-Dread War- Daniel's Story Chapters 1-8

-Chapter 1-1

Wisps of the warrior’s pure white hair blew lazily in the nightly breeze. The smoldering ruins of Durne reflected dully in his jet black eyes. Great columns of smoke were rising into the darkness of the sky, bringing with them the nauseating odor of burning flesh as they partially blocked the Twins from view, two moons that orbited the planet together. However, their light still showed the surrounding areas brightly, causing his hair to glow. The only sign of emotion came from the warrior’s tightened grip on his staff.2

“They’ll get theirs in the end friend.” The barely-audible voice came from behind, a slightly shorter man with the same white hair tied back neatly. His eyes were a dark steely grey.3

“Indeed…” The warriors turned from the cliff edge. They knew better than any…war was on the horizon.4

*~*~*~*5

Daniel sat in the back of the classroom, listening to his anatomy teacher drone on about the importance of the year’s final exams. He wasn’t worried though; school had never been a problem for him. He laid his head down on the desk and stared out of the window into the school’s courtyard, his long black hair cascading down behind him. How much longer before he quits talking? He asked himself. 6

“Is there a problem Mr. Wise?” his teacher asked as if he’d heard Daniel’s thoughts.7

“No sir,” Daniel said sitting up. “Sorry.”8

His teacher sighed. “At least you know the material…” he said more to himself. The bell rang and the class began grabbing their bags and heading for the door. “Alright class, don’t forget, study the material. Half of you don’t even know what I’m talking about up here!”9

Daniel grabbed his textbook and exited the classroom. The hallways were just as chaotic as they always were. He slowly made his way down the hall, finding the racket that the students were making to be a headache. Finally making it to his locker, he grabbed his bag and slipped the book back in its place. He was glad his senior year was coming to a close.10

“Hey Daniel.” Someone called as he turned to leave.11

He spun around to see Catherine standing just behind him. “Hey.”12

“So are we still hanging out tomorrow?” She asked, pushing some strands of her blonde hair behind her ear.13

“Of course, why wouldn’t we be?” He asked.14

Catherine smiled. “I don’t know. I was just checking.”15

“It’s your birthday Catherine; I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Daniel said reassuringly. “Come on, I’ll walk you home.” 16

The two of them made their way down the hallway and out of the school’s back doors into the afternoon sun. Daniel took a deep breath and sighed. The fresh air always revitalized him after a boring day at school. 17

“So how do you think you’ll do on the exams next week?” He asked casually.18

“Ugh, let’s not talk about exams; I’m stressed enough over them as it is.” 19

Daniel laughed. “Sorry.20

As they went to cross the street to leave school grounds, a car careened around the corner, coming to a screeching halt just in front of them. Daniel had to pull Catherine back; otherwise the car would have hit her.21

“Hey babe, want a ride?” A voice called as the passenger side window was rolled down.22

“Mark?!” Catherine said bewildered. “You almost hit me! What were you thinking?” she screamed.23

“What are you talking about?” he asked, honestly clueless. “You’re fine. Do you want a ride or not?”24

“No, I don’t want a ride.” Catherine said forcefully. “Daniel’s offered to walk me home and he’s more than capable to do so.”25

Mark glared at Daniel for a good five seconds before finally speeding off down the road. 26

“Are you alright?” Daniel asked.27

Catherine sighed. “Yeah, I’m fine. I swear though, he just doesn’t get it,” she began as they continued across the street. “We only went out for one week. And that was a months ago!” 28

Daniel couldn’t help but to laugh as she continued to rant and rave about how irritating Mark was. A few minutes later they were coming up to Catherine’s house.29

“Alright Daniel, don’t forget, tomorrow, in the park, under the tree, at four.” Catherine said teasingly.30

“Don’t worry, like I said, I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I’ll be there.”31

“Okay, then I’ll see you tomorrow.”32

Daniel watched Catherine walk up her drive way and open the door before heading home himself. 33

When he got to his house, he noticed that his mother was home from work. 34

“I’m home.” He called as he shut the front door behind him. 35

“We’re in here.” He put his shoes in the closet and made his way into the kitchen. Both his sister and his mother were sitting at the kitchen-table having some lunch. “Welcome home, how was school?” His mother asked, tying back her long, dark brown curls.36

“It was fine,” Daniel said slowly. “Why aren’t you at work?”37

“I’m glad to see you too.” His mother said with a wry smile. She got up from the table and put her dishes in the sink.38

“You know what I mean.”39

Mrs. Wise laughed. “I know. Well, I was fired today,” she said slowly. “They said they couldn’t afford it, so they fired me and three others.”40

Daniel began to look past his mother, past the kitchen, and past the present, trying to think of solutions to the problem.41

“Don’t you even worry about it,” she said, knowing all too well what her son was doing. “I’ve already gotten another job. I start tomorrow.”42

“I can help,” Daniel said. “It’s about time I get a job anyways.43

“Daniel,” his mother began seriously. “I’m plenty capable of taking care of you and your sister on my own. I don’t need your help.” She smiled at her son and gave him a hug. “I appreciate the offer, but I can handle it. It’s my job.” 44

She looked him in the eyes and her features melted into a loving glow. Daniel knew that her soft brown eyes were looking right through him. “I’m not my father…” he said in no more than a whisper. “I’m going to take a shower.” He turned away and went up-stairs, leaving his mother with a brief feeling of loss.45

“Mom,” Emily said, speaking for the first time. “You hurt his feelings when you do that.”46

She turned to look at her daughter. “What do you mean?” 47

“You know what I mean,” Emily said patiently. “Half the times you look at Daniel, it’s like you don’t even see him. Instead, you’re seeing someone that hasn’t been here for seventeen years.”48

“It wasn’t his fault Emily!” Her mother said tersely.49

Emily raised her voice. “I know!” she looked away from her mother as well, regretting the tone she had used. “That’s not how Daniel sees it though.” She said softly.50

Mrs. Wise began to wash the dishes and Emily finished her lunch in silence, both regretting what they’d just done, and wishing they hadn’t.51

*~*~*~*52

Daniel placed his bag against the wall near his door and walked over to his dresser to grab some clothes. He didn’t need a shower, he had just taken one that morning, but he needed a distraction. He put his clothes on the counter and turned on the water in the shower. He took off his shirt and caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. 53

Staring back was a well built young man with shoulder length black hair, and glacier blue eyes. He gritted his teeth in frustration. He could hear his mother’s voice in his head. Sometimes when I look at you, I swear I see your father staring back at me.54

“I’m not my father.” He said again to himself. 55

Taking off the rest of his clothes, he got in the shower, standing beneath the icy cold water. Something about the numbing cold relaxed him and he stood beneath the freezing water for a while. When he finally got out, he went downstairs and put his dirty clothes in the washer before heading to the garage. 56

Daniel began his stretches, taking a seat on his weight bench as he did. When he was done, he laid back and began his workout. Lifting weights wasn’t something Daniel did all the time. He mainly did it when he had something on his mind or when something was bothering him. As a result though, he was in great shape. 57

The garage door opened about an hour later and his mother was standing in the door-way. 58

“I thought I’d find you out here.” 59

Daniel put the weights down and sat up from doing his weighted crunches. “Everything okay?” he asked.60

His mother sat down on the steps that lead to the door. “I should be asking you the same thing.”61

“I’m fine.” He replied.62

“Daniel, I don’t mean to look past you. I don’t mean to hurt your feelings.”63

“Mom, I’m fine, really,” he began reassuringly. “I understand, you loved him, he’s our father. It’s okay.” 64

His mother wiped away the tears that were beginning to build in her eyes. “I love you Daniel, know that, okay?”65

Daniel smiled and nodded. “I love you too.” 66

“Anyways,” his mother said getting up. “I’m about to start dinner, just wanted to let you know.”67

The rest of the day was slow. Not much was said at dinner, and it didn’t help that things felt awkward. It was only eight o’clock, but Daniel was already lying down in his bed, the lights off, and it didn’t take long for him to drift off into a dream-filled sleep.68

He was running down a sidewalk, pushing people out of the way with his left hand. He looked over his shoulder to see Catherine right behind him with her hand in his, fear etched into every feature of her tear-stained face. Just a couple of yards behind them was a black giant with yellow eyes gleaming evilly, a long, flowing cape trailing behind. The man was completely masked in shadow, and his face by a large black veil, wrapped around his head. Daniel snapped his head back around and saw that a semi-truck had pulled out in front of them, blocking their path. He made a left and found himself in an alley.69

It was a long stretch, littered with trash, dumpsters, and fire escapes covered in rust. Daniel’s legs burned like never before and each and every breath felt like it was being ripped from his lungs. He could hear his and Catherine’s feet making contact with the wet cement, echoing all around them with small hollow splashes. The young man looked back to see the man still hot on their trail. Daniel made another left, and, to his disbelief, found himself face to face with a dead end. He turned around and saw the man slowly moving towards them. Daniel grabbed Catherine’s wrist and pulled her back. The stench of rotting trash filled his nostrils. Suddenly, the giant rushed forward and Daniel was swallowed by the darkness.70

Daniel woke with a start, a cold sweat drenching his body, his head throbbing. He was breathing heavily and his muscles burned, but he didn’t know why. He looked at the alarm clock near his bed. It was three in the morning. He laid back down and tried to go to sleep, but it wasn’t easy.71

It was after ten before he woke up and despite all of the sleep he’d gotten, he still felt exhausted. He got dressed and went down stairs to fix some breakfast. There was a note on the fridge from his mother. “I’m heading to work and I’m dropping your sister off at a friend’s house on my way. She should be back home around 3 to 3:30. Love you, Mom!” 72

Daniel sat down at the table with his food, but pushed it away after looking out at it for a while. He didn’t have an appetite. He laid his head down and just sat there. Something felt very wrong and it was making him sick. 73

He walked to the sink and rinsed his face and got a drink of water, hoping it’d help. After that he forced a few bites of his breakfast down. He wasn’t going to miss Catherine’s birthday; he had to feel better. Maybe some fresh air and some sunlight will do me some good. Locking up before he left, Daniel decided to walk around the block a few times. The sunlight helped a lot, but something still felt terribly off.74

He went to the only place that ever helped, his weight bench. Daniel worked out for hours, but never seemed to lose his stamina. Emily came into the garage from outside and was surprised when she saw Daniel still there.75

“What are you doing here?” She asked.76

“What are you talking about?” He asked, confused.77

“Daniel, it’s four o’clock, you’re supposed to be meeting Catherine right now!” 78

Daniel tore out of the garage, cursing as he ran past his neighbor’s house. Time had gone by so quickly. What’s wrong with me?! I’ve completely lost it today. There was something haunting him, and it was in the back of his mind, but he couldn’t get a fix on what it was or even why. He stopped running to look around and get a grasp on where he was. 79

“Daniel, where are you running off to? You’re not trying to avoid me are you?” 80

He turned around and there was Catherine, standing about ten feet behind him with a look of confusion in her glittering green eyes. Her long brown skirt was gently riding the wind behind her. She wore a white lace blouse with a small carrying bag hanging neatly from her shoulder by a strap. Daniel noticed more than anything that her long dark blonde hair was let down and was now flowing freely in the breeze. He could only recall ever seeing her hair down once before, maybe twice.81

Catherine started towards Daniel and stopped just in front of him, searching his eyes for a moment. “You weren’t running from me were you?” She finally asked, breaking the short silence. 82

“No, of course not! I just lost track of time. I’m sorry,” he said slightly winded.83

Catherine watched him closely. “Well, when you ran past the park, you kind of surprised me. I wasn’t exactly sure what you were up to, so I decided to come and see for myself.” 84

Daniel looked behind Catherine and noticed the entrance to the park behind her. “I’ve been kind of out of it today.”85

“Mhmm,” she said, a smile crossing her lips. “Come on, I’ll show you how to get there.”86

Daniel laughed despite how he’d been feeling. He didn’t notice it as much anymore and was already coming to forget about it. “So how’s your day been so far?”87

“It’s been good,” Catherine said cheerfully. “My parents took me to a few places so I could get some clothes, then we stopped at home to have some cake. Shortly after that, I saw that it was already a few minutes ‘til four and asked them to drop me off at the park so that I could meet you. I got here right at four and waited here under this tree,” she said, nodding towards the tree they were now standing under. “But you never came. I looked around to see if maybe you had gone to wait somewhere else, and that’s when I saw you run by.”88

She sat her bag down and kneeled down beside it. A couple of moments later, she pulled out a pair of running shoes and placed them to the side. “Daniel, you don’t mind going to see a movie with me do you?” 89

“Not at all.” The young man replied almost instantly. “Do you know when it starts?” 90

“Yep, I checked this morning before we left. It starts at about four-thirty, so after I get these on, we’ll need to run most of the way there.” 91

“No problem: just let me know when you’re ready.” He replied. 92

Catherine watched Daniel from the corner of her eyes while she changed her shoes. To say the least, she had a bit of a crush on him, but he wasn’t aware of it. She didn’t know when she first realized it or when it happened, but what she did know was that she was crazy about him. All of it came down on her in a roaring wave, and since then, she hasn’t been able to get him off of her mind. The most she knew was that she’d felt this way for some time now.93

She stood up and grabbed Daniel’s hand, leading him to the park's exit. “Let’s go.” She said with a smile. The two made it to the sidewalk a few moments later and looked around. Traffic was pretty heavy with people getting off work, but what took them by surprise was how empty the sidewalks were. They were completely void of anything. No one could be seen on the sidewalks in any direction. 94

“That’s strange.” Daniel said, more to himself than to Catherine. “I’ve never seen it like this.”95

Catherine stared around. “Neither have I.” She said with a slight pause. “It’s kind of eerie seeing the city like this.” 96

“Yeah, I agree.” The young man said, looking to the sky. It was melting into a mass of soft orange with the approach of evening. The clouds were jumbled together in monstrous proportion. Some were darker shades of gray while others were dull greens. “Looks like there’s quite a storm brewing.” He said. 97

Catherine looked up towards the incoming front. “Yeah, we’d better get going before we get caught in the middle of it.” With that, they began to run towards the theater. 98

Daniel had hardly taken three steps before that same sickly feeling came back to him. He was anxious and worried but for no apparent reason and it was leaving him very uneasy. 99

Catherine glanced back at Daniel, and when she did, she did a double take and stopped. “Daniel! Are you alright?!” she asked, seriously concerned. 100

He stopped and looked at her quizzically. “I’m fine, why do you ask?” 101

“You’re pale as a ghost Daniel!” She placed the back of her hand against his forehead. “Daniel, you’re burning up. We’ve got to get you home,” she said, grabbing his hand and turning around.102

He pulled back. “No, I’m fine, really, I feel great.” And he did. As soon as Catherine placed her hand against his forehead, it all went away again. Whatever he had, it must be affecting him in waves. “Really, come on, it’s your birthday, and I promised you.”103

Catherine could already see the color coming back to him. “Alright,” she began hesitantly. “But if you’re not feeling well, all you have to do is say so. We can do this another time Daniel, it’s not worth you’re well being.” 104

Daniel could see that she was worried. “Let’s go,” he said positively.105

They began on their way again, but Catherine refused to let him run, so they walked the rest of the way to the theater. 106

They got there about twenty minutes later and were just a few minutes late. Daniel paid for the tickets and when they got inside the theater, were delighted to find that they had only missed some of the opening previews and that the movie just starting. 107

When they exited the theatre, the ground was wet from rain that had obviously begun after they had arrived at the theatre. The remnants of the clouds were glowing a vibrant gold, filled with a purple center, the sun and sky around it a brilliant orange behind them. Individual rays of sunlight could be seen here and there, finding there ways through the clouds.108

“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” Catherine asked mesmerized by the sight. “I don’t think I’ve seen anything like it.” 109

Daniel stared at the scene for a second longer before replying with a light grin, his hands in his pockets. “Yeah, it’s quite a sight. I’m really glad that you got a chance to see it.”110

His friend smiled. “I know...I love it…” She took a small step back and watched Daniel from the corner of her eyes again. With the way the light was hitting the young man, he looked quite handsome. The muscle tone of his arms was shaded almost perfectly and made them very apparent, and the small spurts of wind blowing his hair back made him look somewhat perfect in her eyes. “You know Daniel; I’m really liking the view. Would you mind if we stood here for another minute or so?”111

“Sure, we’ll stay as long as you like,” Daniel said without looking back. 112

Catherine smiled. “Thanks…” After about five minutes, Catherine finally gave her crush the okay. Almost simultaneously, a middle-aged man bumped into Daniel rather violently and pushed him into the street. Daniel looked around to see what or who had pushed him, but all he could see was a man in a red flannelled shirt and blue jeans walking away, partially hidden by a small crowd of people. Before the man turned the corner, he looked back and stared the young man dead in the eyes and a short burst of pain erupted in Daniel’s head. As fast as it had all happened, the man disappeared.113

“Daniel! Are you alright?” Catherine was beside him the following second, her hand on his arm. “I swear, the nerve of some people these days. He didn’t even stop to apologize.” 114

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he replied. 115

Catherine looked him over. “Are you hurt?”116

“No, I’m fine, Catherine. I promise.” he smiled at her. “You know, you really do worry about a lot. You should relax a little more.”117

She sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. So what’s next on your list of things to do?”118

“Whatever it is that you want to do, I just want you to have a good time.” 119

“Well, in that case, let’s go back to the park. If you don’t mind, spending time with you is all I need to have a good time.” 120

“Are you sure?” Daniel asked rather surprised. 121

“Absolutely, otherwise, I wouldn’t come around as much as I do,” she said.122

The young man smiled. “After you.” 123

They were at the park for about two to three hours laughing and cutting up before the street lamps began to come on. It was not completely dark yet, but the sun was close to setting and the moon and some stars were already visible, though it was still fairly bright. 124

Daniel looked at his watch. “Damn, I’d better be getting you home. It’s later than I thought.”125

“My parents wanted me home by eight anyways, so it’s pretty much right on schedule.” Catherine replied, standing up. The young man stood up as well, stretching his aching muscles. He had definitely worked out too much lately. As he stretched, Daniel noticed a shadow by a tree. At first he didn’t pay it much attention, but when he saw it move, he turned to get a better look, but it vanished. Catherine turned to leave, but Daniel grabbed her arm. She looked up at him a bit surprised. “What is it?” 126

Daniel eyed the spot by the tree for a few seconds before he said anything. “Um…I was just wondering if you wanted to go this way.” He said, indicating the exit behind them instead. “You know, to get a breath of fresh air before retiring.” 127

Catherine smiled. “Sure.” As they made their way to the other exit, Daniel glanced behind them but didn’t see anything out of the norm. 128

“So, was time with me really as fun as you expected?” Daniel asked, still very cautious.129

His friend laughed. “Yes, very much so, I really had a great time today Daniel. Thanks,” she said.130

“I’m glad I was able to be a part of it.” 131

They spent a majority of the time walking towards Catherine’s home talking some more. Daniel was still glancing everywhere for the shadow that he had seen, but was beginning to think that it had been a figment of his imagination. The two of them were about one block from Catherine’s house when the young man spotted the figure again, just across the street. Again, it had disappeared when he noticed it, but this time behind a house neighboring Catherine’s. 132

“Catherine,” he started, running his hand through his hair. “I’m sorry, but I can’t take you home.”133

The young woman looked at Daniel with a smile. “Oh? And why is that?” she asked jokingly.134

Daniel knew the second that he had seen the red flannelled shirt, who it was, but he didn’t know why. When he didn’t respond right away to her question, the look on her face grew a bit more serious, and worry began to become evident.135

“Daniel, why can’t you take me home?” she asked. “It’s just over there.” 136

He answered her right away. “We’re being followed.”137

-Chapter 2-138

It took a few moments for Daniel’s words to sink in, and when they did, she wasn’t sure how to take them. 139

“What do you mean we’re being followed?” Catherine asked, stopping. She still couldn’t tell if Daniel was joking. 140

“Don’t stop, keep walking, you’ll make him suspicious,” Daniel said, continuing on. His head was beginning to ache again. “You remember the guy that bumped into me earlier right?” he asked.141

Catherine thought for a second before saying anything. “You mean the guy wearing the red flannelled? Wait, you mean it’s him following us?” she asked, sounding more annoyed than alarmed. 142

“Yeah, that’s the guy,” he said seriously. “We’ll turn this corner and take another left to double back to my place. I’d rather him know where I live than where you live.”143

That thought alone caused Catherine to worry about the situation a little more. She couldn’t believe this was happening and hoped for the possibility that it could all be a misunderstanding. “Are you sure he’s following us?”144

“I’m sure enough to take precaution. I noticed him in the park, but I wasn’t sure if it was my eyes playing tricks on me or not. But then I saw him hide behind your neighbor’s house just as I spotted him again.”145

“Oh…” Catherine said in a rather high voice. Daniel noticed her trembling chin and glassy eyes. When they turned the corner he placed his hand on her shoulder.146

“Don’t worry, it’ll be alright. Take a deep breath for me and try to calm down. Panicking at time like this can only lead to disaster.” Catherine did as she was told, and they both noticed an improvement. Daniel smiled at her.147

He glanced back to check the success of their retreat and saw the man running at them full speed, only half a block behind. Daniel felt his heart sink and anger rise to take its place.148

“Run!” he shouted, taking Catherine by the hand. She dropped her bag and they were running as fast as they could. Daniel let go of Catherine’s hand as she began to pull ahead of him. He looked back and was glad to see that they were already leaving their pursuer behind. 149

When he turned around, saw Catherine’s skirt disappear behind a corner to the right. Where is she going? He had to dodge to his left as he rounded the corner. Catherine was backing away, and Daniel discovered why. 150

He ran into what felt to be a wall and stumbled backwards. When he got a better look at it, he saw that it was no wall, but a man, and a huge one. He was wearing all black and had a long flowing cape hanging down to his feet. His face couldn’t be seen at all due to the large hood that was around his head.151

Daniel grabbed Catherine’s hand again and turned to leave the other way, but their path was blocked. Their chaser had finally caught up to them. He was an average sized man, but a bit lanky. Despite this though, he was well built and looked to have some strength behind him. His face was rough with what looked to be a three to four day old beard and his short brown hair had strands of gray here and there. His eyes found Daniel’s in a glare, crisp, electric blues, staring him down.152

Catherine squeezed Daniel’s hand, returning his attention to behind him. He turned to find the giant moving towards them and instantly, a blast of pain shot through his head, dropping him to his knees, screaming in pain. He grabbed his head as he fell forward, images of yellow eyes repeatedly flashing before his mind. 153

It only lasted a few seconds, but it felt like much longer. His head was still throbbing and he could hardly hear Catherine’s calls of concern.154

“Daniel! What’s wrong? Are you okay?” she asked desperately. Her eyes were red with tears, and she was shaking with anxiety. 155

Daniel stumbled to his feet and with his friend’s help, stood to face the giant standing in front of him. Catherine watched Daniel silently, but was completely puzzled as to what had happened.156

“What do you want?” he asked, his voice low but demanding. He waited for a few seconds but didn’t get a response. “What do you want?” his tone harsh this time.157

“We’re taking the girl,” a voice said from behind. 158

Daniel turned his head enough to see the man with his peripherals. “That’s not an option,” he said, almost lazily. He returned his attention to in front of him. 159

“Who do you think you are?!” the giant retorted angrily. “You don’t have any say in the matter.”160

Catherine moved closer to Daniel and wrapped her arm around his own.161

“Look at that boss, I think she’s scared.” 162

“Yes…” the giant replied in a sadistically low tone.163

“I think she’ll be great fun!” 164

The way these two men were speaking was leaving Daniel disgusted and furious.165

“How about we get this over with? Then we’ll have plenty of time to have our way with her before we have to kill her!” the man behind them suggested, licking his lips.166

Daniel looked down at Catherine and she looked up at him, her face wet with tears. His eyes widened as another wave of images and bursts of intense pain erupted in his head. He brought his hands back to his head to keep it from exploding as he cried out in agony.167

“Daniel! What’s wrong?!” Catherine sobbed. Daniel fell into the wall of the building and crumpled to his knees again. The pain was relentless this time. Images of Catherine kept coming before his mind and each brought with it waves of intense pain.168

“Daniel, talk to me!” Catherine pleaded. She placed a hand on his shoulder and turned him around. He was as pale as could be and his skin was cold and clammy. “Daniel?” he looked to be unconscious. 169

Daniel tried to say something, but Catherine couldn’t make out any of it. “What?” she asked. 170

“Help me up,” he said, louder this time. He noticed again that Catherine’s touch made the pain go away. 171

She wrapped one of his arms around her shoulder and hoisted him up. Once he was standing on his own, he pulled Catherine to him by the hand and held her close. She immediately began to blush. 172

“I won’t let them hurt you,” he whispered softly in her ear. “I swear it.”173

She wasn’t sure why, but she suddenly felt warm and safe nestled against Daniel’s chest. It was almost like a protective energy was coming from all about him. She wrapped her arms around his mid-section and hid her face in his chest, taking in his scent. “I trust you,” she whispered.174

Daniel’s strength was coming back to him at a remarkable rate and on top of that, he was realizing just how angry he really was.175

“I don’t know what kind of show you’re trying to put on boy, but it’s not going to work! Roy, grab the girl. We’ve wasted enough time already!” the giant roared.176

Roy stared at the young man standing before him and knew that something was different. It wasn’t something he could see, but he could definitely feel it.177

“What are you waiting for?” Daniel asked fiercely. The change in her friend’s voice made Catherine back away and look at Daniel, but he didn’t seem to notice. 178

“Now!” the giant yelled. “Grab her!”179

Roy lunged towards Catherine, but Daniel was in his way before he could get to her. Roy threw a punch at Daniel with his left fist and Daniel only just managed to dodge to the outside of it. He’s fast! Daniel threw a right hook at Roy, aiming for the side of his head, but he caught in his right hand, a grin in his eyes.180

Daniel noticed the giant shift his attention to Catherine and a surge of adrenaline flooded his system. In a flash his elbow was making full contact with the side of Roy’s head, sending him face first into the wall. Daniel grabbed Catherine’s hand and took off. 181

His mind was racing. Taking them back to my house now would be a bad idea, especially now that we know what they want. 182

“Daniel?”183

He looked over his shoulder and saw that Catherine was watching him. “What is it?”184

“Are you alright?” she asked.185

“Yeah, I’m fine. Come on!”186

Why am I fine though? What’s more, why was the pain there to begin with? There were so many questions in his head; he could hardly stay focused on running.187

“Daniel! That creep’s right behind us!”188

Another glance back confirmed it. Damn it, why? He turned another corner and saw a long line of people. They were back at the theater. 189

“Get out of the way!” Daniel shouted. He ran right into them, pushing them out of the way the best he could.190

“What the hell?!” a man yelled furiously, standing with some of his friends.191

“Yeah,” another bellowed. “Watch where you’re going, faggot!”192

Daniel ignored their shouts of anger, continuing to push his way through. After they got out, the young man looked back again to see how the giant was fairing with the crowd, but saw no sign of him. Did we lose him? 193

The man in black appeared from no where, jumping over the entirety of the crowd. 194

“You’ve got to be kidding!” Daniel exclaimed. The mere fact that a man that size jumped the crowd was astonishing enough, but the fact that they seemed completely oblivious to it was what confused the young man most.195

When he turned around, a semi-truck had just stopped in front of them. Without thinking, he made a left into a dark alley. Why does all of this seem so familiar?196

With every step they took, there was a small splash that reverberated off of the damp walls. All around them, the ground was littered with trash. The dumpsters were over flowing and the fire escapes hung dangerously overhead, full of decay and rust.197

The young man noticed that with every step, his legs burned from the exertion and every breath he took of the mold scented air left his throat and lungs searing in pain. He looked over their shoulders and saw that the giant was still right behind them. Daniel could not believe that a man so large could run so fast and move so deftly. 198

They made another left into a darker, smaller sub-alley, and to his disbelief, found himself face-to-face with a dead-end. Panic started to fill his being as he searched for some means of escape, but found nothing but rotting trash.199

He turned around, pulling Catherine behind him. “Stay…behind me,” he panted, holding out both arms. The giant of a man rounded the corner and stopped once he saw the kids were cornered to catch his breath. “If you see a chance to get a way,” Daniel continued. “Take it, regardless.”200

“But,” Catherine began objectively. 201

He didn’t let her finish though. “No!” he yelled. “You run!”202

Catherine’s vision in the dimly moonlit alley began to blur as tears built up behind her eyes again. 203

“Daniel…” She whispered sadly.204

“I’m sorry it ended up like this.” he continued. “This wasn’t exactly what I had planned for today.” 205

They could hear their pursuer chuckle to himself at the end of the alley. “You’re a pain in the ass, you know that boy?” the giant growled. “All you’ve done though, is piss me off, so now the girl’s just going to get it ten times worse than before. You’ve really made this night hell for her. Be glad it’ll be her last!” 206

“Try it!’ Daniel warned violently.207

He heard Catherine crying behind him. She had moved closer to him and was now hugging him from behind. “I’m not leaving you,” she cried. “I love you.” She spoke the words no louder than a whisper, but the words rang in Daniel’s ears and it was the only thing he heard.208

Laughter filled the air. “Love?!” the giant bellowed. “Such a useless emotion! It makes me sick!”209

The giant’s laughter ceased when he saw the look in Daniel’s eyes. Of all the things he would have expected to see in the young man’s eyes, he wasn’t ready for tears.210

Daniel clenched his fists as tightly as he could as tears fell freely from his face. “It’s not fair!” 211

“Life is never fair Daniel, but you’ll find that sometimes, it gives you a second chance.”212

“What?” he asked, almost in disbelief.213

“My name is Lyle, and I’ve been sent to test you and take you back to The Throne. But before all of that, I was your father’s friend and your friend as well.”214

“You’re an idiot if you think I’m going to believe that,” Daniel spat. 215

Lyle pulled the hood down from around his head and revealed a broad, weathered face with many wrinkles around his eyes and across his forehead. He had a full head of snow white hair, but most noticeable were his eyes. They were an energized yellow, and seemed to glow in the darkness of the alley. “I’m sorry that you don’t feel you can trust me, but I assure you, you’re in no danger at all, and never were. Roy and I had to make the situation seems a real as possible for the purest results.”216

Catherine was watching Lyle from behind Daniel. She came to Daniel’s side and held his arm close to her. “All of those things that you said,” she began. “They were disgusting and despicable. Even if I wanted to trust you, I couldn’t right now. This night will haunt me for a long time!” she said, tears falling from her eyes. 217

Lyle got down on one knee and bowed before them. “You have my sincerest apologies Miss Catherine, but again, we had to make the situation seem as real as we could. We needed real results.”218

“Results for what?” Daniel asked suspiciously.219

“With time, Daniel,” Lyle said standing again. “First, we must go. This isn’t the time or the place for this conversation. I need to talk to your mother as well.”220

“My mother?” 221

“Yes Daniel, I have news about your father. I’m sure Kate will want to know.”222

Things weren’t making any sense. How does this man know so much about me and my family? And what does he know about my father? 223

“Please, come with me. I need to grab Roy before we head to your house,” Lyle said. He turned to leave, but the teens didn’t move from where they were standing. “I swear to you that you can trust me.”224

“Those are merely words. It’ll take more than that for me to trust you!” Daniel said.225

“Yet it took “merely words” for you to loathe me as you do.” Lyle said with a smile. “Trust must begin with trust,” he turned and disappeared from the entrance to the dead-end Daniel and Catherine were standing in. 226

“What do you think?” Catherine whispered, looking up at Daniel.227

He thought for a moment. “I don’t know, but I don’t really think we have a choice but to trust him right now,” he grabbed Catherine’s hand and lead the way out of the alley. That and I want to know what news he has on my father. Daniel had to admit that he didn’t know what to think right now, but something was telling him that, at least for the time being, things would be okay.228

--Chapter 3-229

By the time they had found Roy, night had already fallen. Lyle simply picked him up and put him over his shoulder like it was nothing. From there, the awkward looking group began to head for Daniel’s house, Lyle in the lead, followed closely by the young man and Catherine side by side.230

“Do you know where I live?” He asked Lyle curiously. 231

“I do.” The old man replied. “I use to visit often before your father’s disappearance.”232

“Then you were a friend of his?” 233

“More a father-figure than anything. He and Roy here were my students for a good ten years. After they finished my class they stuck around for a while and helped out with the other students. They didn’t have anywhere else to go; no homes, no families, no friends but each other. I elected to take care of them when I first found out, and they agreed. After that, we were kind of like a family.”234

Daniel was silent for a couple of moments before responding. “Was he…a good man?” He asked hopefully. 235

Lyle smiled to himself. “One of the very best.” He stated simply.236

A slight grin came across the young man’s face. He was finally learning about his father. His mother could never really speak more than a few words of him without breaking down to tears, and for that reason, he never brought the subject up. 237

The old man looked back at the two teens walking behind him before looking at Daniel. “Well, aren’t you going to introduce me to the young lady?” 238

“O-oh…right….” He stammered, looking over at Catherine. “This is Catherine Valley; she’s been my best friend for the past seven years. She’s helped me through some pretty tough times in the past. I don’t know what I’d have done without her. She’s been there for me when no one else could be. To say the least, she’s the best thing anyone could ever wish for.” 239

Catherine stared at the ground blushing for most of Daniel’s introduction, but his last words caused her to look up at him, full of surprise.240

“Well, it certainly is a pleasure to meet you Miss Catherine. But from what I heard back in the alley, it seems to me that you two are a bit closer than just friends, am I right?” 241

Both teens looked to the ground blushing, glad for the darkness surrounding them. Another smile slid onto Lyle’s face with the silence that followed his question.242

The rest of their walk was made in silence. The remaining two blocks that were left to travel seemed to vanish behind them in seconds. Before any of them knew, they were walking up Daniel’s driveway and on towards his front door. Catherine rang the doorbell. The three of them could hear movement behind the door and then the clicking of the lock. Mrs. Wise peered around the door and flung it open at the site of her son and his friend, but was not expecting Lyle to be there. 243

Kate just stood there and stared with a bewildered look on her face. 244

“Hello Kate.” The old man began. “It’s been a while. May we come in?”245

“…Lyle, what are you doing here?” She asked.246

“It’s a very long story. But I’m going to need to talk to you before I speak to these two.” 247

“Okay, come on in.” Mrs. Wise opened the door and they made there way inside, one after the other. Apparently, Kate had not seen Roy, because she let out a small cry at the sight of him. “What happened to him?!” 248

“I’ll fill you in while Daniel walks Catherine home.” Lyle said, looking over at the young man. 249

He nodded his understanding. “Come on Catherine.” He said, walking to the front door. Catherine followed close behind. 250

“We have a lot to talk about tomorrow. Get your rest. Good night Miss Catherine.”251

“Good night Sir. Good nigh Mrs. Wise.” Catherine bade, walking out the front door. 252

“Good night, Catherine.” Kate replied with a smile, closing the door behind them.253

The two of them were back out in the night air, the full moon shining brightly all around them. An awkward silence followed them until they reached the park, where Catherine stopped Daniel against the wall. 254

“The things you said earlier, in the alley…were they true?” She asked, searching his eyes again. 255

He stared back, wondering if he should lie. 256

“Daniel…were they true?” She asked desperately.257

“…Yeah, they were.” He answered softly. “I’m sorry…”258

Catherine’s eyes softened and a smile spread across her face as she wrapped her arms around him. “There’s nothing for you to be sorry about. I’ve been crazy about you for months now. God…I was too scared to tell you. I didn’t want to scare you away and risk what we already had.” She said, speaking into his chest.259

“What will you tell your boyfriend, Mark?” 260

“The truth.” She said simply.261

Daniel hesitated, but his arms eventually found their way around Catherine as he rested his cheek atop her head. For the second time that day, everything felt perfect. He finally felt complete; his heart was no longer hollow. His life now held meaning. From that moment on, he knew that for the rest of his life, he would only be living for one person, and she was in his arms. 262

Time seemed to stop for the two as they continued to hold each other underneath the stars and their big companion. When they finally broke the embrace and continued towards Catherine’s house, Daniel put his arm around her shoulder, grasping her hand, and she leaned her head against his chest, reaching her arm around his back. 263

They walked slowly, treasuring the touch and love from the other. 264

“We’re here.” The young man said. He gave Catherine another quick hug. “Good night. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He turned to leave, but she grabbed his hand. “What is it?” He asked.265

Catherine put her arms around Daniel’s neck and brought her lips to his. She paused for just a second before finally kissing him. It was not anything big, and nothing drastic. It was just a normal kiss of the lips. But at that particular moment, it meant the world to the young lady. 266

“Good night Daniel.” She said with a smile. She turned around and slowly walked to the front door, opened it, and closed it behind her. With a smile on his face, Daniel turned around and headed for his place. 267

When he entered the house a couple of minutes later, his mother was standing right there, wearing a proud smile. She walked up to him and gave him a hug. “I’m so proud of you.” She said happily. “I just wish you could have gone a little easy on Roy.” Kate released her son.268

A guilty look took over the young man’s eyes. “Sorry. It was just reaction. I wasn’t really myself. It was kind of like something else took over.” He said apologetically, looking at Lyle. 269

The old man gave a soft chuckle. “It’s quite all right. I’m sure Roy’s just glad to be alive. He looked pretty scared, going up against you.” 270

“I’m not sure why.” Daniel said, a yawn taking him over. “Anyways, I’m going to go ahead and go to sleep. I’ll see you guys in the morning. If Roy wakes up, could you give him my apologies?” 271

“Of course. I’m sure he’ll understand.” His mother said. 272

“Good night.” 273

Lyle waited for the movement upstairs to subside before he looked over to Kate gravely. “This isn’t good.” 274

The smile on Kate’s face disappeared instantly. “I know….” She said. “I know.”275

*~**~*276

It seemed as if Daniel had just shut his eyes when he heard his name being called. 277

“Daniel…Come on man, wake up.” The young man opened his eyes to see Roy kneeling next to his bed. He noticed first thing that Roy’s left eye had a greenish blue tint all around it and above his right eye was a nasty looking scrape. He sat up in his bed, stretching his arms. 278

“Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to.” He said. 279

“No worries. Seriously, I’ve had far worse, this is nothing. But man oh man can you hit. I was seeing stars.” Roy stood up, a big grin on his face. “Anyways, Lyle wanted me to wake you. He just left to go and pick up Catherine. They should be back shortly.” 280

“Okay.” 281

“I’ll give you your privacy. Seeya down-stairs.” 282

Daniel got out of bed and got changed. When he got down-stairs a few minutes later, his mother was in the middle of cooking a large breakfast and Roy was joking around with her, munching on a piece of bacon. 283

“Hey! If it isn’t my number one slugger.” He said, walking over to Daniel. He put his arm around him. “You know…you should introduce me to your lady friend. I mean, you did knock me out cold last night.” 284

The young man looked at him, wondering whether or not to take him seriously. Roy started to laugh.285

“You should really learn to lighten up man. You take things way too seriously.” He said, walking over to the kitchen table to take a seat. 286

“Roy, behave yourself.” Daniel’s mom chided. 287

“Sorry, Kate.” He said, smiling. 288

Daniel looked around and noticed that his sister was no where to be seen. “Where’s Emily?” 289

“Oh, she went to stay at a friend’s yesterday.” His mother said. “It’s a good thing too. She doesn’t need to be a part of all this.”290

“Be a part of what?” 291

“You’ll see soon enough.” Roy said. But the playful look from before was gone, replaced with one of anger and regret. 292

Kate brought the two their breakfast and they ate it in silence. By the time they finished, Lyle was arriving with Catherine. 293

“Ah, just in time. Are you two hungry?” Kate asked. 294

“I’m fine, thanks. I ate before I left.” Catherine replied, taking a seat beside Daniel.295

“Food does sound nice.” Lyle admitted. He accepted the plate with thanks and sat down beside Roy. “If you guys would like, you can go into the living room to wait instead. That’s where we’ll be having the talk anyways. I figured it’d be more comfortable for everybody.” 296

“Oh, okay.” Daniel stood and made his way to the living room. He sat down in the love seat across from the couch. A few moments later, Catherine joined him. 297

“How are you feeling?” She asked.298

“Average I guess. A little sore here and there.” 299

“I know what you mean. When I woke up this morning, I could hardly move.” She paused. They could hear the adults in the other room whispering amongst themselves. “What do you think this talk is going to be about?” 300

“I don’t know…but whatever it is, it can’t be good. The subject was brought up briefly before you arrived and everyone’s mood darkened, I could feel it. I don’t think we’re going to like a word we hear.” The young man said seriously. Roy walked into the room as Daniel finished speaking and took a seat in a chair beside Catherine.301

“You’ve got that right. Nothing that’s going to be said will be pleasant. Except maybe the introduction, but that’s just to get you guys situated so that you’ll understand everything else. Man, this doesn’t feel right.” He stood up and turned the chair around, sitting down in it backwards. “That’s better.” He crossed his arms and leaned on the back of the chair. He looked at Daniel. “…Well?”302

It took a minute for him to realize what Roy was talking about. “Right,” He began with a grin. “Roy, this is Catherine. Catherine, this is Roy. Be careful though, he’s a bit of a kidder.”303

Roy looked at the young man in mock offense. “The nerve of you! I’m insulted. I am in no way a kidder.” He looked over at Catherine. “Would you mind if I called you ‘Cat’? I mean, it certainly fits. You are one fine feline.” He said with a wink. Daniel laughed.304

Catherine looked at him in shock before bursting with laughter. “I don’t mind, but keep your thoughts to yourself.” She said, trying to keep from crying. 305

“You know, that really hurt.” 306

“Roy.” Lyle warned from the kitchen. 307

“Right, sorry.” Daniel and Catherine laughed, and Roy joined them. He entertained them with jokes and a couple of funny stories until Lyle and Kate walked into the room to begin. 308

“Are you guys ready?” Roy asked. 309

“Yeah.” They said together. 310

Lyle was the first to speak. “If any questions arise during what I’m about to tell you, please wait until I’m finished. Most should answer themselves, and those that don’t, we’ll be glad to answer for you in the end.” He let out a deep sigh. “Okay. It’d do you two some good to know that Roy and I aren’t from here. And I’m not just talking about the area, I’m talking about this planet. Where we come from, we don’t have what you call technology, nothing that runs on electricity or the like. Instead, we’ve learned to increase our mental capabilities. Based on the knowledge of the subject on this planet, we’d most likely be called psychics or something of the like.”311

“Enough of that though, what’s more important is how we got here, and the answer is simple; a mirror. But this isn’t possible with just any mirror; it first has to have the Mark of Jegeul. Any mirror that holds this mark is connected to another mirror in the reflected world. Currently, there are only three remaining mirrors, but it’s thought that there were as many as ten, thanks to many days of continuous research.” He said looking at Roy with a smile. 312

“Yeah, no problem.” He responded sardonically. 313

“Anyways,” The old man continued. ”travel with the mirrors is very simple, but just as unbelievable. All you have to do is walk into the mirror. After this, you’ll be in the reflection of your world. From there, proceed to the nearest door. Once through, you’ll find yourself in a room with as many doors as there are mirrors to the neighboring world. Just pick a door, walk through that mirror, and you’re there.”314

Daniel and Catherine were not sure what to think. 315

“You two understand any of that?” Roy asked with a grin. 316

“I understood it fine.” The young man started. “Like he said though, I’m just having a hard time believing it.”317

“Same here.” Catherine added.318

“Believe it or not, it’s true.” Roy laughed.319

“He’s right.” Lyle began. “What I have just told you was to help you understand something on a much larger scale, something that both of you have regrettably become a part of. From here on out, there will be nothing to laugh about. Some of what I tell you will be disturbing, terrifying, disgusting…anything that can be said alongside the word ‘evil’. So, allow me to tell you the story of our past, our home, and our hell.” He paused here and sighed deeply before continuing. 320

“My story begins with the arrival of a child into my class. Now, what I teach is not a necessity here like it is where we come from. Fighting and the art of pain are the only ways to survive, so that’s what I’ve decided to teach. But what I teach is different from what most others teach. I know that, the other teachers know that, and most importantly, my students know that. I’ve never been a fan of unnecessary violence or inflicting pain, so these are things that I teach to avoid. Self-defense and protection are the main points that I enforce. This particular child wasn’t aware of my way of teaching.”321

“When he arrived, he had quite literally come from no where. Nobody knew him, or had even heard of him. So, I invited him to stay at my school, which was still fairly small at the time. There were only five students including Roy and Daniel’s father, Llore. Vher was my sixth. At the time, Roy and Llore were my best students, in every way except for manners.” The old man said, looking at Roy again. 322

He smiled. “We still listened.” He pointed out. 323

“Sometimes…” Lyle said, turning back to Daniel and Catherine. “But, Vher quickly rose up to their level. He seemed to catch on quickly but had a very unique fascination with pain. I often had to interrupt his sparring sessions with other students. Rather than defending, he would sacrifice his well-being for a more opportune blow, which always led to that students resign from the school. Not because they were scared, but because they were beyond recovery. One poor soul even lost his life.” 324

“After my student’s death, to say the least, I was furious. But I did my best to control my anger. When I found Vher, it sounded like he was talking to himself, but when he noticed me he stopped. He immediately began apologizing, begging me for forgiveness. I asked him why I should, and he told me, ‘Because it’s not my fault. It wasn’t me!’ When I asked him what he meant, he ignored me. So I told him to forget it, but that’s when Llore walked up to me and asked me to reconsider. He said that he saw what happened and that it was a complete accident, that the hit was unintentional.”325

“If there was ever a person that I could trust, it was your father, Daniel. After talking to him, I decided to give Vher another chance. But Llore made it clear that Vher would only spar with himself, that way if there was another accident, no one else would become injured based on his decision. I agreed.”326

“After that, it seemed that Llore and Vher had unofficially become rivals. Though Vher didn’t change his approach, your father was still having no problems with him.”327

“Things finally seemed to be going well, until four years later when Vher killed in my class again, but this time, it had been self-defense. One of my older students was harassing him one day and finally pulled a blade on him. Vher ignored him, so he got attacked, but wasn’t the one who got injured. The blade was in my student’s throat before anyone knew what had happened. But again, your father stood up for him. He said that the attack would have been fatal if he had let it be, so it was the student’s fault.”328

“Now, as bad as that may sound, it’s true, and its custom where we come from. If you’re willing to kill, you’re willing to be killed. This is also true with just about everything else in life, so keep this fresh in your minds at all times.”329

“This was the last student that we know he killed. Plenty more disappeared, but there was never any reason to believe it was Vher, for the only one he ever sparred with was Llore, and nobody ever bothered them, as a matter of fact, nobody really liked them. They were the only ones that were able to complete the given tasks without really trying, and they were the only ones that nobody could mess with.”330

“Hey,” Roy said objectively. “I was able to complete all the tasks just as fast, and I still messed with them. Why do you got to leave me out for?” 331

Lyle ignored him and continued. “A couple of years later, Vher, Llore, and Roy here, graduated top of their class. After that, we never really saw Vher. He had disappeared just as suddenly as he had come.332

“But all of this leads us into the deeper, darker portion of my story. You see, soon after Vher’s disappearance, villages and small towns began to be attacked and destroyed. Men and children were the only ones killed though. All of the women and young girls were being kidnapped, some as young as fourteen. No one knew who was doing this, or why they would, but sadly, these questions were answered much sooner than we had expected.”333

“You see, there weren’t many places for them to attack at this point. Our small little village was the only thing left. The rest of the surrounding areas were heavily armed cities.”334

“I told a friend of mine what was going on and had all of the women and children evacuated to our closest neighboring city. Being head of all soldiers and guards in that city, he gave me fifty men to help defend the village after receiving permission from his commanding officer. There were only seventy-nine men to defend our village when all were accounted for, including the fifty that my friend had lent us.”335

“I can remember that day perfectly. We had waited for hours in the dark, the rain soaking us to the bone. There wasn’t a sound in the air, and everybody was staring out into the surrounding darkness fixedly, waiting for any signs of movement.”336

“It felt like we were out there for days.” Roy added, interrupting Lyle. “With the rain pounding on us constantly for six hours, and the suspense that came with the knowledge of knowing you could be dead just minutes later, people began to get edgy. Hell, even I started getting a bit scared. The only one that seemed to be okay was Llore. Damn him.” Roy said with a grin. “He was always calm and he never seemed to scare; he just stood there with that same placid look on his face the whole time.”337

“I asked him how he was keeping so calm and this is what that smartass said. ‘I’m not going to die.’” Roy repeated with mock significance.338

Lyle looked at Roy in disappointment. “That was a very poor imitation and a rude one at that. Further more; Llore said something following that contained much more importance.” He looked back at Daniel and Catherine. “‘Fear not the dark, but what it hides. Pale white men of larger size.’” Lyle stopped here to let what he had said sink in. 339

Daniel spoke before the old man could continue. “What did it mean? ‘Pale white men of larger size’?” 340

“At first, not even I understood what your father was speaking of Daniel,” Lyle replied. “But after my mind digested his words, I soon realized that our reality was about to turn into a terrible nightmare.”341

“You see,” Roy began, in a much more serious tone, one that clashed with his usual carefree personality. “In our world, there is a certain species of man, one that rivals the evil of the demons from Tsole. We call them Fiend. They’re about two heads taller than the average man and built a lot larger, kind of like Lyle here. They have milk-white skin, green hair, and a thirst for blood that makes some of the more evil men in our world cringe. These were the things your father was referring to.” 342

“And sadly, the things that we all had to go up against.” Lyle began again. “They’re not the smartest things, but they’re the deadliest known to the people of our world. There must have been about twenty of them that attacked us, and by the time the last Fiend had been killed, there were only seven men left alive, including me, Roy, and Llore. Everything around us was stained red with blood and the ground was littered with bodies.”343

“I sent two of the men that remained back to the city to report everything to my friend. After they left, we began to clean the place up, lining up the bodies to be buried. The other two were in very bad shape and ended up dying before the night was over. I’ll spare you the details of the rest, and just leave you knowing that none of the bodies were completely whole.” 344

Daniel could not believe what he was hearing, but more so, could not understand how this had anything to do with Vher. “I’m afraid you’ve lost me. What do the Fiend have to do with Vher, and how does all of this tie in with my father?” He asked.345

“You see Daniel,” Lyle said importantly. “The Fiend were sent by Vher. He was the one controlling them the whole time; sending them to attack all of those villages and towns. And it wasn’t until months later that I found out why he was doing it. Which, consequently, led to finding out what was happening to all of the women and girls.”346

“Up until then, nothing was known about the Fiend other than their disgusting need to kill. One day I got an avian message requesting immediate help and assistance. I gathered as many able-bodied soldiers willing to fight as I could and set out at once. We got there about an hour later, and what we saw was something that I still have nightmares over. The scene below was one of evil at its worst. Most of the village was in flames every male of every age had already been killed. As for the women, let’s just say that the Fiend use them to reproduce, and keep it at that.”347

Catherine gasped and brought her hands up to her mouth, a tear running down her cheek and Mrs. Wise shut her eyes and shook her head, as if to shake the image from her mind. Daniel clenched his fists to help control his anger at the injustice of it all.348

“As for why Vher was doing this, there were two reasons. First, and most importantly, he was building an army. By attacking the smaller villages, he was ensuring his attacks success. Sending ten Fiend would have been enough to do the job, but he always sent closer to fifty. While the Fiend’s numbers increased, he was also getting rid of potential soldiers. Secondly, he wanted to show Llore that he was strong. I know this may sound strange and improbable, but it’s the truth. While he was still in my class, though he was just as good as Llore, he was always seen as the second best, and this bothered him something fierce. But he never acted on those feelings and aggressions. Instead, he stored them and let them grow until it was a hate stronger than any ever known.”349

Daniel looked at Lyle in disbelief. “Everything he’s done has just been to prove that he was stronger? He’s killing all of those people for something as trivial as a position in a class? Because a couple of kids saw him as second and not first?”350

“Yep, that’s about the sum of it.” Roy said. “Pretty stupid, huh? 351

Daniel had to agree. He could not understand how something so small and unimportant could drive someone to do things so malevolent.352

“But Vher wasn’t satisfied with just showing your father how strong and powerful he was. He wanted Llore to feel the pain that he could inflict and even more, kill him. While Vher was as strong as he was, he was scared of Llore. He knew that if there was anybody that could stop him, it was the man that he hated most dearly. 353

-Chapter 4-354

“I feared for Llore’s life and tried to find a place for him to hide. He was against it at first, but after I talked to him, he agreed. I knew that he’d never be safe in our world, and knew of only one other place. I took him to the only Mirror that I knew of and lead him through it and to the other side. I told him that I’d come back with Roy every now and then to visit and keep him updated, but not too often.” Lyle’s eyes took on a far off look as he continued, reliving the past.355

“He said okay, and walked off. Didn’t even look back. He met Kate not long after, and about two years later, she was pregnant with you.”356

Daniel looked over at his mother. She was smiling back at him with tears in her green eyes. She too, had a nostalgic look to her.357

“And then, a couple of years later, I was with child again, with Emily.” Kate began. “You were about two and a half years old.” She paused. Daniel noticed that his mother’s chin was trembling slightly. “Your father disappeared about a month before Emily was born.” She said, more tears falling from her eyes. “I remember the last time I saw him. He had walked up from behind me while I was getting ready for bed and put his arms around me. He rested his head on my shoulder and just held me.” Mrs. Wise was now crying freely, but she was still smiling at her son.358

“We sat there in silence for a long time. When he spoke, it was just above a whisper. He said, ‘I love you Katelynn.’ …After that, I turned around and kissed him, and held him for as long as I could. If I had known then that that would be the last time that I would see him, I would have never let go. But I did…” Daniel stood up and walked over to his mother. She rose and pulled him into a hug, holding him tightly. He returned the embrace with as much love as he could. He had never known how his mother felt about his father, nor how much she was missing him. 359

For the first time in his life, he was angry with his father. Infuriated that he would ever leave his wife the way he did. He would never be able to forgive him for what he had put his mother through. 360

“I love you Daniel. I love you so much.”361

“I love you too Mom.” The young man heard Catherine let out a small sob from behind him. He felt his mother signal for her to join them, and felt Catherine’s arms around the two of them seconds later. Her eyes were just as red and tearful has his mother’s were. 362

“Roy.” Daniel began.363

“What’s up?”364

“Where did he go?” He asked turning around. “Where’d my father go?”365

Roy opened his mouth to answer but closed it after no words came. He looked at Daniel apologetically and shrugged.366

“The truth is Daniel, we don’t know.” Lyle said. “We never heard from him on the other side, and when we came back here, he had already been gone for a little over a month. Emil had already been born.” 367

“So…for all we know, he could be dead?” Daniel asked.368

Lyle nodded. There was a palpable silence that followed and it did not seem that anyone was willing to break it. Catherine walked back over to the loveseat and sat down.369

“Um….Yesterday in the alley, you said you were testing us...What did you mean by that?” She asked.370

Nobody answered right away, waiting to see if someone else would answer first. “Well,” Roy said. “Lyle and I needed to know how much training you two were going to need and in what areas you would need it.”371

“I’m afraid I still don’t understand.” 372

Lyle let out another sigh. “You and Daniel have to come back to our world with us.” 373

“What do you mean we have to?” Daniel asked incredulously. “Not to be rude, but we have a say in this.”374

“I’m afraid you don’t Daniel. You two will have to come with us now, or be dragged into the war much more violently down the road. I know this hardly seems fair, but it’s what has to be done.” 375

“War? What war? And what does any of this have to do with Catherine?” 376

Roy stood and faced Daniel, that same melancholy look from before breakfast back on his face. “The war that the two of you are being forced to take part in. If it were up to us, we’d destroy the mirrors and cut off connections completely.” He said, indicating himself and Lyle. “But the Throne has said otherwise. They want the two of you because of some damn prophecy that they’ve found.”377

“And what’d it say?” Catherine asked.378

“I don’t know, they didn’t say. But what they did say was that if we didn’t bring you guys back, they would.” 379

Daniel looked to Lyle to confirm this, and he nodded. 380

“So when do we leave?” He asked.381

“In a week. Roy and I have to go back and make preparations and ensure that everything’s safe. We’ll be back Saturday and we’ll be leaving Sunday.382

“What should I tell my parents?” Catherine asked quietly. 383

“Don’t worry about that; just enjoy your time with them.” Mrs. Wise said. “I’ll talk to them, okay?”384

Catherine nodded. There was another considerable silence following this in which nobody moved. Catherine was staring at the floor blankly and Daniel was still going over everything in his head. Lyle cleared his throat and Roy got out of his seat. 385

“We need to be going Kate.” He said.386

“Yeah, lots to do.”387

“Alright.” Mrs. Wise stood and hugged both of them. “You two be safe now.”388

“Don’t worry,” Roy said with another smile. “I’ll keep an eye on him.”389

“Yeah…” The old man replied. “I’ll be seeing you Kate.” And with that, the two left. Mrs. Wise stood at the door for a moment before turning to speak to her son. 390

“I’m…going to go ahead and go get Emily. I’ll take her to the grocery store with me to give you two some time to talk.”391

Daniel nodded his understanding. The door shut again, and the two teens were now alone in the quiet house. The young man continued to stand where he was in disbelief. Just yesterday, he had been leading a normal life, and now, all of that felt like a distant dream. But perhaps that is all this was, a dream. He would probably be waking up any minute now to go and meet Catherine for her birthday. He looked over to where Catherine was sitting on the loveseat. She was staring back at him. 392

“Is all of this happening?” He asked numbly.393

She nodded. “Come sit-down.”394

Daniel walked over and took a seat beside Catherine. She lifted up his arm and put it around her, laying her head on his chest. “All of this feels like a dream.” She whispered.395

“Tell me about it.” His voice sounded distant and far-off. He was hardly aware of anything that was going on around him. The whole conversation kept replaying itself over and over in his head. All of this was about some guy who held a grudge and decided to take it out on the world. Now there was a war starting and royalty from another world wanted them to fix it. None of it made sense! Daniel heard Catherine’s voice, bringing him from his reverie. 396

“Daniel?” 397

“Yeah? What is it?” He asked looking down at her398

“I called your name two times and you didn’t answer.” She said concern in her voice. “Are you okay?”399

“Yeah…I’m just going over things in my head.” He grabbed her hand. “What about you? How are you holding up?”400

She gave a strained sort of laugh. “I’m still waiting to wake up.” 401

“I…I don’t think we will.” He said, giving her hand a comforting squeeze. 402

“That’s fine, as long as I’m with you, that’s fine.” 403

“Come on.” He said. “Let’s get you home.”404

Seconds later, they were outside in the dazzling sunlight. The sky was a clear forget-me-not blue, dotted here and there with the occasional cloud. There was a gentle breeze blowing around stray leaves all about them, bringing with it the unmistakable smell of spring. 405

“It’s beautiful out.” Catherine said stretching her arms and taking a deep breath. Had it been under normal circumstances, he would have agreed whole-heartedly, but with the depressing future ahead of them, everything seemed to be dull.406

They walked slowly on the sidewalk, doing their best to enjoy the weather. Catherine seemed to be doing so just fine, but Daniel kept thinking back to the horrors from the tale they had just heard. The Fiend seemed to be the nastiest things he had ever heard of. What if they were attacked by the Fiend while they were there? What if Catherine-?407

“I’m going to talk to Lyle and see if I can persuade him to let you stay.” Daniel said suddenly. “I don’t want you going.”408

Catherine stopped to look at him. “What do you mean?”409

“I mean, it’s too dangerous. You heard about the Fiend and that creep, Vher. Who knows what else is there. Not to mention they want us to fight in a war. I don’t like the idea of you being there, not with that kind of danger around.”410

Catherine smiled. “Daniel, if I’m with you, I’m sure I’ll be safe enough. If you go, I go.” She turned and continued walking, but Daniel stayed where he was.411

“No.”412

She stopped again. “Daniel, you can’t expect me to stay here worrying about you every day, for God knows how long. It’d be torture!” She said turning on him.413

“I’m sorry if it sounds harsh, but I’d rather you be safe here with worry than there and within reach of the Fiend.” 414

“Daniel, I don’t care about the Fie--.”415

“I do!” He said loudly, catching the attention of a couple of pedestrians. “You heard what Lyle said about the Fiend as well as I did! They will not hesitate to kill you!"416

“And do you think that they’re going to walk right past you?! You’ll be in just as much danger as I will.” She took a deep breath. “Look, Daniel, I know you’re worried, but Lyle and Roy will be there too. I’m sure they’ve already thought about this, and probably far more than we could ever imagine. They don’t want either of us to go there any more than you want me to go. They’ll be well prepared, I’m sure”417

Daniel stared at her. She had a point. He did not really stop to think about Lyle and Roy’s familiarity with their world and its occupants. 418

“…Okay, but I’m still going to talk to Lyle. I don’t want anything happening to you.”419

A couple of minutes later, the young man was saying good-bye to Catherine, and turning around to make his way back home. He hardly recalled entering his house and walking up to his bedroom as he was lying on his bed staring at the ceiling. No matter how he looked at it, he could never make much sense out of Lyle’s story. There was still so much missing from it all. How was Vher controlling the Fiend? What did this prophecy that got them into this mess say? Are he and Catherine really expected to fight in a war that had nothing to do with them? 420

Before he knew it, Emily was in his doorway letting him know dinner was done. He got up to go down stairs, but Emily had not left yet.421

“Did you and Catherine really get together?” She asked curiously, starting on her way downstairs.422

“Yeah, we did.” Daniel replied awkwardly. It felt weird talking to his sister about dating Catherine.423

She smiled. “I’m glad. You two are a good match. I was starting to think you’d never tell her though. I mean, you’ve like her for ages now.”424

He stared at her for a moment. “And you know this how?” 425

“I’m a girl.” She said simply as they entered the kitchen. “Plus, when you were around her, it was as easy to read as a book.”426

“Oh…” He took a seat at the table. “Did Mom tell you about me and Catherine then?”427

“Yeah, she told me everything.”428

“Everything?”429

“Yes, everything; including last night with Lyle and Roy.”430

Daniel dropped his fork and looked at his mother. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t you say that she didn’t need to be a part of all of this?” 431

“Well,” Mrs. Wise began slowly. “She pretty much knew already. She told me that she had had a dream about you and Catherine being chased and then about the talk we had this morning. She even quoted some of the lines from Lyle’s story word for word.” 432

Memory of the dream he had the afternoon before came flooding back. 433

“I had a dream too. About Lyle’s test…I dreamt about every last detail, all the way down to the smell of that alley.” He said looking over at his mother.434

“Daniel, did you have pains when you remembered your dream?” She asked. Emily was looking from one to the other wondering what she was missing.435

“Yeah, I did. Why?” 436

“No reason, I was just curious.” She returned to what she was doing and left it at that. Emily leaned across the table.437

“What’s she on about?” She whispered.438

He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know.” 439

After dinner, Daniel went back to his room and prepared for bed. Not because he was tired, but because he needed the peace. After his mind had been so active, he felt that he needed to relax. 440

He awoke the next morning at about 5:30 and jumped in the shower. Afterwards, he went down stairs and started some breakfast. By the time it was finished, Emily and his mother were in the kitchen setting up the table. The three of them ate breakfast in silence staring at their plates. When Daniel finished, he rinsed his plate off in the sink and said good-bye to his mother and Emily, before setting off to school.441

It was hard to imagine that there were still people leading everyday lives without a care in the world. But then again, they did not have parents from other planets. 442

The day was uneventful. Classes consisted of reviewing for the exams that were to take place Wednesday through Friday, which did not really do Daniel any good. He was top in all of his classes, and was expected to graduate valedictorian by a few of his teachers. When it came to school, everything was second nature. He did not really learn anything. To him, it kind of felt like remembering things from a long time past. 443

By the time the final bell rang, his head was throbbing from his teacher’s droning and the yells and screams of his classmates. As he entered the hallway and began to make his way towards the rear exit, Catherine came from a class a few doors down.444

“Hey, wait for me up at the front of the school. I need to talk to you.” 445

Daniel stared at her and tried to size her up, but could not make out much from her expression. “Is everything okay?” He asked as a small group of students walked by.446

“Yeah, just wait for me.” She said.447

“…Alright.” He turned around and started up the hallway. The halls were full of loud and hyper-active teens running around with no regard to the others around them. Sometimes Daniel wondered whether he was in high school or kindergarten. 448

He walked out of one of the twin glass doors and walked up to the end of the brick wall and stood to wait by a bench. As he looked around, he noticed that the place had not changed since his freshman year. The old country-barrel flower pots still lined the center of the walkway every three yards or so. The courtyard still had the same little plants and young saplings here and there with the American and school flags in the center. 449

The glass doors opened again. Daniel looked over and saw Catherine’s boyfriend, Mark, and a couple of his friends walk out of the building. Mark caught site of him and started walking his direction immediately. He did not look happy.450

“Hey Daniel, what’s up?” He asked calmly, stopping in front of him. His friends were not so relaxed. Two of them were looking around nervously, and the other was mouthing ‘Sorry!” behind Mark’s back.451

“Why are you acting like that?” Daniel asked. 452

Mark stared at him for a moment. “Acting like what.” He asked, in a would-be-casual voice. 453

Daniel sighed deeply. “I don’t have time for this. If you’ve got something to say, say it.”454

The look on Mark’s face changed to an ugly grimace, and his face turned red with his coming anger. “I see we’ve got a smart-ass here.” He said, pushing Daniel against the wall. “It looks like I’m going to have to teach you some damn manners!” He drew back and punched Daniel in the stomach, but to no affect. He flexed before Mark’s punch landed so the poorly thrown hit was barely felt. 455

“Look,” Daniel began. “I don’t want trouble. I didn’t mean for things to happen the way they did.”456

“Damn right you’re sorry!” He was not listening. Daniel dodged from the wall so that he stood with his back to the school’s entrance. 457

“Come on, Mark.” One of his friends pleaded. “He said he was sorry.”458

“Shut up! I’ll make sure he’s sorry…Sorry for messing with my girl! I’ll kill him!” He threw another punch but it was smacked away almost instantly. 459

“Damn-it Mark! Let me explain, you don’t understand.” 460

“NO!” He yelled.461

“Look,” Daniel put his hands behind his back. “I’m not defending. I don’t want to fight you, let’s talk this out.” He was answered with a punch straight to the face. 462

“Come on Daniel, fight back.” He hit him again. “Come on!” 463

The doors to the school opened again, and Catherine’s voice could be heard instantly. “Mark! Stop it!” She was running towards them and stopped just in front of Daniel. “What do you think you’re doing?!” She yelled.464

“What does it look like? I’m showing him what happens when he messes with my girl.” Mark replied with a sneer.465

Catherine’s eyes narrowed. “I am nobody’s property Mark. I am not something to be had, so do not insult me as such.” She said in a low and dangerous voice. 466

Mark glared at her with just as much anger in his eyes as she had. “If you don’t get out of my way, I’ll go right through you.” He said coldly.467

“Is that a threat?!” She asked hotly.468

“Whatever it was, it better not happen again.” Daniel said coldly.469

“Oh yeah?” Mark asked sarcastically. “And what would you do if I was to, oh, let’s say…hit her!” He had a crazed look in his eye as he raised his hand to her, but it did not have time to do much else. Daniel had rushed forward and was now holding Mark’s wrist above his head in a vice-like grip.470

“I wouldn’t.” He said darkly.471

Catherine was looking at the scene, in shock due to Mark’s insane behavior. “What’s wrong with you?” She asked. But as she said this he went right for an upper-cut to Daniel’s chin. Reading the movements as quickly as they occurred, Daniel stepped back and the blow missed completely. 472

By now, Mark’s friends were watching fearfully, looking all around every other second. Apparently they were worried about being suspended just before exams. 473

Mark was swinging his free fist over and over again, hitting Daniel on the side of his face repeatedly. There was a slight pause, and he drew back as far as he could this time. He hit him full in the face, but Daniel’s grip on his wrist did not slacken. He gathered all of the blood from the cut that was now in the side of his mouth and spit it to the side. 474

“Daniel!” Catherine cried desperately. “Fight back!”475

Mark went to throw another punch, but Daniel was taking Catherine’s advice. He let go of Mark’s wrist and ducked below the oncoming punch. As it flew over his head, Daniel caught his fist and placed his other hand on the underside of his elbow and pushed down forcefully. Mark was sent into a bow with a gasp of pain. Daniel brought Mark’s arm behind his back and held it parallel to his waist as he got him on his knees. Mark swung his other arm behind his back to try and hit Daniel some more, but he caught it and placed it with the other.476

“Could one of you take off his belt please?” 477

All three of Mark’s friends stared at Daniel blankly for a minute, but one of them eventually came forward and undid his belt. Daniel took it and tied Mark’s arms behind his back, but he still needed more. The young man looked up at the three of them and looked them over.478

“You,” He said, nodding towards one with a long-sleeved shirt tied around his waist. “Could I borrow that shirt around your waist?” The boy took it off and tossed it over. 479

He wrapped the body of the shirt around Mark’s front and made sure both sleeves crossed directly over the middle of his arms. He tied the shirt around him as well, slipping the belt into the complicated knot so that with a simple tug, a small dose of pain could be delivered. 480

“Walk him home will you? We’ve wasted enough time here already. If he gives you any problems just pull up on the knot and it’ll shut him up.” He walked over to Catherine. “Let’s go.” As he said this, Daniel noticed that a small crowd had gathered at the glass doors and many of the people were whispering to one another. 481

Catherine nodded and led the way. They walked all the way to her house in silence, and once she walked up to her front door, she turned to look at him. He stared back uneasily, unsure of what to say. It felt like they were staring at each other for at least five minutes before Daniel finally spoke.482

“I guess…I’ll…see you tomorrow.” He said awkwardly. He turned to leave, but as he did, Catherine let out a small whimper and was hugging him from behind before he could take more than a step. 483

“Don’t go…” She was crying into his back. “J-Just stay with m-me.” 484

Daniel turned around and put his arms around her. “What’s wrong?”485

“Oh…everything D-Daniel.” She sobbed. “First, Lyle and R-Roy chase us around the city, then w-we have that dreadful talk and find out we h-have to leave our families, and now M-Mark’s trying to k-kill you. I-It’s just one terrible thing after a-another.”486

“Let’s sit down.” He led Catherine up to her porch and they sat down, his arm around her shoulders. 487

She leaned her head against him and continued. “I just don’t think I can take much m-more of this.” 488

The young man’s heart sank. Everything thing that was bothering Catherine was in some way, his fault. 489

“I’m sorry…” He said weakly. He tried to say more, but no words would come.490

“Daniel, you don’t have anything to be apologizing for, and don’t you dare blame yourself for any of the things that have happened the past couple of days. They were out of your control.” She stated looking up at him. Her eyes were still glassy, but the tears had stopped coming. “Daniel, I don’t blame you for any of this.” She placed her hand on his cheek. 491

He smiled. “Thanks.” At that time, a car came pulling into Catherine’s driveway. It was Mrs. Valley. Daniel stood. “I’d better get going, I’ve got some things to think about and stuff to prepare. I’ll see you tomorrow okay?” 492

Catherine nodded and gave him a hug before he left. “Bye.”493

He made his way down the walk-way, saying hello to Mrs. Valley as he walked by. He took his time walking home and when he got there; his mother was shutting the car door. She looked at him curiously. 494

“You’re home a bit late.”495

‘Yeah…I kind of got into a fight. Catherine’s boyfriend wasn’t happy with the news.” He said stopping in front of her. 496

“I see…are you okay?” She asked.497

“I’m fine.” Daniel followed his mother into the house and took a seat at the kitchen table. A few seconds later, she sat down beside him with a towel wrapped around some ice. “What’s that for?”498

“Turn your head to the left.” He did as he was told, and she pressed the towel gently against his cheek. It stung a little, but he ignored it. “How many times did he hit you?” 499

“I don’t know, I didn’t count. Why?”500

“Because you don’t bruise easily.”501

“Is it that bad?”502

“It won’t go unnoticed, but it’s not as bad as Roy’s was.” She continued to dab his face. “By the way, how’s Catherine taking everything?”503

“Not too well. She broke down, just after the fight. She’s pretty stressed out with all that’s happened.”504

Mrs. Wise put the towel down and stared at her son. “What about you? How are you taking to all of this?”505

He thought for a moment. “I don’t know, I guess well, if that’s what you would call it. Are you worried?”506

“Of course I am! It’s not every day that my son is forced into fighting a war!” She said as a tear rolled down her face. She picked up the towel and put it against her son’s cheek again with a trembling hand.507

“Mom, I’ll come back…I promise.” He said reassuringly.508

His mother smiled and two more tears fell from her eyes. “I know you will.” She continued with the towel and ice for a little while longer before letting him go. 509

“I was going to stay home from school tomorrow to prepare for the trip.” He said standing up. “Are you okay with that?” 510

“If you feel that’s what’s best, I trust you, but I’m still expecting you to pass your exams.”511

“Don’t worry, I will.” Daniel went through the hallway and up the stairs, towards his room. Shutting the door behind him, he went directly to his closet and pulled out two short-sleeved shirts and one long-sleeved. He put these on his bed and walked over to his dresser, tossing two pairs of socks and underwear on the bed as well. Soon, the bed was laden with things that he would be taking with him, but there were still a couple of items that he felt they would need and he planned on getting them the following day. 512

It was about five o’clock before he had packed his belongings in his back pack and placed it beside the door. Unsure as he was about what to expect, Daniel was doing his best to leave no stone unturned. He began doing sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups, stretches, and anything else that he could think of that he thought would help. An hour later, he was lying on the floor at the foot of his bed, exhausted. 513

The next day, he stopped at the nearest store and grabbed the stuff he had thought of the night before. In the end, he had a cheap pocket knife, some fifty-pound test fishing line, a couple of rolls of bandages, some rubbing alcohol, and four condoms. He dropped his stuff off at home and went back out to work out some more. It was about two hours later that he noticed the time and left the garage to go meet Catherine as she got out of school.514

-Chapter 5-515

When he got there, the doors were just opening and the bell was still ringing. The young man spotted Catherine about five minutes later talking to one of her friends. A smile spread across her face as she caught sight of him and she made her way over through the crowd. 516

“Where’ve you been?” 517

“Preparing for the trip and conditioning.” 518

“I see…” She said looking him over. “That would explain the sweat. What about your exams, aren’t you going to study?” 519

“No need. You know how I am with school. I could get past it all in my sleep.”520

Catherine laughed. “Yeah, well, I’m glad somebody finds it to be easy. Maybe you could help me out with some of the stuff I’ve been having trouble with.”521

“Sure, if you want, we could go work on it now. I’d have to wash up of course.” 522

“That’d be great. I’ll meet you at your house in, let’s say, thirty-minutes?”523

“That’s fine with me.”524

About forty-minutes later, Daniel was answering the door fresh out of the shower.525

“Are you ready?” Catherine asked.526

“Yeah, come in.” He led her up the stairs and into his room where he sat down at his desk. When she walked in, she noticed how clean and organized the room was. “How was school today? Did you have any problems with Mark?”527

She took a seat on the edge of his bed and continued to look around. “No…not really. He just questioned me about you and all. Actually, he seemed kind of paranoid. He kept looking over his shoulder.” 528

“Hmm, maybe I should have just pushed him off instead of tying him up like that.” He said thoughtfully.529

“No, to tell you the truth, I think you should have given him a hit or two, it would have served him right. Now he’s got it in his head that you’re scared of him.” She said reprovingly. “He’s planning to have a go at you again, so keep an open eye out for him.” 530

“I’m not worried about it. What was it that you were having trouble with?”531

“Oh yeah.” She pulled out a pen and paper from her jeans pocket. “Do you remember what the formula for a sphere’s volume and surface area are?” 532

“Um, let’s see. Volume is V equals four divided by three times pi times the radius cubed.” He waited a moment. “You get that?”533

“Mmhmm.” 534

“And surface area is S equals four times pi times the radius squared.”535

Catherine finished jotting down the formulae. “Thanks.” She said brightly.536

“Was that all?” He asked surprised.537

“Yep.” She went to lie back on the bed, but hit the bag of supplies that Daniel had bought earlier that day. “What’s all this.” She asked curiously.538

“Just stuff that I got for the trip.”539

She poured the bag’s contents onto the bed and looked through them until she came across the condoms. “And these are for what exactly?” She asked with a smile, blushing slightly.540

“Water, they hold more than you’d think, and they hardly take up any room at all. Very convenient.”541

“I see…what exactly were you talking about when you mentioned conditioning?”542

“Working out mainly. Some stretching and running too, but that’s about it.”543

“Do you think that’s necessary?” Catherine asked.544

“I hope not. If it is, I don’t think we’re going to like our stay too much.” Daniel pauses a moment with thought. “While we’re on the subject…How are you coping?” 545

Catherine sighed and looked at the floor. “Okay I guess. I mean, it’s not like it’s the easiest thing to accept…ya’ know?” 546

The young man got up and sat on the bed beside his friend. “Catherine, I’d like to tell you that everything’s going to be okay, but I don’t know that I’d be telling the truth this time. The truth is, I don’t know what to expect on the other side. It’s kind of freaking me out. I’ve always been able to prepare to the point of not having to worry…but how do you prepare for the unknown?”547

A forced smile came over her face. “You know Daniel, of all the people in the world, I figured you’d be the last to be scared of anything.” 548

There was a knock at Daniel’s door. “Come in.”549

Emily was standing in the hallway and took a step forward to come in, but stopped when she spotted Catherine. “Oh…sorry.” She turned to leave.550

“No, it’s fine, I was just leaving anyways.” Catherine stood up. “I’ll see you tomorrow Daniel.” She walked out of the room with a quick ‘Bye’ to Emily and disappeared down the steps. 551

“…Is she alright?” Emily asked 552

“I’m…not sure.” Daniel replied uncertainly.553

His sister walked across the room and sat in the chair by his desk. “You guys must be going through a lot with all that’s happened.” 554

“Yeah…”555

She paused. “I’ve just been talking with Mom…and she says that you two could be gone for a long time…”556

“I guess that’s possible…” He said haltingly.557

“Yeah, it is. Which is why I’m here…to tell you that you’d better come back.” Emily’s voice became suddenly stern and her eyes began to bore into Daniel’s. “Mom’s already lost Dad to all of this mess. I don’t want you to be the next one she starts crying over in the middle of the night. Think about this before you think to try anything heroic over there will you?” She stood up and placed a hand on her brother’s shoulder. “I know you didn’t ask for this Daniel,” Emily said in a softer voice. “But now it’s your responsibility to see it through…Just do so without killing yourself okay?” She walked over to his door and bade him goodnight before closing it behind her. 558

Daniel was not sure what he was feeling when he heard the door shut, but he knew it was something between indignation and guilt. He put all of his supplies back in the plastic bag and set it beside the back-pack beside the door before retiring to the warmth of his bed. The sky was still burning the bright orange of late afternoon, but the young man felt unusually tired. He stared at the ceiling for a couple of minutes, thinking aimlessly over all of the things that had changed about his life within the past week before finally falling fast asleep.559

*~**~*560

The next day, he went in to school early to talk to some of his teachers about taking his exams that day. He told them that he was preparing for a long vacation that he would be leaving for in a couple of days and that he would not be able to make it to school Thursday or Friday. They eventually agreed, but doubted whether or not Daniel would be able to finish all of his exams in a single day, but, by the time the bell rang for seventh-period to begin, he had already finished his last test.561

He spent the following two days conditioning his body further, trying his hardest to push himself to the max without over exerting himself. Catherine was busy with studying for her exams, so Daniel did not hear much from her over the final days of the week. It was not until Saturday morning that he talked to her again. 562

The door bell rang again as he was making his way down the stairs and heard the front door open. When he got there, Emily was just turning around to go get him.563

“Oh,” She said mildly surprised. “Catherine’s here.” She made her way back to the kitchen. 564

“Hey, I got your exam scores for you. Mrs. Beckly gave them to me yesterday on my way out.” Catherine handed Daniel an already opened envelope. “I, uh, kind of peeked at them out of curiosity.” She said honestly. “I hope you don’t mind.” 565

Daniel smiled. “Don’t worry about it. They’re just test scores.” He said, stuffing it in his pocket. “Speaking of, how did you do?”566

“Well,” She said sitting on the steps. “Not nearly as good as you did of course, but I did fairly well. I averaged in the low nineties.” 567

Daniel closed the door behind him with a laugh and joined her on the porch steps. “You make it sound like I’m some kind of genius or something. You’re just as smart as I am.” 568

“Daniel!” She exclaimed. “You got over a one-hundred percent on all of your exams!”569

“Yeah well, it’s not like I try or anything. It just happens that way.” He said lying back, sighing deeply. “God, I’m tired.” He could feel sleep threatening to take him that very moment, but fought it off. 570

“Why are you so tired?” She asked looking at her wrist-watch. “It’s nearly noon. Normally you’re fully charged about now.”571

“Well, I normally don’t stay up for three days straight.” He said smiling at Catherine. 572

Her eyes widened at the news, full of worry. “Daniel! You shouldn’t do that! You’ll make yourself sick! What’s so important that you’re risking your health like this?” 573

“That would be the other reason I’m so tired.” 574

“What do you mean?” She asked rather seriously.575

“I’ve been working out the whole time.”576

Catherine looked at Daniel for a long time, unsure of what to say. “Why?” She paused. “What are you trying to do?” 577

“Here,” He said lifting his shoulders off of the ground. “Push down on my stomach.”578

She looked at him uncertainly before complying. When she pressed down, she was expecting her finger to sink in a bit, but instead, it was like pressing down on a wooden table.579

“Oh my God, Daniel…you’re hard as rock.” 580

“Yeah, that’s what I was working at.” He said. “Or at least one of the things I was working at.” He said falling back onto the ground.581

Catherine stood. “Come on. You need to get some rest.” She helped him up and pushed him playfully towards the front door. “You go ahead and go to your room; I’ll be there in a sec. I’m going to talk to your mom for a minute.”582

When Daniel entered his room, he fell to his hands and knees, breathing heavily through his exhaustion. It had taken all he had to control his labored breathing while with her, not to mention dealing with the aching pains coming from all his body. He tried to crawl to his bed but collapsed, passing out instantly.583

*~**~*584

When Catherine walked into Daniel’s room, what she saw caused her to freeze momentarily. She came to her senses with a rush of fear and hurried to Daniel’s side. 585

“Daniel. Daniel!” She said shaking him by his shoulders. “Daniel, wake up. Wake up Daniel!”586

“What’s going on?’ Emily had just walked into the doorway, looking at the scene in a mix of worry and curiosity. 587

“I don’t know! He’s not responding!” Catherine said desperately.588

“I’ll go get Mom!” Emily was downstairs shouting for her mother seconds later, hoping above all else that Daniel was okay. “Mom!” Not in the kitchen. “Mom!!” Not in the living room. “Mom!!!” Where was she? After looking frantically all over the house, Emily gave up and went to grab the phone to dial 911, but the doorbell rang just as she reached for it. She ran to the door and when she opened it, Roy was grinning back at her. 589

“Hiya.” He said enthusiastically. “I’m Roy, nice to m--“590

“No time!” Emily had grabbed his hand and began pulling him towards the stairs. “There’s something wrong with Daniel!” Her words seemed to register with Roy because an instant later he was past her and running up the stairs. When she got to Daniel’s room, Roy was all ready kneeling beside him. Parts of Daniel’s body were twitching at random, but other than that, he was completely motionless. 591

“Come on, we need to get him in the bed.” Roy said. “Emily could you pull back his blankets, and Catherine, come around and grab his legs.” In a combined effort, they managed to get Daniel in his bed, though it was not easy. “Holy crap…” Roy began slightly winded. “He weighs more than I thought he would. He’s got to be at least two-hundred pounds.” He grabbed the chair at Daniel’s desk and took a seat. Catherine stared at him quizzically. 592

“Will he be all right?” She asked.593

Roy looked over at Daniel. “He should be…nothing seems to be wrong with him. What happened?” 594

“I’m not sure,” Emily said. “I walked in and asked what was going on and she said that he wasn’t responding. I ran downstairs to get Mom, but she’s not here. That’s when you showed up.” 595

“I see…” Roy scratched his head. “You know anything Catherine?” 596

“Well, he said that he’d been up for three days working out. When he told me I told him to go to bed and I went to talk to Mrs. Wise, but I couldn’t find her either.” Catherine said. “When I got here, he was lying on the floor.”597

Roy began laughing. “Three days?! Damn! He’s definitely Llore’s son all right.” 598

“This is no laughing matter Roy.” Lyle’s voice came from the doorway, and all three looked over in surprise. He walked into the room and leaned against the dresser. “Daniel’s body is in great need for rest, and he could easily be out for a day or longer and we have to leave tomorrow evening.” 599

“That’s fine.” Roy said. “If it comes down to that, I’ll just carry him on my back.” His manner became a little more serious. “We can’t afford to run behind schedule.”600

Lyle nodded in agreement, knowing all too well how true that statement really was.601

*~**~*602

The alarm clock on Daniel’s nightstand showed 11:13 P.M. Roy was snoring lightly with his head rested on his folded arms, supported by the back of the chair he was sitting in. Catherine was on the other side of the room, crouched in the corner, sleeping soundly. Both had been talking quietly amongst themselves about the differences between the two of their worlds when Catherine had nodded off into dreamless sleep.603

Daniel’s dreams on the other hand were troubling his much-needed sleep. Nightmare after nightmare haunted his mind for a vast majority of the night and the one he was currently experiencing was the worst by far. 604

There was a stinging pain in the side of his mouth and it tasted as if blood had taken the place of his saliva. Many hands and what felt like knees were holding him down, a scratchy covering holding his eyes tightly shut. The smell of dirt and earth was overwhelming him. He could hear people around him yelling and struggling with the aggressors when a cry cut through the night air like a sword through water. Suddenly, Daniel saw Catherine standing before him, her lips holding a gentle smile. In a split second, the scene shattered. A look of shock and pain filled her face as blood began to poor from her mouth. He looked down to see a large, jagged blade protruding from her chest. She fell face first onto the ground, a puddle of blood forming almost instantly. A Fiend was standing right behind where Catherine had been, smiling evilly, it’s eyes laughing at the boy’s loss.605

“NNOOO!!” Daniel’s roar reverberated throughout the house as he shot forward from his bed sheets, his right hand reaching out. Roy nearly fell out of his seat and Catherine smacked her head on the wall behind her. Seconds later, Lyle burst into the room looking around at the scene. 606

“What’s going on?!” He demanded. “Daniel, what’s wrong?” 607

“She’s gone…they took her from me.” Many voices echoed throughout the room in place of Daniel’s, all deep and full of volume. “THEY KILLED HER!” The voices growled furiously. With these words, Daniel glared at Lyle, a grimace full of rage and hate, giving him a feral look. However, this was not what was holding Lyle’s attention. 608

“Oh my God!” Catherine whispered, clasping her hands over mouth as she slowly stood up. 609

Daniel’s eyes were piercing the darkness of the room with a brilliant white light. The pupil and iris of both eyes could not be seen. 610

“Daniel…” Catherine called cautiously.611

The young man’s eyes softened and returned to normal, along with his contorted features. “Catherine.” He breathed, falling back onto the bed as if invisible hands were lying him down. 612

Roy walked to the side of Daniel’s bed cautiously and checked on him. “He’s sleeping...What the hell is going on here?” He asked, looking over at Lyle. 613

“Roy, how do you expect me to know?! It doesn’t make any sense to me either.” Lyle said, watching Daniel closely.614

For the first time, Catherine could tell that Lyle and Roy were just as lost and confused as she was. “…Is he going to be okay?” She asked quietly.615

Roy looked over at her. “Honestly…I don’t know. I really don’t even know what just happened, let alone its effects on Daniel.” 616

“Don’t play the fool Roy, you know exactly what that was, as do I.” Lyle said sternly. 617

Roy stared back dumbfounded. “You actually think that was Immortal’s End?! That’s not possible! The Palmorians died off hundreds of years ago. And neither Llore nor Daniel resembles those of the clan Palmora.”618

“Do you have a better explanation then?” Lyle asked simply. 619

Roy opened his mouth to retort, but closed it just as quickly. Catherine looked from one to the other, waiting on one of them to fill her in. “What does all of this mean?” She finally asked, aggravated by their silence. 620

“I’m afraid that I don’t know what this means Miss Catherine. However, you can be sure that everything will be okay. Roy and I have no intentions of letting anything happen to you or Daniel.” He gave Catherine a weak smile as he turned to leave the room. “Good night.”621

“Good night.” She looked over at Roy who was staring at Daniel fixedly. “Are you alright?” 622

He looked up with a smile even weaker than that of Lyle’s. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He said distantly. “You should get some sleep. We’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow.” With a final look at Daniel, Roy left the room as well, shutting the door behind him.623

Catherine stared at the door, confused by Roy’s behavior. However, she ignored it. She knew that they would tell them what they needed to know when they needed to know it and no sooner. Instead, she focused her attention on whom she saw to be the love of her life. 624

She watched Daniel sleep, noticing how placid his features were now. He seemed to be back to normal. It was hard to imagine that a face so smooth and calm could have held such a fierce look. 625

She slowly laid down beside him, careful not to wake him from his sleep. She rested her head on his chest and put her arm around him. Now, more than any time before, she felt she was where she belonged. 626

Daniel’s heartbeat was a slow and steady rhythm, and with each breath he took, his chest rose slightly. Before long, Catherine was asleep as well, and the two of them shared the last good night of sleep they would have for a long time to come.627

-Chapter 6-628

The sweet melody of birdsong filled the springtime air, bringing with it a peaceful state of mind to all that heard it. A fresh breeze blew through the window to Daniel’s room as the sun’s rays peeked over its edge and into Catherine’s eyes. She closed them tighter with the sudden brightness before opening them just slightly. She sat up and looked around the room. The alarm clock on the opposite side of the bed read 10:07. A weak yawn escaped her soft lips, her arms reaching for the ceiling as she stretched. 629

After a moment’s time, she remembered where she was and looked down at Daniel. He looked just as he had when she had lain down and had not seemed to have moved much, if at all. A wide smile broke her waking face as an odd feeling began to overtake her, one that she could feel primarily in her chest. Her heart was pounding for no apparent reason and a warmth that she could only explain to be love in its purest form spread throughout her body, causing her to tingle all over.630

Daniel stirred quietly and opened his eyes. Before he was able to comprehend that he was truly awake, he heard Catherine’s voice.631

“How are you feeling?” 632

He looked over to see her sitting on the edge of his bed smiling down at him. He thought about the question for a minute or so before responding. “Sore.” 633

Her smile grew. “I don’t doubt it, you fool. Next time you should think before you act so carelessly.”634

Catherine may have been lecturing him, but Daniel could still hear the kindness and concern in her voice. “Sorry.” 635

“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure Lyle and Roy will be relieved to see that you’re up.”636

“Yeah, I should go apologize to them as well.” He sat up, squinting his eyes as he winced in pain. 637

“Daniel, no. Lay back down. I’ll go and get them, you need your rest.” Catherine said making her way around the bed to lie him down. 638

“No, I’m fine. Really. I just need to work out the kinks.” Daniel finished rising with a grunt and slowly began to stretch out his aching limbs and body. At first, the pain was hardly bearable, but as he continued, it moved into the pleasurable soreness of a good workout. 639

With a little help from Catherine, he emerged through the doorway of the kitchen. His mother was the only one in the room, sitting at the table sipping her coffee. “You’re awake…” She said. "How are you feeling?" She asked putting her cup down. 640

"Just sore. It's not surprising though...Have you seen Lyle or Roy around?"641

"They just left to make sure everything was clear. They planned on leaving when they got back..." She grew silent after this and returned to drinking her coffee. 642

Daniel took a seat in a chair to the table's side and looked his mother in the eyes. "I am coming back. I promise." He said taking her hands in his. "I know that telling you not to worry is pointless, but I'm going to be okay, and so is Catherine. I'll make sure the both of us come back, safe and sound...alright?" 643

Kate's eyes glassed over as she smiled. "I know." She stood and gave him a hug, squeezing tightly. "I'm trusting you to keep your word now. If I lost you two, it'd be more than I could possibly bear." 644

Silence followed her words as she released her son. Without saying anything else, she grabbed her keys and walked out of the kitchen. Daniel and Catherine heard the front door close followed by the starting of a car engine. 645

They followed her path slowly and ended up sitting on the steps of the front porch. Daniel's head was hung low and Catherine could see him shaking.646

"Daniel...?" She whispered sadly. “What is it?”647

It took him a moment to compose himself. He did not want Catherine to hear the pain in his voice, no matter how obvious it may have been to that of her other senses. 648

“Catherine, I lied to her, and I can’t stand it! I’ve never lied to her and I never wanted to. I love and respect her too much. Any other time, it’d have never crossed my mind, but I time. This time, it was effortless.”649

Daniel’s voice sounded just as it always had. However, there was something else there with it as well. Catherine could not place what it was for the life of her, and it left her feeling slightly unnerved. That unknown factor tying itself to Daniel was making the usual comfortable atmosphere that surrounded him much less inviting.650

“I’ve asked myself, ‘why?’ a couple of times now,” Daniel continued. “And the only answer that comes to mind is, ‘hope.’”651

A smile came across Catherine’s face. “Daniel, giving her hope is a great thing! Probably one of the best things you could have done for her.”652

Daniel looked at Catherine, his eyes red and wet with tears. “Is that all hope is? Just lies that we tell ourselves and each other to make our dark horizons look a little brighter?” Daniel looked back at the ground.653

Catherine wrapped her arms around him and placed her chin on his shoulder. "Daniel..."654

"You should go and tell your parents good-bye. I'm sure that Lyle and Roy will be here soon." 655

She gave him a hesitative look. After a quick comforting squeeze and a peck on the cheek, she left without saying another word. She made it to the sidewalk before stopping at the sight of Mark and some others she did not recognize. “Daniel, call the police!” 656

The young man looked up and saw the reason behind the panic in Catherine’s voice. Seeing the aggression in the eyes of the people coming up to his house caused something to snap inside of Daniel. 657

“Catherine, you go call the police…I’ll deal with them in the mean time.” He said without standing. He sighed deeply and rose slowly before walking down to Catherine’s side. “Go ahead. He seems to be in the mood for some redemption, and I’m in the mood to let him try.” 658

“Are you sure?” 659

“Of course I am. Please, go.” Daniel said with a reassuring smile, his eyes glassy from tears. 660

She ran to the front door and seconds later, was behind it standing at the window with the phone.661

There was Mark, and then there were three others walking with him. Daniel walked towards them and stopped when he came to the sidewalk. He let them surround him, and stared Mark dead in the eyes. “What do you want?”662

“You know exactly what I want.” Mark said, his features contorted with hate. He flipped out a blade and thrust a simple stab towards Daniel’s abdomen, but he stepped outside of the thrust and grabbed Mark’s wrist. He was in the same bow he had been in just days earlier, though, Daniel was not so nice this time. Moments later, a knee was making full contact with Mark’s face. He was thrown to the ground afterwards, where he laid in a heap, holding his bleeding face tenderly as he moaned in pain. 663

“BASTARD! That’s my brother!” A man a few years older came at Daniel with a punch, but it was too wide. Daniel easily stepped inside and grabbed the man by the throat, deftly placing his right leg behind the man’s and pushing relentlessly. Mark’s brother quickly lost balance and began to fall back, but Daniel followed through and slammed the man hard into the ground, body first. 664

Daniel stood from his kneeling position and looked to the other two. Both looked indifferent and came towards him. One had a thick metal chain, often used to tie up dogs, and the other a small steel pole. They began swinging at Daniel, one after the other, leaving no room for retaliation. 665

He did his best to block the blows with his forearms, but the pain was deadening. The man with the chain swung heavily this time, hoping to break Daniel’s guard. However, he used his other hand to help catch the chain, rather than blocking, taking a blow full to the shoulder from the man with the pole. 666

Daniel tugged the chain from the man with unexpected power and in a blurred motion, brought it across the other man’s face as hard as he could. He fell, dropping the pole as he hit the ground. Daniel kicked it to the side and looked at the only man still standing. He pathetically charged at him, but Daniel threw the chain at the person, hitting him in the face, followed by a vicious punch landing closely behind it. He fell back and looked to be unconscious, as he lay there, motionless. 667

Daniel looked around. One was working on getting up, two were nursing their injuries from the ground, and the other had blacked out. 668

The sound of screaming sirens suddenly flooded Daniel’s senses and he noticed just how badly his arms were hurting, and at that, his shoulder. He felt embarrassed that he had lost it the way he had and saw that there were people watching from the streets, the windows of their houses, from there cars, and even from behind fences. His face got hot and he began to feel nauseous. He walked to the steps leading up to his front door in a daze. Behind him he heard the sirens die and car doors begin slam. 669

His front door opened and Catherine was hugging him instantly. He cried out from the pain in his arms as Catherine pinned them to his sides with her embrace. Two paramedics came up to them, accompanied by a police officer. 670

“What happened here?” The officer asked as the paramedics began to examine Daniel. Catherine began to tell the officer what had happened. When she finished, he looked behind him at the other paramedics nursing the injuries of the others. “And they attacked you?” He asked skeptically, his ridiculously thick mustache twitching. 671

“It’s the truth, unless he put these welts and bruises on himself.” One of the paramedics said. “It looks like he has a fracture in one of his arms.” 672

The police officer sighed. “Alright.” He walked away and began to talk to some of the witnesses next door. 673

“How are you feeling?” The other paramedic asked. He was an older man, probably nearing his fifties. He had a kind smile and deep, sympathetic eyes. 674

“I’m fine, I’ll get used to the pain.” Daniel said through clenched teeth.675

The man laughed. “Luckily, you won’t have to. I’ll get you a little something to help you with the pain. You’ll hardly know it’s there.” He stood up and started back to the ambulance.676

“Anyways,” The other one spoke up. “You need to come with me to the ambulance. We’ve got to get you in to a doctor so you can get x-rays of your arm.” She said standing up. 677

“No, I’ll be fine.” He said adamantly. He did not want to be held responsible for putting Lyle’s plans on hold.678

“Look, there’s tough and then there’s stup-“679

“He said he was fine.” Roy said, coming up from behind the paramedic.680

“And you are?” She asked, her nose turned up at him.681

“His guardian.” He replied coolly.682

“Fine, his decision.” She said with obvious disapproval. 683

The three of them watched her walk away before returning their attention to each other. 684

“Are you okay?” Catherine asked. 685

“Yeah,” Daniel said. “Sorry, about Mark, I didn’t mean to hurt them. I just wasn’t thinking about what I was doing. 686

“It’s okay, he got what he deserved attacking you with a knife.” She said flaring up instantly.687

“Yeah, that was a pretty dirty move, but you played it out well enough, I think.” Roy said with a devilish grin.688

“You were watching?!” Catherine asked astonished. “He could have been badly hurt, or worse!”689

“If things had gotten out of hand, I would have stepped in immediately. And I almost did when the last two came at him, but he came through just as I started to make my move.” Roy’s smile grew as he continued. “It was a bit sloppy, but no doubt effective.” 690

The paramedic was on his way back with a tiny baggy. He handed it to Daniel. “It’s only three, but they’ll do a number on the pain. I’d save them for when you went to sleep…otherwise you won’t be getting much.” He smiled. “Stay safe, ya hear?” With that, he turned and walked away. 691

The small group walked into the house and took seats in the living room. Daniel could see that the yard was clearing of people and that things were beginning to quiet down already. 692

“Where’s Lyle?” Catherine asked.693

“He’s just covering our tracks or so to speak. He’ll be here shortly.” Roy stated casually. 694

Daniel looked down at his arms. One looked as if there was one large welt running along the entire arm with thick, green bruises all over it and the other had a gigantic bruise spreading down the underside of the arm, dark blue and greenish-brown in color. All of this, and they were just young men. Daniel thought. What would have happened had I been trying to protect Catherine? What will I do if something like this happens on the other side of The Mirror? What would have happened had they been Fiend? He was feeling more vulnerable and weak now than he ever had before. It was causing him worry.695

Roy watched Daniel closely in the silence of the room. He watched as the young man’s eyes went from a distant gaze that saw nothing to a stare filled with panic. With each second that passed, it seemed like Daniel was slipping further and further away from reality. “Daniel, is everything alright bud?” He asked. 696

Catherine looked over at Daniel when he did not respond. “Daniel?” She placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a gentle shake. He looked over at her and at first his eyes appeared to go right past her, but he slowly came to and focused in on her. “Are you alright Daniel?” Catherine asked.697

Roy leaned forward a little, his casual demeanor lessening a bit. 698

“I think the pain’s messing with me a bit.” He said distantly. “…Roy, what are the chances that we’ll make it back?” He asked. 699

What was left of the gleam in Roy’s eyes vanished with Daniel’s last words. “I’m going to be honest with you Daniel. They’re not good. And your chances at living are just as bad.” He said sadly.700

“Is there anything we can do to improve those chances?” Daniel asked.701

“Don’t you worry Daniel! I’ve been wracking my brain for answers to that very question and more. As soon as I think of something, I’ll be sure to let you know.” He said with a weak smile. 702

Daniel nodded his understanding. “Thanks.”703

Just then, the front door opened again and Lyle filled the doorway. He walked in, closely followed by Mrs. Wise and Emily. Apparently, outside had cleared up. None of them were asking questions and were, in fact, acting quite normally. 704

Lyle walked into the next room without so much as looking at them. Roy got up and followed him. Emily tried to start a conversation with Catherine and Mrs. Wise came up beside Daniel and took a seat beside him with a smile.705

“I’m going to miss having you around. You’ve been the man of the house for so long.” She laid her hand on his arm as she said this, causing him to wince. “What is it?” She looked down at his arms and noticed that the sides of them were bruised. “Let me see your arms.” She said.706

Daniel slowly lifted them up so that the bruises and welts were visible. His mother gasped when she saw them, which caught Emily’s attention who also gasped upon seeing her brother’s arms. The two of them instantly began demanding explanations. Between himself and Catherine, they managed to tell them all that had happened. To say the least, both of them were furious. 707

“If you ask me, I think you should have beaten them into a bloody mess! If they weren’t begging you to stop, then you didn’t do enough!” Emily began hotly. 708

“I don’t know about all that,” His mother started. “But I know I’ll be having a chat with that boy’s parents. I still can’t believe they brought weapons with them! I don’t see why they’d need them if they already outnumbered you.709

Daniel thought for a moment. “The hate was so evident in their eyes and attacks…I could almost taste it. They weren’t holding back with their attacks either. They were full swings with a lot of force. It’d have been easy for them to have killed me with any one of those hits were they smart with them.” He said seriously. “It almost felt like they weren’t entirely there to be honest.”710

Catherine stared at him bewildered. “You can’t mean that Daniel…I know Mark has been acting strange lately, but I don’t think he would try to kill you.” 711

“Catherine, he tried to stab Daniel with a knife.” Emily stated bluntly. “I’m positive he wasn’t trying to make friends.” 712

Roy re-entered the room and sat back down at his seat. “You two shouldn’t worry about him, he’ll be fine. All of it will go away once we cross over into our world. When you go through The Mirror, it removes any abnormalities in the person’s health. So, his bruises and any other injuries we have will be non-existent once we reach Aleyas. So, if you can just hang in there a little longer bud, you’ll be free of that pain.”713

“Sounds nice.” Daniel said, more to himself than anyone else.714

Emily looked at Roy questioningly. “Aleyas?” 715

“Oh, sorry,” He said with a laugh. “That’s what our world is called. Kind of like your planet’s name is Earth, ours is called Aleyas.” 716

“I like that, it’s pretty.” She said thoughtfully.717

Lyle walked into the room, carrying a small stack of odd-looking clothes. He separated them, a different portion in each hand. Making sure they were the right ones, he handed one stack to each Daniel and Catherine. “You should put these on. Clothes from here won’t do much for you in Aleyas. They’d most likely fall off of your bodies when you enter our world.”718

“Why is that?” Catherine asked looking at him.719

“Because your clothes were made by machines and electricity. As they don’t exist in Aleyas, the mirrors will not let anything that isn’t naturally occurring on this planet to pass over.” Lyle looked at Catherine. “If you have any precious metals or anything of the like on, I’d leave them here Miss Catherine. They’d just get ruined when going through the mirror.” 720

She nodded her understanding. “Um…do I have time to say good-bye to my parents?” 721

It was Lyle’s turn to nod. “Yes, you do actually. Kate and I need to talk to Daniel before we leave. Roy can take you. Be sure to change into those clothes before you leave your house though.” He looked at Roy. “You know where to be and how long you have. Don’t be late.” 722

“I know.” 723

He and Catherine walked out the front door and Daniel thought about the worthless bag supplies that he had put together, for what now appeared to be, no reason.724

“I guess I’ll leave you guys to your conversation.” Emily said, rising.725

“Actually,” Lyle said before she could leave. “This has just as much to do with you, as it does Daniel. I think it’d do you some good to know about the blood that you have flowing in your veins.” 726

Emily sat down beside Daniel and looked at Lyle. “What are you talking about?” 727

Daniel was watching him just as intently as his sister, curious as to what he was speaking of. 728

“After last night’s events, I’ve come to the conclusion that Llore was a Palmorian.”729

“Last night’s events? What are you talking about? And what’s a Palmorian?” Daniel asked. His mother and sister stared at him.730

“You mean...you don’t remember?” Emily asked. 731

“Remember what?" Daniel asked. “I wasn’t up last night.732

Lyle thought to himself for a second. “I see...Actually Daniel, you were up, and you made one hell of a racket as well.” 733

Daniel looked at the old man with squinted eyes. “What do you mean?”734

“What I mean Daniel is that you went into a condition called Immortal’s End.735

“Immortal’s End? What is that?” Mrs. Wise asked.736

“It’s something that only the Palmorians have been able to use, but never by choice. Immortal's End has something in common with all that have come under its power, and that would be a loss of control over their emotions." Lyle more or less spoke these words at Daniel and Emily rather than to them. He wanted them to understand the importance in what he was telling them. "It is crucial that you both learn to keep your emotions strictly controlled. If you lose control, there’s no telling what will happen. The blood of a Palmorian has never been mixed with that of a person’s from this world. If it were an average person from my world then it would not be so significant. But it wasn’t.”737

"You see, it’s still believed that the clan Palmora, died off a couple hundred years ago. However, I’m now sure that we’ve all been mistaken. Because Llore was a Palmorian and passed his blood on to you two, you are also Palmorian.”738

“And what does this mean exactly?” Emily asked.739

“It means a great deal.” Lyle said importantly. “You two have unbelievable power in your blood and for some reason, do not fall ill to the effect of Immortal’s End.” 740

“What effects are you talking about?” Daniel asked. 741

“Death.” Lyle stated simply. “There have not been any known cases of a Palmorian living through Immortal’s End, which is how the condition got its name in the first place. When under its power, the victims are said to have had the power to destroy even the Unborn. Documents say that the few that have gone into this state, had unbelievable capabilities, and possessed insurmountable power. However, in the end, death always followed.” Lyle stared at the two seriously. “Daniel is the first to have lived through it.” 742

The young man heard what was said, but did not know how to respond. He tried to find something to say but failed.743

Emily thought carefully about what she had just been told. “If we don’t fall ill to the effects of this then why do we need so much control over our emotions? If it doesn’t kill us, then what’s the problem? Isn’t this good news?”744

“Well, to answer your first question Emily, “Lyle began. “We don’t know what kind of other risks this could potentially cause to your health. Just because it does not instill death, does not mean that there isn’t a price to pay for such power. As to whether this is good or bad news. I don’t know yet. There are too many things that have to be factored into the situation before I can be sure.” 745

“Are you trying to say that last night...that was Immortal’s End?” Kate asked.746

“It’s the only thing that it could have been Kate. I can only speak with such certainty because I was a witness. I saw the eyes and heard the voices that were mentioned in each case. They're fool-proof signs."747

*~**~*748

In the darkened cathedral-sized room, the light of a single torch made the Fiend's skin glow as it stopped before the dais. It stood in the center of the room with a large magnificent chair placed atop it.749

"Are things in order?" 750

"Yes..." The low, growling hiss of the Fiend slithered through the stale air. 751

"Good." The man's voice was dark and smooth, sounding much like a strong whisper. He rose from his seat and approached the Fiend standing before him. "What of the boy?"752

"What means you...?" It asked, its words spoken individually.753

The thick head of the Fiend hit the floor with a wet thud as the body fell drunkenly to the floor. Thick, coagulating blood began to ooze from the neck. It never noticed the movement that had ended its life.754

"I'm afraid that if you don't know the answer to that question then you don't know enough to be of any use." The man said simply. He swung his serrated blade in a blurred motion to remove the little bits of flesh and blood and returned it to its sheath, a deep sigh escaping his thin lips. "Soon Daniel...soon."755

-Chapter 7-756

Lyle stood by Daniel’s side as he stared back at his mother and sister. They had both given Daniel hugs before they left the house and had followed them outside to see them off. Daniel made it down to the sidewalk before he looked back. He could see the tears in both his mother’s and his sister’s eyes, but his were still dry. With a nod of his head, he turned to leave, Lyle leading the way. 757

“Are you going to be okay Daniel?” 758

“I’ll be fine.” He said simply. “Where are we going?” 759

“To the only place of any importance to us.” Lyle said with a smile. “Don’t worry though, it’s not as far as you might think.”760

“That seems almost too convenient. That is, the Mirror being so close to where I live.” 761

“Well, it’s not so much that The Mirror’s so close to where you live as it is you live so close to where The Mirror is. You see, your father chose your little town because of its location in relation to The Mirror. It made it easy for Roy and I to visit as often as we’d like.762

“So…Did the three of you place The Mirror in its current location?” 763

“No, actually, it’s been where it is since the first time we came through to this world. We still don’t know how it got here or where it came from. We’re not even sure as to how the ones on our side came to be, honestly. It’s one of the biggest mysteries of our world.” Lyle said with a sigh. “For a civilization that seeks knowledge such as ours, it’s really a wonder that we haven’t found answers to some of these questions.”764

Lyle remained silent after voicing his thoughts and Daniel did the same, taking the time to examine his new attire. Both the shirt and pants were made of the same thick material. It looked a lot like black leather, but was much lighter and felt like silk. The shoes were like big furry socks that were lashed to your calves with more of the leather-like material. The soles of the shoes were about an inch thick and very comfortable to walk on. 765

“Do you like the clothes?” Lyle asked looking back.766

Daniel continued to look them over as he answered. “They’re amazingly comfortable, and fit me like a glove. It’s almost like they were made for me.” 767

The old man laughed. “I figured they’d fit you well enough. You’re about the same size as your father. It seems you two wear the same sizes.” 768

“I see.” He said, looking around to try to get some kind of an idea as to where this mirror was located. “Are we headed for the small wood outside the suburbs?” 769

“We are. The Mirror is just inside actually.” 770

“Just inside? What if somebody finds it? Is that safe?” Daniel asked skeptically. 771

“Oh yes, but I don’t think it’s anything to worry over. It’s not in a place where it’ll be found. That, I’m sure of.” 772

The two continued walking for another fifteen minutes or so before Lyle finally stopped. Apparently Lyle’s definition of, ‘just inside,’ was a bit different from Daniel’s. It was odd though, with as many times as Daniel had ventured these woods, he did not recognize where they were. He had never known there to be any body of water in the wood at all. However, before him was the cleanest looking little pond he had ever seen. You could see all the way to the bottom from its banks and on the other side was a little brook that emptied into the crystal, clear water. The resonating gurgle of the water brought upon a feeling of peace that helped Daniel relax. 773

“So, you guys ready to cross over?” Roy asked as he came into view, Catherine right behind him. Her clothing was practically the same as Daniel’s, only her bottoms were a knee-length skirt rather than pants.774

“I think I’m about as ready as I can be I guess. I just want to get all of this over with.” Daniel said. Catherine came to his side. “Daniel, what is this place? I know it wasn’t here all of the times we came back here before.” She said.775

Lyle looked over with interest. “What do you mean?” 776

Catherine looked back at a loss. “Um…I mean this place isn’t normally here. Why?”777

Lyle did not respond, but Daniel could see the gears of his mind working furiously behind his eyes. 778

“That’s interesting news to us!” Roy said. “You see, as far as we knew, this place had always been here. Every time we’ve come through the Mirror, this is where we’d come out . We thought that it was just a part of the wood.”779

“I don’t think I get it.” Catherine said. 780

The cogs of Daniel’s logic began to work as well. “Lyle, it seems like this mirror of yours is hidden better than you might have originally thought.”781

“I think you’re right Daniel.” Lyle said still deep in thought. “However, we’ve got to be going. With new information or not, we do have a schedule to keep if we want to make it to back safely.”782

Both Daniel and Catherine began to look around for signs of the Mirror, half expecting it to pop out of thin air. 783

Roy laughed. “You aren’t going to find it like that. Follow me.” He said, taking a few steps into the pond. “When we get there, all you’ve got to do is go through The Mirror like it’s a walk way. There’s nothing to it. I’ll go first to demonstrate.”784

“Where is it?” Daniel asked.785

“On the bottom of this pond towards the back there.” Roy said, pointing towards where the water trickled in from the brook.786

“And how deep is it over there exactly?” 787

Roy thought for a moment. “Seven feet, maybe eight.”788

“I see.” Daniel said decisively. “Well, I think I’m going to need some help then. I won’t be able to swim there with my arm and shoulder the way they are. The best I’d be able to do for you right now is drown.” 789

“Oh yeah, there’s that, isn’t there?” Roy scratched his head. Lyle buried his face in one of his hands and shook his head with a sigh. “Don’t worry bud! I’ll help ya get there.” Roy said grinning widely. “Come on!” 790

Daniel walked out into the pond to where Roy was. It hardly felt like walking in water at all. It was not cold and it was not warm. To be honest, it did not feel like it had a temperature at all. “Catherine you just follow me and you’ll be fine. If you have any problems though, I’m sure Lyle will be able to help ya, won’tchya big guy?” 791

“Miss Catherine, I’ll make sure you make it through. Don’t worry.” 792

Catherine nodded.793

“Alright pal, just kick for me and we’ll make it just fine.” Roy said as he waded further out. When the water got just above his waist, he wrapped an arm around Daniel’s mid-section. “Take a deep breath.” 794

Daniel took two steadying breaths and a deep one. Before he knew it, Roy was diving in, dragging him along for the ride. At first, Daniel did not see much of anything, but after a couple of seconds, he began to see the gleam of a reflective surface. When they got to The Mirror, he was somewhat disappointed. With all of the talk, Daniel was expecting a grand mirror, one of the likes he had never seen before. This one looked like your everyday, plain, old mirror though.795

Daniel looked at Roy and nodded twice. As they drew closer to The Mirror, Daniel found himself nervous. Once he was close enough, he reached out towards The Mirror. He hesitated for a split second, just inches from The Mirror’s face. The realization that all of this was real, that everything that had been talked about in the past few days was actually going to happen, it was scary. He really was going to another world and he was really about to go through a mirror to get there.796

The tip of his finger made contact with The Mirror’s surface. Time seemed to stop as an unfamiliar feeling surged through his body: energy so charged, he could feel his pulse quicken and his muscles tighten as adrenaline began to pump through his body. It was revitalizing and invigorating, a feeling beyond anything he could explain. He felt the pain in his arms and shoulders dwindle to nothing. His senses heightened, and he was now more consciously aware of everything around him than ever before. 797

An instant later, all he could see was white, and just as fast, he was out of breath and swimming furiously for air. Daniel broke the water’s surface and glanced around, breathing heavily. 798

He was on the far end of a long room that appeared to have no ceiling. Instead, it seemed to be replaced by endless darkness. The walls looked like they had light purplish-gray sheets of satin draped from deep within the void above him. In the distance, he could make out three doors, one larger than the others, but that was about it. Below him though, was just as it was before he touched The Mirror. All of it looked the same. 799

Roy came up beside Daniel, closely followed by Catherine and Lyle. “Are we in the right place?” 800

“Sure are Daniel, just follow me.” Roy said, giving the place a good looking over. Not a minute later, the group was standing on solid ground. 801

“I don’t understand.” Catherine said, squeezing the water from her hair. “When you told us about The Mirror, you said that it takes us to the reflection of the room that The Mirror is located in. How did we just go through with it being located at the bottom of a body of water?” 802

“A good question Miss Catherine. It probably would have been more accurate for me to have explained it all using the word, ‘space’ rather than, ‘room.’ It’s only theory, but think of it like this for a moment. Generally, when you move from one room to the next, they are different. Whether it is the use of space or the space itself, the room is usually, in some way, different. Well, apply that rule to water. The space that the water occupies is different from the space occupied above the water.”803

“So, the surface of the water acted as the door in this case?”804

“Well, that’s what I theorize. It’s all that I could come up with that made any sense.” 805

“I guess that makes sense.” Catherine said, not sounding very convincing.806

Now that they were closer, Daniel noticed that the three doors were more different than he had perceived from the water, each spaced about ten feet from the other. The closest door was made of long sections of now old and rotting wood. It was splintering badly and looked like it would fall apart if touched. The next door was similar to the first but was in much better condition. It was darker than the faded wood of the other door and was even polished. The last door looked completely different. Daniel walked further down to get a better look at the dark, double doors. They rose higher than four times Lyle’s height easily and gave off an aching coldness. The doors seemed to be made of some kind of metal, but one Daniel was not familiar with in the least. At eye level they appeared to be an indigo color, but as your gaze moved up it changed to violet and then to a bold green. 807

“Where does this door go?” Daniel asked.808

“No clue.” Roy said, coming to his side. “It’s been here since we’ve found out about this place and the Mirror of Jegual. I’ve never liked how ominous it is though. I just hope that wherever it leads to, no one knows about the place. It’d be bad news if the wrong people got access to a Mirror.”809

Daniel did not want to think of the terrors that would occur if the Fiend passed through the mirror to Earth. With as bad as Vher had sounded to be in Lyle’s story, it would probably be just as bad, or worse, if he crossed over. 810

“Is it possible that this door could lead to Vher?” 811

Lyle looked at Daniel gravely. “That’s the very place we’re hoping the door doesn’t lead.” 812

Roy began walking back. “Come on, we’ve got to get going. We don’t want to lose track of our goal.” 813

Catherine looked at Roy. “Wow, I never figured you to be someone that could pull off such a serious tone.” 814

“Miss Catherine, you have no idea the dangers that await us if we don’t stick to the schedule. When it comes down to matters of life and death, you’d be surprised at just how serious our joker here could be!”815

“Well then, let’s get going.” Daniel said. “I don’t plan on dying before we’ve even gotten to our first destination!”816

Roy walked up to the first door, the one that appeared to be hundreds of years old, and opened it. “And in we go!” He gave Daniel a friendly wink and walked on through.817

He and Catherine followed close behind, and Lyle brought up the rear. 818

When the door was shut behind them, Daniel could not see much of anything, it was too dark. The air was moist and cool and all he could hear was the roar of crashing water. “Where are we?” He asked. 819

“You’ll see.” Lyle said, his smile hidden by the dark. 820

There was some scraping of wood against rock followed by bright shining light filling what Daniel had assumed to be a room. It was actually more of a cave than anything, a cave, hidden behind a large waterfall. Daniel stepped out of the makeshift doorway and walked towards the pathway leading to solid ground. The mist was cool to the skin and the rock he walked on was slick. When he finally made it made off of the rock and looked around, he was awe-struck.821

The light from Aleyas’ star was a soft glow that cut through the thick canopy hundreds of feet above them. It reflected dazzlingly off of the flowing river’s surface to the group’s right, casting ethereal waves of light onto the dark rocky face from which the waterfall came. Before Daniel and the others were trees of monstrous proportion. It was forest of giants.822

“I’ve never seen anything like it. I feel so small standing here.” Daniel said to himself distantly. 823

“It’s said that these trees have been here since the beginning of time.” Lyle said looking at them.824

“And these aren’t even the largest ones!” Roy added. “If you go deep into the forest, some get damn near fifty feet thick.”825

Catherine looked up, full of wonder. “How high do they go?” 826

“Some as high as five-hundred feet, but that’s a rough average though.” Roy said. 827

“We’ll be walking along the river. It’ll take us where we want to go.” Lyle said stepping forward.828

“And where exactly do we want to go?” Daniel asked. 829

“The river runs right through the outskirts of the city of Guelyn. From there we can stock up and take the main road to Jechro Vau. That’s where the Throne will decide the next step of our journey.” 830

“How long will it take to get to this Guelyn?” 831

“We should arrive by tomorrow evening if we keep up a good pace.” Lyle said. “There’s a spot not too far ahead where we’ve stashed some provisions to hold us over until then. We had better get going.” 832

Lyle walked in front, and Roy behind, with Daniel and Catherine in between. It was not long before they stopped to pick up their supplies. There was a pack for each of them to carry. They weren’t heavy and laden with a lot of stuff as you usually see, but had enough food for each to survive on for a couple of days. 833

“What kind of food is this?” Catherine asked eyeing what looked to be a piece of thick bark. 834

“Well, that there is some dried meat. The other thing you’ll find in there is bread. That’s it. Best things to carry around on a long journey.” Roy said.835

“Sounds like fun.” Daniel said sarcastically. 836

“Not in the least!” Lyle said sternly. He caught Daniel by surprise with the harshness of his tone. “There are devilish creatures in this forest of the likes you’ve never imagined, even in your worst nightmares. Do not take lightly the situation we are in, Daniel. A day’s walk even on this forest’s edge is dangerous. We’re miles from even the slightest clearing. If you knew the horrors the forest held, the trip would feel like an eternity of fear.” By the time he had finished there were small droplets of sweat beaded upon his forehead and a few loose strands of his white hair were hanging down sloppily.837

“Easy goes it big guy!” Roy chimed in. “He didn’t know, take it easy. I think I’d rather them not know too. They don’t need to be worrying themselves to death before they have to.” 838

Lyle wiped the sweat from his forehead. “I’m sorry Daniel, things have just been stressful lately.”839

“I understand, you don’t have to apologize.” 840

Catherine stuck close to Daniel as they continued their walk in the forest. His mind was on Lyle’s words and he was glad that Lyle had snapped. To be joking about things and passing them off as little importance was insane. What was I thinking?! He asked himself. He was angry that he had been so foolish so soon. He’d been so transfixed on Aleyas and its wonders that he forgot what exactly was going on. He even forgot about his renewed arm and shoulder, both of which felt fantastic. 841

The rest of their walk was made in silence, though the sound of the river could be heard the entire time. The little bit of light that was sneaking its way in through the thick canopy of the ancient trees was now all but gone and with it went the warm temperature. The group closed in closer and closer until they had their hands on each other’s backs to know where they were going. 842

They continued on like this for a couple of hours before Lyle finally decided to stop. “We’ll rest here for the night, I’m sure you two could do with some rest.” 843

After Roy got back with some wood, a fire was started. The flames were a welcomed sight by Daniel and Catherine. After so long in the dark, they weren’t so sure that they still in the forest. Not once did they happen to bump into a tree or trip on a root. The path had been clear. However, with a new source of light, they saw that they were still very much inside the forest. 844

The trees were massive and much larger than even the sequoias and redwoods of California, but the change in size from earlier in the day was noticeable. They were getting smaller. 845

“How much further do we have to travel before we get out of here?” Daniel asked quietly.846

“The river takes a western turn about an hours walk from here. From there, it will be easier travelling, and by that, I mean safer.” Lyle said. “You two just get some sleep, we’ll be leaving soon and will not stop until we make it to Guelyn.”847

Daniel and Catherine shared a tree and layered their blankets to keep warm. They were both asleep in a matter of minutes.848

“I’m gonna use this down time to my advantage as well pal. You’ll be alright keeping watch alone won’t ya?” Roy asked. 849

“I’ll be fine son, rest while you can.”850

Roy sprawled out on the forest floor next to the fire, his hands behind his head. “Thanks.” He let a long yawn. “If ya need me, just give me a good poke.” His snores filled the lit space a short while later. This was going to be the last time they’d all be together for a very long time.851

-Chapter 8-852

The sickening odor that was now plaguing Daniel’s senses had slowly crept upon the group. His eyes opened slowly and all he could see was the bright light of the fire, the rest was blurred. As his vision focused though, he could tell that something was wrong. Lyle was gone and in his place was nothing but a bloody mess. When realization hit Daniel, he shot forward, only to be slammed viciously back into the tree. A hand that covered his entire chest was pinning him to the tree and while he fought to regain the breath that was knocked from him, he saw what he was up against. 853

The Fiend had the camp surrounded and there had to be at least ten. He tried to yell, to tell Catherine to run, but he couldn’t, and nothing came but a strained wheeze. Things got worse fast as three Fiend got on top of Roy, pinning him to the ground. “GET THE HELL OFF OF ME! DANIEL?! CATHERINE?! ARE YOU GUYS ALRIGHT?!” A concoction of rage, fear, and concern filled Roy’s voice as he called out for the two teens. He struggled with all he had, but was no match at all for the strength of the Fiend holding him down. 854

Daniel looked beside him to where Catherine was and saw that she was being pinned to the tree just as he was, but it seemed like she was having a harder time breathing. “LET HER GO! SHE CAN’T BREATHE!” Daniel screamed. He was red in the face with anger. 855

“Do as the boy says or it’ll be the end of you!” The Fiend’s hand released Catherine immediately. She began gasping, taking in the sweet air that she had been deprived of. “Sorry about that, sometimes these Fiend get excited when they’re around women.” The voice said. 856

Daniel caught sight of movement to his right with his peripheral vision as a man clad in blackish-blue armor came to his side. He was an averaged sized man with short blue hair and matching eyes. 857

He squatted down beside Daniel and eyed him intently. “Hm, you don’t look all that special. I wonder what Vher wants with the likes of you.” 858

“DON’T YOU TOUCH THEM!” Roy yelled. 859

“Let me guess, I’ll regret it if I do right?” The man said sarcastically, keeping his eyes on Daniel. “Don’t worry dear friend, I’ll be extra careful with the boy,” he said turning Daniel’s face from one side to the other by his chin. “As for the girl, she’ll stay with you.” 860

“YOU BASTARD, I’LL HAVE YOUR HEAD!” 861

The man let out an exasperated sigh. “Do shut him up would you?” One of the Fiend placed its hand over Roy’s face. All that could be heard now were his muffled screams.862

“What’s your name and what the hell do you want with me?” Daniel asked.863

“I’ve already told you, Vher wants to speak with you. I myself, have no interest in you. I’m simply following orders.” He stated lazily. “As for my name, you can call me Lecota.” 864

Daniel was getting a weird vibe from the man. He didn’t completely understand how, but he knew that he wasn’t the same as the Fiend. He didn’t have the same evil, blood-thirsty intensity about him. 865

“Fine, only so long as you promise the safety of all the others.” Daniel said.866

“It’s not like you’re in any position to be making demands, that and you weren’t the only thing on Vher’s list of things to do. I’m afraid the man you knew as Lyle is already dead. That was my first goal, you’re just secondary.” 867

Daniel’s eyes widened as they glassed over with tears. He heard Catherine crying and noticed that Roy had quit trying to fight off the Fiend. 868

“You’re lying. “Daniel said, his voice shaking. “You’re lying, you’ve got to be!” 869

“I’m no liar and I don’t appreciate you naming me as such. I’d show you, if it wasn’t such a disgusting mess. Anyhow,” he said rising. “we’re leaving. Release him!” 870

The Fiend’s hand left Daniel’s chest, but he didn’t move. 871

“Stand or be dragged. The choice is yours.” 872

Daniel stood up and looked down at Catherine. He wanted to say something to her, the problem was, he didn’t know what. She stared at him with her green eyes. He could hear what she was saying; he could hear it without her ever voicing it.873

“Don’t go Daniel! Don’t go!” She cried. 874

“He doesn’t have a choice.”875

Catherine was in front of Daniel not a second later. “I won’t let you take him!” 876

“Catherine don’t!” Daniel said. 877

“Oh, is that right?” Lecota started, slightly amused. “What are you going to do about it? There’s nothing you can do against a Fiend, much less myself. Step aside before you get yourself hurt.”878

“I won’t!” She said adamantly. “I’m not losing Daniel. He’s all I’ve got and I’m not just going to stand by and watch him be taken! I’d never be able to forgive myself!”879

“I see,” Lecota said. “I really didn’t want it to come to this. Fiend, hold him.” Two Fiend grabbed Daniel and held him, one on each arm. 880

“What are you doing?!” Catherine screamed. “Let him go!” She was hitting the Fiend as hard as she could, but they didn’t show any signs of loosening their grip on Daniel. 881

“Young lady,” Lecota began. “This could have been avoided had you only listened to me.” 882

Catherine turned around to see the man hold a thin, straight blade. 883

“I beg your forgiveness.” He placed a hand on her shoulder and thrust the blade quick and hard into her abdomen, pushing until the hilt stopped him from going any further. 884

Daniel watched her fall to the ground. He was dreaming he had to be. Any second now, he’d be waking up. He’d wake up and realize that it was all a bad dream.885

“And that is that.” Lecota said, wiping the blade clean of blood. “We’re leaving. You three, wait until we’re long gone before releasing him. I don’t want him trying to follow us.”886

“Catherine.” Daniel whispered, tears falling from his eyes. “Catherine, Catherine…Catherine.” He was saying it louder each time. “Catherine, get up. Catherine.” Images of her and their once daily lives began to flash before him, one after the other. Their walks, glimpses of her in the hallways at school, going to the movies. “Catherine!” He shouted. He saw her talking lively to some friends, her loving eyes, her rosy cheeks. He could feel her kiss and her warmth, and now, he could feel her warmth leaving. He could feel her dying. “CATHERINE!” 887

The roar echoed throughout the forest for miles. Animals of all sizes froze in fear. A shockwave blew off the two Fiend holding Daniel and Lecota was flung against a tree. Daniel’s eyes began to glow again the blinding white they had a couple of nights before. His hair seemed to be weightless and drifted around in an aqueous manner.888

“Fiend, subdue the boy! Do it now!” Lecota shouted. “So this is what Vher had warned me of.” He said to himself. “Maybe I shouldn’t have taken his warning lightly.” 889

The Fiend were being thrown in every direction in what looked to be effortless attempts from Daniel. “This is pointless!” Lecota said with a sigh. “If you want something done, you’ve got to do it yourself, it never fails.” Lecota rushed Daniel and easily dodging one of his swings, bashed him in the back of the head with the butt of his sword. 890

Daniel crashed into a heap and returned to normal instantly. 891

Roy was trying to staunch the flow of blood from Catherine’s wounds as best as he could. It took him applying all of his weight to it, to stop the flow, and he had to add a lot of pressure.892

“If you continue like that, she’ll be fine.” Lecota said, hoisting Daniel onto his shoulders. “I missed her vitals. I just needed her out of the way.”893

“You bastard!” Roy said through gritted teeth. He started to get up, but Lecota stopped him.894

“I wouldn’t let up if I were you. She’ll die if you don’t continue to stop the flow of blood. How many times do I have to say it? It’s kind of funny though, once I think about it. Here I was, thinking I’d need to have the Fiend hold you back, but you’re going to do it yourself in order to save that girl.” He began to walk off. “I’ll be seeing you.” 895

There were many things that Roy would have liked to say, but all that he could muster was screaming at the top of his lungs. Screams filled with anger, pain, and loss. The only thing he could do was watch Lecota walk away casually with Daniel upon his shoulder as he, himself, fought for Catherine’s life. 896

~*~*~*~*~*~897

A while later, Roy finally managed to slow the bleeding down enough to get some make-shift bandages applied to Catherine’s wounds. He took one of the blankets that was lying around and ripped it into long strips which he then tied tightly around her waist. He had never been the best when it came to first aid, but it’d do for now. 898

He made her as comfortable as possible, covering her with another blanket and using a third as a pillow for her. After restarting the fire, Roy went to the river to get some water for back at camp. He dropped to his knees and dipped the pouch into the cool running water and left it there to fill. He watched has his blood-drenched hands turned the surrounding water red. As his thoughts moved over the events that occurred not even an hour ago, he felt hot tears begin to run down his face.899

“I’m sorry.” He whispered painfully. “I couldn’t do anything for either of you.” A brutal punch met the ground sending a dull thud into the air about him. He pulled his arm from the river and made his way back to the fire. There were still a couple of hours before the light of morning would bless himself and Catherine with its presence. 900

Roy sat down beside Catherine and checked on her to make sure she was still doing okay. We won’t make to Guelyn today, not with Catherine in her current condition. He added some more wood to the fire. 901

Catherine began to stir a little, catching Roy’s attention immediately. She tried to sit up, but he held her down. “Whoa there, I just got you cleaned up. You don’t wanna start bleeding all over the place again do ya?” 902

She placed a hand over her injury. “He’s gone isn’t he?” Her voice was high with emotion.903

“Yeah. They got ‘im.” The news was terrible, but the defeat that could be heard in Roy’s voice when he answered made it unbearable. Catherine hadn’t cried harder in her life. Roy had to calm her down before she began to bleed again. “Catherine, Daniel’s strong. He’s not gonna be taken out that easily. He’s got you to fight for, and I’ve seen how he get’s when you’re on his mind.” Catherine couldn’t help but laugh between her sobs. “See?! You know it too! He’ll be back for ya, don’t you worry about that!” Roy said soothingly.904

Most of it was made up on the spot, but it helped Catherine relax a little and that’s what mattered. 905

“What are we going to do now?” She asked.906

“The only thing we can do.” He said. “We’re gonna continue on to Guelyn. After you’re more suited for travel anyways.”907

“But we’ve got to go and help Daniel!” She said rising quickly. She regretted it just as fast and laid right back down, wincing in pain. 908

“And the first step in doing that is making it to Guelyn.” 909

“How long do you plan to wait?”910

“At least another day, that’s still pushing it.” 911

Catherine turned her head to watch the fire as she began to ponder. What could they do? The fire…She thought. “Use the embers in the fire to burn me Roy.” 912

“What?! Are you crazy?”913

“No, use the embers to cauterize the stab wounds, it’ll close them up and we’ll be able to leave for Guelyn in a couple of hours.”914

Roy wasn’t going to argue with her. They needed to get to Guelyn as fast as they could and Catherine had a good idea. “It’s gonna hurt like hell.” He said as he began untying her bandages.915

“I can deal with the pain, I just want Daniel back.” She said distantly. 916

Roy grabbed a larger stick and held it in the fire until its tip was glowing orange. “Ya ready?” 917

Catherine nodded. 918

“Alrighty. Here we go.” He pressed the point onto Catherine skin and waited for the hissing to die down a bit before removing it. The only sign she gave of feeling it was a sharp intake of breath.919

“Done?” 920

“Oh no. At least three more time this side and then I’ve got to do your back. If you’re serious about this, I need to make sure these are sealed.” 921

Catherine did well with the pain, just as she said she would, but the smell of burning flesh was making her nauseous. When Roy finished, he helped her into a sitting position to let the burns air. 922

“When we get ready to leave, I’ll make new bandages for you, and wrap ya up nice and tight. But, for right now, I need ya to eat something.” He handed her a few pieces of the dried meat. “Eat what you can, you’re gonna need your strength.”923

Catherine ripped a piece of the meat off the hunk she was given and began to chew it determinedly. “I have a feeling we’re gonna need more than just strength.” 924

~*~*~*~*~*~925

“Vher! I asked you if you understood. You will answer me when I speak to you! Now do you understand your-“926

“Yes I understand the fucking orders!” Vher spat contemptuously. He hated these people more than anything. He was the one stuck doing all of their dirty work while they sat back and watched from the shadows. “Stop talking to me like I’m some fucking infant!” His eyes were as wide as they could be, trying to see anything in the darkened room. There wasn’t a hint of light anywhere, not a even a speck. They had always operated like this, meeting him only with darkness as their mask.927

“Well then stop acting like one!” The voice was loud and dominated the room.928

“Shove it up your ass!” Vher retorted.929

“Be glad there’s still need for you boy!” A female’s voice called. “Otherwise, I’d have your skin to add to my collection.” 930

Vher could hear the smile that she had on her face. “If I could see you, I’m sure those pretty little lips of yours wouldn’t be smiling you nasty bitch!”931

“Then what would they be doing?” A third voice asked. It was that of a male, softer than the first, but no doubt demanded respect and obedience.932

Vher’s eyes widened with fear and he felt a cold sweat overcome him. He dropped to his knees, bowing instantly, his nose pressed to the floor. “Master, my apologies, I didn’t know you were back.”933

“Vher, if I hear you speak to either of them like that again, you will regret it.” The voice said with casual sternness. “You are important to our plans, but you’re not irreplaceable. Now go and do what you were told.” The voice was easygoing and kind, but was intricately laced with grave promises.934

“Yes sir! Immediately!” Vher stood and left the room as fast as he could. As he walked down the long narrow hallway, he could feel his heart beating rapidly throughout his body, and he couldn’t keep from shaking. His shoulder-length black hair was plastered to his terrified face. He had never been so close to death. 935

“You’re pathetic!” The voice came from within him. It was his own, but different. “Why I ever let you out is a mystery to me.”936

“No! Don’t! I can do this!” He shouted.937

“That’s not a chance I’m willing to take.” 938

A terrible pain burst through Vher’s head, whiting out his vision. He groped at his temples futilely, trying to hold onto control. There was a final blast of agony, followed by an anguished scream, then silence. 939

Vher ran his hands through his hair with an invigorating sigh of relief. He tied the white strands back neatly and wiped the sweat from his face. A grin pursed his thin lips. “You’re so weak.”940

The door he had just came from opened. “Is everything all right Vher?” It was the same man that had sent shivers down his spine just moments before. 941

“But of course father!” He called looking back. “Why wouldn’t they be?” 942

The door closed and Vher continued down to the master stair at the halls end. He descended each step one at a time. At the bottom two Fiend awaited his arrival. “Ah, good. Just what I needed. Has the boy arrived yet?” He asked still walking943

“No master. They come soon.” Came the slow hisses. 944

“I see. Order formation and prepare for their arrival.” 945

“Yes.”946

Vher came to a pair of large double doors as the Fiend sped off. He stared at them and watched as they changed in hue as his glare moved up them. “I think its time we get ourselves some insurance.” An evil gleam flashed over his blood red eyes. “I do believe I enjoy my work a little too much.” He said with a soft chuckle. “Let’s go pay a visit to the family!”947