Winds Of The Apocalypse

by Novak, Karina

  "How is it now, Morgan?" Casey asked him, looking at her twin as he clenched and unclenched his fists, stretching his renewed body.

  "Much better.” Morgan nodded with an appreciation. ”Thank you guys.” He smiled. “Don’t mention it.” Colin smiled back, looking back at the door they came through.

  "Now let's go down before anyone’s awake, they might catch us up here.” Colin said, headed for the doorway. “And we humans can do with a little sleep. Don’t you think so Casey?"

  Casey looked at Morgan. “I’m not completely sure about leaving you here alone unprotected.”

  “I am going with you.” Morgan stepped closer to his sister, taking Jon’s hand and leading him to Casey. “We are all going together. “

  “I meant your body. “ Casey smiled.

  “I know.” Morgan looked at Colin. “But we have a key, we will lock the door, my body will be safe don’t worry.”

  "Yes Casey, don’t worry, we are the only once that know that Morgan is up here.”

  Colin agreed with Casey’s older brother. “And besides we are probably in for a rough day tomorrow if the police come to interrogate us."

  “Interrogate us?” Casey swallowed.

  “Your brother was kidnapped last night.” Colin reminded her. “They would go straight to you; you know that your mother will tell them that you were the one to promise that you will not lose Morgan, no matter what would be the cost.”

  “Oh… right.” Casey agreed mentally kicking herself for her outburst and then the teens exchanged last long looks and left the room, with Casey and Morgan leaving last and locking the door behind them with the key that Casey got from her friend.

  “I will see you guys in the morning.” Colin yawned as he slowly departed down the ramps that lead to the ethic.

  “And we should go over the things that you can and can’t say to the cops.” Morgan said to Casey. “You can’t give us away over something you will blab out.”

  “Thank you for your trust in my ability to screw up.” Casey frowned but Morgan laid a hand on her back and shook his head.

  “Any of us might do or say something wrong, this is a tense situation. I just want to help you get through it; I was the one that got you into this royal disaster of a mess.”

  “No, that was Din.” Casey chuckled.

  Morgan smiled. “I helped. Now let me help you.”

  “I know Morgan, I appreciate it.” Casey glanced at Jon. “Are you going to be with us?” “Mmm.” Jon thought about it for a moment. “I think that I will go and spy on mom for a bit. The cops had probably already told her, and I will be able to give you a heads up when they head here so you can prepare for this."

  “Good idea.” Morgan agreed.

  “I’ll see you in a little while.” Jon hugged Casey. “Make sure she sleeps.”

  He said to Morgan as he used his ability again to fade into nothing.

  “I am not a…” Casey began but Morgan blocked her mouth with his hand.

  “Save it Casey. You have two older brothers now, off to bed, young lady.“

  “Meaney.” Casey scowled.

  “And you love it.” Morgan teased.

  “Yes, I do.” Casey admitted, smiling.

  “Well c’mon.” Morgan gently pushed her down the ramp Colin had just walked on.

  “Off you go.”

  “Yes, yes, c’mon.” Casey agreed, tightening her grip on his hand.

  None of them noticed the shadow that slid up the ramp to the ethic after they had already left. All of their hard work was as close to nothing as the being that discovered them was almost served with Morgan's body, handed to it on a metal plate.

  Their worries were far from over but for that night, if it was only for a few hours the teens could allow themselves to sleep in peace.

  Chapter twelve: New trouble

  You could have never guessed if you were brought down there that the place where Din was brought to was the basement of a summer school.

  The dark halls he was led down to were damp and muddy; a kind of a greenish mist and stench surrounded him as two of the beastly apocalypses dragged his weak and injured body all the way down from their lair and into the musty tunnel like corridor that seemed to stretch on forever.

  Din was too tired to fight, too tired to keep resisting their painful clutches. He fought until he was sure that Toby had made it and then he surrendered but it didn't stop the monsters from hurting him further, he was practically unconscious from their poisoned fellers when they finally dragged him underground.

  He had fainted several times during the long hours he had tried to escape them, every time they left him in one of the beehive like chambers to keep building that weird device they were working on he tried to get away only to be recaptured and thrown back, his failed attempts had only got him hurt badly and now, he figured, they had had enough of his trickery and were about to do him in.

  The apocalypses had forced him to an unknown distention deep beneath the school grounds. The dim light of the sun that lighted their way at the beginning was replaced by green sickening color and the smell defiantly matched the 'wallpaper' they had plastered the walls with.

  Din wasn't sure if it had a purpose or the disgusting creatures were just enjoying that decoration but it resembled the smell and shape of rotten eggs on a hot Sunday, he should know, he ones plastered just that as a prank all over Kafka's office.

  In any other situation Din would have laughed at the memory but right now his mind wouldn't let him rest from his plans of escaping, even if he did manage to doge the creatures, he thought to himself, Din highly doubted that he would be able to find his way out of the stinking maze.

  Finally, after what felt like ions of walking and having lost all sense of direction and time the apocalypses had come to a halt, stopping in front of a metal door and just standing there in silence. The apocalypses seemed to be waiting for someone or something to grant them the permeation to open that metal door.

  A few moments passed and then a loud shriek echoed in the hallway, the door creaked open by itself and the apocalypses pushed Din in forcefully, fallowing him closely behind and letting the door shut with a loud bang behind them.

  "Aaggh!" Din couldn't help but let out a suffocated yelp as he landed on the concrete floor with his arm somehow twisted in the wrong direction; he heard the bone crack under his weight even before he had felt it, the sound alone made the bile rise in his stomach as he gritted his teeth through the pain and raised his head slowly to glared around him, almost heaving his long forgotten breakfast at what his eyes had saw.

  The room ,or rather the chamber was crawling with bugs and cockroaches, the floor was practically pulsing with them, all around him Din could see the bugs from every disgusting kind you could think of, crawling over and under each other, inches away from him.

  "Ohhh…" Din made an attempt to get up but was only pushed back down by one of the apocalypses that were still standing behind him. Din raised his eyes to the dark green shape in front of him and saw that he was half lying in front of a large dark green throne, covered with fitting grey slime and insects that crawled on it and on the throne itself, half covered in one of the apocalypse's dark clocks sat the foulest creature he had ever laid his eyes upon, even if he tried to look away the image would still be carved behind in his brain and Din suspected that he was not allowed to look away from the monster in before him.

  Din took a deep breath. He assumed that the creature that sat on the throne was the apocalypses leader. It wore on its disfigured body the same black robe as the others did in the lair out in the gardens but its face was nothing like the rest of them, if it was possible, and up until then Din didn't think that that could ever happen, it was more hideous then the rest of them, something a lot worse he couldn't even describe.

  It had huge green crispy wings sticking from under the black fabric, one set of spider like eyes and a long needle in a white corpse like face where his mouth and nose should have been. It s
eemed to have been wearing his crispy bones on the outside of his transparent stringed body and it smiled at Din, he didn't know how he knew this but he was sure, the creature was smiling at him.

  "So."

  Din had no idea where its voice had come from but the second the creature spoke to him Din felt his mind exploding, the blood pumping behind his eyes and a horrible freezing cold had struck his dying heartbeat.

  "Oh, you didn't like my voice, little human?" The creature asked sweetly, visibly enjoying Din's agonized features and laughing at his miserable reaction to the apocalypses leader's voice.

  "You and your friend had caused me some great troubles, little human." The apocalypse spoke again, it's voice a little softer, it seemed to seize the deliberate pain it had inflicted upon him and was now making the experience more bearable, easy enough for Din to be able to consecrate on what it was saying and not on the pain he had felt.

  "I can't have brats like you in my way, you understand, don't you? My plans, years of preparations won't be ruined just because some measly humans decided to intervene."

  "Who are you? What do you want?" Din shuddered; trying to fight off the cold the creature was still inflicting on is system.

  The creature laughed, its thundering laugh threatening to split Din's head in two, the creature didn't seem to take into consideration the blood rivers that now ran freely down Din's cheeks

  "I am Utopia." The creature howled. "I am the queen of the mighty apocalypse race."

  It looked down on Din. "And if you wish to live little human, I demand you provide me with some information."

  "What information?" Din muttered.

  "Have you ever heard of the creator?"

  Din swallowed hard. "I don’t know…" He started, silenced by his own screams as one of the apocalypses behind him shoved him forward on his broken arm, driving its poisoned filler back into the open wound in his shoulder that it had ripped there back in the lair.

  "You do realize that lying to me is quiet pointless in your position." The apocalypse mused in amusement, it's spider like eyes reflecting Din's contorted face.

  "I think that you do know of what I speak of, Din." Din gasped.

  'The creature knew his name!

  "Yes," The creature confirmed as if it had read his mind. "I do know your name."

  Utopia chuckled as Din gazed upon her.

  "Your friend screamed it as he ran. Toby was it?" The creature smiled again and Din felt the color drain from his face.

  "If you hurt him…" He threatened, not convincing anyone including himself.

  "I swear to god…"

  "God can't reach you down here." Utopia laughed again, "See it as your own personal hell and me as your devil." Its booming laugh was as horrible as everything else about her; it was worse than rusted nails on a chalk board, more horrible then a banshee's cry.

  "Tell me what you know about the prophesy and the child mentioned in it."

  Utopia demanded.

  Din shook his head. "I don’t know anything. And even if I did I would never betray my friends! I am not a monster like you!"

  "But maybe you soon will be." Utopia warned, her voice again full with that tortures malice.

  Din howled in pain again, the cold in his heart growing stronger with every breath he took, his body couldn't handle it, he was going into shock.

  "Please…Stop…" Din begged.

  "Tell me what I want to know." Utopia demanded.

  "Never!" Din grinded his teeth.

  "Too bad." Utopia shook its ugly head; it looked like it was going to fall off from the thin white bone it was held on. "You know the air here is poisonous for a weakened human such as yourself, if I leave you here you will die from suffocation. Would you like that?"

  Din didn't answer; he wasn't going to give the creature the satisfaction of himself begging for his life. He would welcome death now and apparently Utopia knew it. Threatening him with a way to be released was not going to help her get what she wants.

  "I will never help you…" Din whispered. "I won’t betray my friends," He said, once again, pulling himself up from the floor and this time finding himself shakily standing in front of the creature. "Even if it costs me my life." He promised.

  "Then we will have to make you want to help me." Utopia said with a delight.

  It looked up at the apocalypses that were still standing behind Din.

  The apocalypses bowed and Din almost had to cover his ears as the loud shriek sounded again, a command of some sort in their monstrous language and Din was ones again brutally pushed down to his knees.

  "We shall talk again when you are ready to join us. Goodbye for now little human,"

  Utopia smiled. "It would be a delight to feed on you."

  "What?" Din shuddered as the monsters got hold of him and began dragging him to the door through which they had come.

  "LET. ME. GO!"

  Din tried struggling against his tormentors but it was useless. He was pushed and shoved again, closing his eyes at the pain, down the dark, stinking green corridor.

  They didn't care that his arm was broken although Din was sure that they knew and deliberately pulled it forcefully, almost ripping it out of its socket, he was grateful to the numbing pain or else his screams would have been heard all throughout the underground dungeon.

  How could they be so cruel? Din closed his eyes, letting the monsters almost lift him off the ground completely as they led him to some hidden destination to carry out Utopias sentence for him.

  The monsters, by Utopias orders took him to a break wall in the end of another unmarked hallway. It had a weird icy glow shining through the cracks of it and it projected out some kind of a pulling force, like a magnet of some sort, only it was pulling his heart out against his chest, luring him closer although every fiber in his being told Din to run away from the inviting glow.

  "Touch it." One of the apocalypses ordered, letting him go so he could do as he was told. "Why?" Din shudder, the glow pulling him closer.

  "What it will do to me?" He demanded.

  "Just do it!" The apocalypse ordered impatiently.

  "No." Din shook his head, he could only guess what was going to happen to him if he did as the monsters asked and he wasn't just going to give in to their demand and take it, he won't make it easy for them to torture him even more than they already had, not when he was not in control of what was about to happen to him.

  The bigger apocalypse of the two guards that accompanied him must have sensed Din's firm decision cuss in the next moment Din was lifted off the ground and tossed forcefully into the glowing wall ,closing his eyes as he waited for the horrible impact but it never came for him, he just felt himself floating away.

  Din opened his eyes just in time to see the blue blinding light surround him; the blue silvery binds wrapped his body, ripping it apart from his soul. His spirit was released from the heavy flesh and thrown into the blue cold fire; his inaudible screams only joined the other shrieks of pain and agony that filled the void around him, joining his being with those Utopias had already enslaved.

  ---

  The night passed in a flash and the next morning, unaware of the nights events Casey was woken up to the sound of her brother moaning in anguish somewhere in their bed room.

  Casey pried her eyes open and looked across the room to where Morgan lei in his still made bed.

  "Morgan?" Casey raised herself on her elbows, blinking at the bright light of the sun and looking at her brother.

  "Morgan?" Morgan didn't respond, he was curled up into a tight ball in a fatal position, his legs pulled up to his chest, surrounded by his seemingly bitten up pillows, his face hidden behind a curtain of dreads and his once again almost transparent body trembling, rocking the covers with it.

  "Morgan, are you ok?" Casey asked, getting up to her feet and quickly walking up to her brother.

  "Morgan! Answer me!" Casey begged as she began to panic, reaching out her hands to comfort Morgan's trembling body and sh
ocked to find that her hands were ones again going right through him, like Morgan wasn't even there anymore, what the hell was going on?!

  "Morgan!" Casey screamed, she was so freaked out by the situation that she didn't even notice the door flying open and Colin, supporting Toby who was still limping and Jon ran in to her help.

  "What happened?!" Jon practically jumped closer, staring at Morgan's dread covered face.

  "What’s going on?" Colin and Toby closed the space between them. Toby carefully sat on the bed next to Morgan as Case finally managed to grab on to his arm.

  "Something is wrong." Casey said, looking at Morgan, she was so scared her skin color was now resembling her brother. "He is not answering me."

  Morgan growled again and managed to pull himself out of the embryo like position and turn onto his back, looking at his siblings, his eyes filled with pain.

  "Morgan…" Casey begged, "Please, what happened?"

  "Something…" Morgan choked. Casey gulped in surprise, he sounded like something was strangling him but there was nothing in the room that could have done this.

  "It's my body…" Morgan shook his head from side to side, closing his eyes and opening them to meet Jon's gaze.

  "Someone is touching it….I can feel it…"

  "What?!" Casey squeezed his hand. "Are you sure?"

  Morgan nodded, pulling himself up with much visible difficulty. "We have to check on it, please..." He asked them and Casey nodded, she and Jon reaching for Morgan's body to help him out of the bed.

  Morgan breathed in as he got up from the bed with the help of his siblings, he stood shakily for a moment, letting go of Casey and Jon who were supporting him.

  "I'm fine to stand on my own." He mumbled and then he shot his eyes and collapsed to the floor, lying there, unmoving.

  "Morgan!" Casey rushed to him and tried to grab him. "C'mon!" She growled as her hand ones again went through him as if Morgan was nothing but air.

  "Morgan!" Casey exclaimed as she felt his flesh under her fingers.

  "Let me help you…" Jon bent down to help Casey lift him but to Casey's and to Jon's surprise, Casey was able to lift Morgan up to the bed by herself with no problem.