her parents to take her home. Revenge for taking away the happiest days of my life. Revenge for stealing my world from me.
She crept into the hall, checking to the left and right as she padded silently into the room. The wooden floor beneath her paws creaked once and she backed off. She heard an intake of breath. She tried another step. This too creaked.
A voice in the darkness called out, ‘Who’s there? What do you want now? Please... Won’t you ever leave me alone?’
The voice was one of fear and exhaustion. It was the voice of a broken man. But Holly still recognised the voice of Duma.
‘Are you alone?’ Holly asked.
‘Who’s there? Who is it? Yes, I’m alone. There’s only me here.’
Holly moved closer. In the gloom, she could make out his twisted, broken form tied to a chair, the rope tight around his chest and legs with his arms tied behind his back. Holly could see and smell the blood running from his ears and nose. The red tracks from the corners of his mouth and the tear ducts of his eyes. His shoulders were slumped and it was with a great effort that he managed to raise his head to look at Holly.
‘Don’t you recognise my voice?’
‘Who are you?’
‘So many sweet words, so many promises and so much pain you gave me, and now you’ve forgotten me already. All alone in that pass, you deserted me, just so that you could sleep safe in your bed.’
‘Holly, is that you? You escaped?’
Holly walked boldly across the hall, no longer caring about the noise the creaking wooden floor made. She approached slowly, sniffing the air for any other odours, but there was only the sickly-sweet smell of Duma that she remembered so well. Standing in front of him, her face level with his, she could feel his breath on her face as he gasped for air, fighting against a pain she couldn’t see.
‘Oh Holly, I’m so, so sorry for what I did to you.’
Holly recoiled, shocked. She never expected him to show any genuine human emotion.
‘You were always my favourite, Holly. I hated doing what I did, so much.’
‘Liar! Do you really know what you did to me? Do you really know how you destroyed my life before it’s even started?’
‘Oh, I know, Holly. I’m so very sorry, please believe me.’
Holly became angry. ‘Believe you! You’ve lied to me since the moment I was brought here, all for your own worthless gain.’
There were sobs in his voice when he said, ‘Oh Holly, my dearest Holly. If I could take it back I would. If I could give you back your life...’
‘For what!’ Holly shouted, starting to lose control of herself. ‘For what? For your precious Crystal that you promised to me, well, where is it now?’
‘I don’t know, Holly, it was taken.’ The sobs and gasps came quicker.
‘I’ll tell you where it is, I have it. It’s mine now!’
There was a sharp intake of breath.
‘You have it, Holly? You have it here?’
‘It’s mine and I don’t need any more of your promises or lies.’
Duma was recovering his voice. ‘Holly, it’s dangerous, you don’t know what HE can do,’ Duma rushed on. ‘You have to leave, quickly. They’ll return and find you. They’ll take the Crystal from you and...’
‘Who will return?’ the disbelief a sneer in her voice.
‘They’ll come here, looking for you, looking for the Crystal. He’ll never rest until He gets it.’
‘Who?’ But she already knew, her anger changing now to fear.
‘HIM, Holly, the one who talks to you, who never lets you sleep, the one who’ll torture you till He has it. He knows you have it, Holly, He knows where you are, He sees you in your sleep...’
‘Quiet, stop talking now!’ Holly shouted, this time more scared than angry.
‘Holly, listen to me, go now. Save yourself. Run! Run far and run fast!’
‘He’s coming here?’ she asked.
‘He sends his apes. They are his slaves, they want only to do as He tells them, or else He tortures them. He creates a pain in your head that feels like your head will explode, but He always stops, just before... He wants you to suffer. Go, Holly, run quickly.’
Holly stood looking down at him, tied to his chair. Destined to remain here, to be tormented by the one who wants the Crystal, the Crystal she now possessed.
‘Holly, go quickly, and please believe me, I am so very sorry for what I have done to you.’
She could see the tears falling down his cheeks, mixing with the blood streaks on his face. All her anger and hatred subsided. She looked at the man broken before her, and felt his pain and suffering. All thoughts of revenge vanished from her mind, replaced with a deep sense of sorrow for the once-mighty leader destined now to suffer for eternity, for the pleasure of the one who wants the Crystal.
‘Why is he doing this to you?’
‘Because I had the Crystal. I heard his voice and I disobeyed him. I couldn’t stop myself setting the forest on fire. But then I realised, it was him telling me to do it. I knew his apes would come. So, I let the bears take it from me. I pretended to be enraged and full of hate for everyone, but really, I knew the apes would get here soon. He told me to hold onto it. But I know only destruction will follow once it’s in his hands.’
Holly made up her mind. Looking around the hall, she saw the display of ancient weapons mounted on the wall behind him.
She reached up and, using her teeth, pulled a ceremonial knife from the wall and carried it over to where Duma sat. Holding the knife between her jaws, she cut through the rope binding him to the chair.
Duma gave an enormous sigh of relief as the rope fell away. He couldn’t stop himself falling to the floor, exhausted. He crawled to the wall, dragging himself to his feet. He was unable to move his legs after being tied down for so long.
‘Holly, give me the knife.’
‘What are you going to do?’ she asked, passing it to him.
‘You go now, run quickly. They’ll return soon, and many mor
e of them this time. They’ll be following you for the Crystal. Holly, please, forgive me.’
She saw the ruin in his face and the pleading for release in his eyes. She couldn’t hold onto her hatred any longer.
‘Come with me now, we can escape together.’
‘No, my place is here. I’ll try to delay them for as long as I can, but I won’t be taken to be tortured by Him again. Please do one thing for me. If you see my son, Sonny, please tell him... well, tell him I was always so proud of him. I just couldn’t stop myself acting like I did. It was the Crystal.
Holly felt his despair and could feel her own tears close to the surface. It was not supposed to be like this, she told herself. I wanted to hurt him so much, but I can only feel his grief.
She turned to leave but stopped, wanting to take one last look at him. He could barely stand, tottering against the wall, struggling to hold his head up. From outside the hall, a CRASH! suddenly rang out.
‘They’re back, Holly! Go through the back door, quickly!’
She didn’t hesitate. Holly ran to the rear of the hall and pushed the door just enough to see the wall to the right. Peeping around the door, checking to the left, she saw it was all clear. Holly stepped out into the darkened street. From the far side of the hall erupted sounds of breaking wood and shattered glass. The apes had restarted their mindless rampage of destruction before returning to torment Duma.
Holly ran through the darkness, desperately searching for the way back to the mountain.
* * *
The crashing sounds told Carter exactly where the apes were. He could also sense Holly was very close. He crouched down to peer around a corner.
Seeing it was all clear, he turned his head to check behind himself one last time. His sense of smell was getting confused. It seemed there were apes behind him as well as in front, or just the wind howling in circles. He was getting disorientated and anxious. He decided to make his move.
He stepped out of the shadow into the street and was immediately hit in the side of the chest by a powerful blow. Holly ran head first into him in her blind rush to escape. Carter was sent reeling backwards, flying into a door, which splintered with the impact. The door crashed to the floor with Carter laying on it.
The whole town seemed to suddenly hold its breath. Even the wind stopped as the noise reverberated off the walls of the houses. There was a deathly silence which seemed even louder than the rampaging apes before.
Carter lay on the floor dumbstruck. The panic in Holly’s eyes was clear to see. ‘Carter!’ she whispered, shocked now that she recognised him. Quickly regaining her bearings, she said, ‘We have to run, now!’
The world around them exploded into a succession of bangs and crashes, all heading in their direction. From the Hall behind them came the noise of a ferocious fight going on, before a scream of rage was cut short.
‘This way, Holly.’ Turning the way that he’d come, he was confronted by five apes blocking the road and their escape.
‘Through here, follow me,’ said Carter, turning into the doorway he’d just fallen through. They ran through the house to the end of the hall, looking for the kitchen and a back door out. Carter was counting time in his mind as to how far behind the apes were. They found the kitchen and charged straight through, slamming the door behind them. Carter heard the first of the apes charging his way down the hall. Desperately looking for a way out, Holly saw an empty frame where a window had once been, before an ape had ripped it off for no reason other than an urge to destroy.
‘Jump,’ she called to Carter. With a leap, she was through the empty window into the garden. She could feel the air moving behind her as Carter followed her through. The rear fence lay ahead. With another leap, Carter and Holly hurtled over it together, landing in the road outside.
Carter’s internal clock was still counting. He heard another crash as two apes fought to get through the broken window at the same time. Holly and Carter rushed down the road, desperately hoping it would lead them out of town. Coming to the final house, they saw the hills rise into the high peaks. Carter felt a moment of hope. ‘We’re out, Holly, we’re going to make it.’
But out of the corner of her eye, Holly saw something fly through the air, reaching out to grab her. An ape standing guard had seen them trying to escape and timed his attacked to grab hold of Holly. In one swift movement, she stopped dead in her tracks and leant to the left, leaving the ape reaching out into empty space. Carter and Holly saw the ape tumble down the road, missing them. Instantly, it was back on its feet in pursuit.
They ran for the path leading upwards through the cultivated terraces, now abandoned since the townspeople had fled the approaching apes. Climbing the terraces was work better suited to the ape than to Carter or Holly. They could smell its rank odour getting closer with each step. Carter had scrambled up onto the next terrace when he felt something grip his rear leg. In a panic, he lashed out with his free leg, using his claws, and felt himself connect with the ape’s chest. It was enough for the ape to lose its grip and stumble backwards. Carter leapt onto the next terrace with the ape right behind him.
‘Run, Holly, run for home!’ he shouted.
He knew he had to confront the pursuing ape to save her. The next terrace step was coming up, and this was likely to be the last before the ape caught him. He was preparing himself for the next jump up when he heard a voice call out in the darkness, a voice he recognised, and a scent that made his heart leap.
‘Carter... DUCK!’
Instinctively, he dropped his head and shoulders and felt the fur along his spine being brushed flat. With a deadly SWISH! Vin’s staff sliced along Carter’s back, and connected with a sickening CRUNCH! into the face of the ape behind him.
Carter looked around to see the ape tumble down to the lower terraces, unable to stop its fall, until it eventually lay lifeless on the lower steps.
‘Vin!’ he said in amazement, smiling from ear-to-ear. ‘You’ve come!’
‘Wow, that was a pretty good move, Vin,’ said Naz. ‘You sure are handy with that stick.’
‘It’s a staff, Naz. Sticks are what dogs chase. Oh! Sorry, Carter, I didn’t mean...’
‘It’s okay, Vin, I know what you mean. Good to see the training paid off,’ said Carter.
‘You bet yer. I was born for this,’ said Vin, twirling the staff above his head, showing off his new moves.
‘You’ve been practising then,’ said Carter, the grin still on his face.
‘Hold up, Vin, you’ll give someone a nasty bump on their ‘ead if yer not careful,’ said Naz, ducking below the spinning staff.
Holly returned and stood looking down on them from the higher terrace. ‘I’m so sorry for what I did,’ she said with genuine remorse.
‘There’ll be time for talking about that later, Holly. Now’s the time for getting away from here,’ said Naz. ‘Do you have it with you?’
She grasped the cloth bag strapped around her neck.
‘You need to give it to me,’ said Naz.
Holly took a step back, still holding tight to the bag.
‘Naz, maybe she can carry it for us, until we get to the border. It may give her comfort and also save us from any temptation to look,’ said Vin.
Naz stood quietly, his furrowed brow showed he was uncomfortable with the idea.
Holly took another step away from the three.
Naz could see she was preparing herself to turn and run.
‘Okay,’ said Naz. ‘It’s probably best that you carry it, Holly, but promise you’ll let us help. We’ll stick together from now on.’
‘I’m so sorry I caused this trouble for you all,’ Holly said, now close to tears.
‘We gotta move, we gotta get away from here now,’ said Vin.
‘You’re right there, Vin. You lead, I’ll take the rear.’
‘May be an idea that you stay close to Holly, Naz. An’ I got the staff, good for covering us.’
‘Okay. Holly, you stay real clos
e to me,’ said Naz.
‘Time to run, Naz, I got your back.’
* * *
Naz set off at a gentle run, leading the way higher, climbing the terraces with ease, with Holly close behind. They’d only climbed a few more steps when she pulled up. Carter smelt it at the same time. Naz turned, realising they were not following.
‘Why did you stop?’ Naz whispered, his eyes darting to the left and right.
‘They’re ahead.’
‘Apes?’
‘Yes, I can smell them, there’s a lot of them.’
Naz and Vin caught their smell on the wind, ‘How many is a lot?’
‘I can’t say, but there’s a lot of different smells ahead, all of them bad.’
‘Holly, please let me carry the Crystal,’ said Naz.
She looked at each of them, then looked ahead into the darkness. She could see nothing, but she knew, they all knew, there was no way forward they were going to survive.
‘There’s too many of them, I can sense that. We’ll never get through,’ said Carter. ‘Please give it to him.’
She took a deep breath but was unable to look them in the eye. She said quietly, ‘We can go around. There’s a pool to the west.’
‘The one where you stopped to drink?’ asked Carter.
‘Yes,’ she nodded. ‘There’s a watercourse leading to it. We can keep low and move around them. It’s how I got into the town unseen.’
‘I know where it is,’ said Carter. ‘It’ll take us around them for sure. We go to the west and then climb. We’ll pass them by.’
‘The sun will be up soon, so we’ll have to find somewhere to hide. We can’t let them see us in daylight,’ said Vin.
‘It’s risky, but it may be our only chance of getting back,’ Naz said, making up his mind. ‘Okay, west it is. But hurry, we don’t want to get caught out here exposed.’
* * *
Naz led the way across the lower slopes, keeping well away from the paths and trails. They finally stumbled down into the watercourse, now dry where the water had frozen higher up at the pool.
‘I remember there’s caves just below the snow line,’ said Naz, ‘we found them when we were scouting the land before the Guards came through last time. We may even find some of our supplies still stashed there. You can only see them when the sun first rises. Once it gets higher, the caves fall into deep shadow. You won’t even know they’re there.’
Lost Lands (CHANGING TIMES Book 2) Page 14
