Nephilim Rising: The Complete Series, page 45
part #0 of Nephilim Rising Series
“It going to eat us!” Alice said. I could feel her shaking with fear in my arms.
“Not if I can help it,” I assured her. “Hold on tight, whatever happens, you hear me?” I didn’t wait for a reply as I shot off through the darkening sky again, with the Skyscreamer catching up to us with uncomfortable ease. I chanced a look over my shoulder, and my heart nearly erupted from my mouth when I saw the giant head of the Skyscreamer just behind us. Jesus, that thing could move fast. It screeched at me, its dark green eyes soulless; nothing there but cold aggression and a lust for killing.
To make matters worse, we had just started flying over a huge lava pit that seemed to stretch on for miles in every direction. With the Skyscreamer right on my tail, it was too late to turn around. If I did, we would end up caught between those massive jaws, so I had no choice but to keep flying straight as fast as I could over the bubbling lava below, the heat of which rose into the air and made it feel like I was flying through a burning hot oven. I just hoped I didn’t end up like Icarus, with melted wings.
As I was concentrating on flying full steam ahead and inwardly panicking like a bitch, the Skyscreamer suddenly flew up alongside us, one of its black wings almost hitting me in the face. It kept pace with us easily, and then turned its huge head, one dark green eye boring into me. I banked to the right, away from the thing, but it banked right along with me, maintaining its distance a few feet away, almost like it was enjoying toying with us, which I had no doubt it was.
Alice screamed again. “It going to get us!”
Just as despair threatened to overtake me, I spotted something in the distance. A large rock jutting out of the lake of lava. I quickly formed a plan, which was to drop Alice on the rock so I could free myself up to fight the Skyscreamer. Not the greatest of plans, but desperate times and all that.
Alice went to say something, but before she could form the words, I dropped her onto the rock, praying she wouldn’t roll off into the lava. She screamed as I let her go from about three feet up. I had to keep flying so I couldn’t see if she managed to keep her footing until I circled round again, and saw that she was clinging for dear life to the rock, still screaming but alive.
Good girl. Hold on.
Now I had to distract the Skyscreamer, lest it thought I handed it an easy meal by leaving Alice on the rock. It was now circling above Alice's head like an owl hunting a vole. I had to do something before it took her. Frank taught me to always attack the attacker, so that’s what I did.
I flew toward the Skyscreamer, its attention momentarily taken by Alice's high-pitched screaming. Its head was turned away from me by the time I reached it, which was a stroke of luck, for it meant I could dive straight onto its back, sinking my claws as far as they would go into the creatures thick skin.
The Skyscreamer screeched angrily when it felt my claws sink into it, and it shot straight up into the air at great speed. I managed to grip on as the snake broke into the dark clouds above, and the light around me diminished to near darkness. Once in the clouds, the serpent coiled its body every which way to shake me free, but somehow I managed to hold on, even though it felt like I was on the most terrifying roller coaster ever. I didn't know which direction we were facing half the time. All I could do was hold on for dear life as the creature continued to screech and barrel through the air like a crocodile rolling in the water with its prey. After all the aerial gymnastics, the serpent belted out of the clouds again and shot down toward the lava lake, turning upside down as it did so.
No, no, no…
I knew what the thing was trying to do. It was trying to dip me in the lava as it flew backward over it, hoping I would let go. I was underneath the serpent now as it flew upside down, going as low as it could to the lava without crashing into it, which of course meant my back was skimming along the bubbling orange liquid. My skin felt hot like it should be melting, but as far as I could tell it wasn't.
It was only when the serpent turned around again, and I was back on top did I realize that I was still intact, and that my wings were still there and appeared to be in working order, despite the lava dripping off them, which I had to shake off before it hardened in the colder air.
Enough of this hell ride…
As the serpent rolled around through the air and screeched in frustration, I freed up one of my hands by detaching it from the serpent's skin. I was holding on with one hand now, which made balancing harder, but it also meant I had a hand free to attack with, which was just as well for the serpent was now flying straight for Alice again.
It was time to put this flying fairground ride out of action, and the only way I knew how to do that was to go for its eyes and try to blind it. If you can’t see, you can’t fight, right? At least according to Frank.
As the serpent flew toward a screaming Alice, its mouth open and ready to snatch her between its jaws, I reached forward and felt for its eyeball, which was about the size of a baseball, so it wasn’t hard to locate. As soon as my fingers touched that fleshy orb, I sunk my claws into it, piercing into the jellied mass with all my fingers, before gripping hard and pulling the whole eye out of its socket. The Skyscreamer screeched in pain and rage as it swooped over Alice’s head, narrowly missing her.
The thing was pissed, but it wasn't as debilitated by its lack of sight as I'd hoped. It veered around, and before I knew what was happening, it sped toward Alice again, hovered over her and then snatched the little girl up in its jaws before flying away to the right, toward the mountains in the distance where it had probably come from in the first place.
Alice screamed as half her body dangled out of the serpent’s mouth. It seemed to have her by one arm. “Hold on Alice!” I shouted as I fought to hold on myself, grabbing on to the serpent with both hands now as it barreled through the air at terrific speed.
The serpent kept flying through the smoky sky toward the massive mountain range, which wasn't too far away now. The only plan I could think of was to blind it in the other eye as soon as it landed. That would at least give us a chance, providing it didn't bite Alice in half before then. The little girl was still screaming as the serpent's teeth pierced her arm, a terrible sound, but there wasn’t anything to be done about it, at least not yet.
Soon the mountains closed in, and the serpent flew higher into the dark sky along the edge of the cliff face, and toward the highest mountain peak where the winds were fierce, and the temperature was a lot colder. Finally, the serpent slowed its ascent and hovered in front of a dark cave opening at the peak of the mountain. Still hovering there, I felt the muscles in the serpent's neck tense, and then I heard a high-pitched scream of pain come from Alice as the serpent spat her out onto the ledge. She landed and rolled into the rock face like a damaged rag doll, and then lay there motionless. "Alice!" I screamed, but she didn't move.
Red hot anger rose in me then. Still hovering, the serpent let out an ear-splitting screech that sounded like some kind of call. A second later, I heard another faint screech somewhere in the distance.
Help was coming.
I jumped onto my feet on the serpent's back while still holding on with my claws, digging the talons of my feet in for grip. The serpent started shaking itself, twisting and turning through the air in another effort to get me off, but I held on like a rodeo cowboy riding a bucking bull. I let go with one hand and summoned the grace into it while barely holding onto the serpent with my other hand. As soon as I felt balanced enough, I punched the serpent in the head, exploding grace into it. The serpent screamed, and its head dropped over slightly like it was dazed. I hit it again, then again and again, until its skull began to crack open. One final blow and I'd punched a huge hole in its head, satisfied to see dark blood explode like a fountain from the wound.
Then I let go of the serpent and hovered in midair as the creature fell, dropping lifelessly through the dark sky and bouncing off the rock face on the way down, finally disappearing into the clouds.
In the near distance, I heard the screech of another Skyscreamer. I had to grab Alice and get away it showed up. That's if she was even still alive. I had a horrible feeling she wasn't.
I flew to the ledge and scooped the little girl up in my arms. Her left arm was hanging by a thread where the serpent had bitten into it. The nearby calls were getting closer, so I bolted through the dark sky as fast as I could, away from the mountain range and back toward the wastelands and lava pits. I kept flying until I was past the big lava lake where the serpent had first come upon us. Past the lava lake, the ground hardened up again, and I spotted a clump of boulders that looked like they would offer cover. I flew down in between the massive clumps of rock and gently put Alice on the ground, her arm dangling like so much useless meat.
"Alice! Alice, can you hear me?" I was gently slapping her face trying to see if she was even still alive. I put my ear to her mouth and felt the faintest of breaths. Good. She was still alive, but for how long? One thing was for sure: she wouldn't be keeping her arm. It wasn't like I could take her to the local hospital or anything, so I would have to do my best to patch her up, starting with removing the barely attached limb. A gentle tug and the arm tore away from the few tendrils of muscle and ligament that still held it on. Alice barely stirred when I pulled her arm off. Behind her mass of hair, her face was ashen gray, like she was half way toward dying.
I placed both my hands around the bleeding stump and bathed it in grace, hoping to close the wound and stem some of the blood flow. I transferred as much grace as I could, and was soon glad to see a thin membrane of skin form over the bloody stump. At least she wouldn't lose any more blood.
Far off in the distance, I could still hear the screeching of the Skyscreamers. Too close for comfort. I lifted Alice's near lifeless body and flew into the air again, determined to put as much distance between us and the Skyscreamers as possible.
I flew over more lava pits, the acrid smoke annoying my throat and irritating my chest, causing tears to form in my eyes. The sooner I got us past this fire and brimstone landscape the better. Alice let the occasional moan out of her as I flew with her in my arms, which I took to be a good sign. At least she seemed to be hanging in there. Any other kid her age would be dead by now. Being born in Hell obviously meant she was made of sterner stuff.
I just hoped she held on until I could find somewhere safe to land.
18
After hours and hours of flying over the same seemingly unending lava-filled landscape, not even sure if Alice was still alive half the time, the terrain finally changed abruptly to marshland. Visibility increased without all the smoke around to clog the air, and below I could see a swampy landscape dotted with pockets of water and filled with clump after clump of purple-green rushes, many of which had strange orange flowers growing from them. I looked around for a place to land and spotted a space where the ground dipped to form a slight slope. That would do. My wings were getting tired, and my mind was all over the place. I needed rest, even it was in a sodden marshland, probably home to a host of man-eating creatures. Alice was right about nowhere in Hell being safe. I was now discovering that for myself.
The wetlands were an eerie place, covered in a layer of low-lying mist and strangely quiet. The dark-red light making it look even more surreal, especially with those tall orange topped flowers growing everywhere. What were they anyway? I resolved not to go near them, whatever they were. If they grew in Hell, they couldn’t be good.
Gently, I put Alice down on the soft and slightly damp grass. She was still unconscious, and I began to fear that she had slipped into shock or a coma or something.
What if she doesn’t wake up?
It was thought that frankly terrified me. Although Alice didn't talk much, she was all the company I had in Hell. I needed her. I didn't think I could complete my journey to Pandemonium alone. Not only that, but I felt genuinely attached to Alice now, as though she were my little sister. Who knows, maybe I’ll even take her with me if I ever make it out of this cursed place?
I bent down and examined the bloody stump where her left arm used to be. To be honest, it didn’t look good. The wound was jagged and raw looking, but my healing energy had taken effect, forming a layer of skin over it. As long as it wasn’t infected, she should be fine.
My heart skipped a beat when I heard a tiny moan escape from Alice's mouth. I knelt beside her and gently put a hand on her chest. "Alice?" I said. "Alice, wake up..." Another moan came from her, louder this time, and her head began to move a little. I brushed her hair to the side to reveal her scarred little face. It was shocking to see so many scars on one child's face, and more so that she had endured so much pain and torment. Alice didn't belong here. She didn't ask to be born here. Right then, I resolved to take her with me when I left. I wouldn't be able to live with myself otherwise.
When she finally opened her eyes, she had the same deadened look in them that I’d grown familiar with. I wasn't even sure if she knew what emotion was, or if she knew how to feel anything at all. She didn't say anything, just looked at me with her blue-green eyes. Any normal kid would have been in a panic, in severe pain at least, but not Alice. This was just another day for her. "How do you feel?" I asked her.
"I… hurt…" Her voice was reedy, and her throat sounded dry. She needed fluids in her. She still had the water pouch around her. I took it off, gently easing the twine over her head, then I opened the pouch and put the top to her lips so she could drink. I only allowed her small sips at a time. After four sips, she turned her head away and coughed. "Enough," she said.
I put the cork back in the water pouch and set it beside me on the damp grass. “You remember what happened?” I wasn’t even sure if she had noticed the fact that she was missing a left arm yet.
“Skyscreamer,” she said, her voice sounding better now. “It took me.”
“Yeah, it did a bit more than that.” I steeled myself. “You lost an arm.”
Alice frowned and lifted her head up slightly to look at where her arm used to be. “Oh,” was all she said before resting her head back again.
Oh? That was all she had to say? Jesus, Hell really had done a number on her. "You okay?"
“It happen before. Lost hand.” She raised her right hand slightly. “It grow back.”
"You lost a hand…and it grew back?"
She nodded.
“How?”
“Just did. Way it is here. Can’t die.”
Can't die? Of course not. If you could die in Hell, then that would mean you could escape the misery, couldn't you? Much better to keep everyone alive for all eternity so that they can suffer endlessly. Constant regeneration so you can enjoy the torment fully. "How long will it take for your arm to grow back?"
She shrugged, or tried to. "While."
“Don’t you feel any pain?”
“Hurt? I feel hurt. Feel hurt most of time.”
I shook my head. "Would you like to leave this place, Alice? Come with me to my home?" I realized I might have been offering her false hope in saying that I would save her somehow, when I didn't even know if I would make it out of Hell myself. But what harm would it do? She couldn't feel any lower than she already did.
“Home?” Alice croaked. “What is home?”
“Home is where I live. It’s a safe place.”
“Safe?” She appeared to wrestle with that concept. Safe was something I doubted she had ever been. “That impossible.”
“No, not impossible. There’s another world outside of this one. A better world, a place you can maybe even be happy in. You know what happiness is?” She shook her head. “Well, it’s…” I had to stop. I didn’t think I was the best person to explain happiness to a kid. “It’s just better than this.”
“No pain?”
“There’s pain, but not as much as here.”
“Torture? Punishment?”
I nodded. "Those things exist as well, but just not as much." The more I thought about it, the more I realized that Hell was just like Earth in many respects, just a lot more extreme. In fact, it seemed like a little bit of Hell had leaked out onto the Earth and tarnished it. Perhaps all the evil that came and went on Earth had left its mark. Maybe Earth was just another part of Hell, and no one knew it. Whatever the case, my head was beginning to hurt, and I realized I was exhausted from all the flying, not to mention the fight with the Skyscreamer. "We'll rest here for a while, continue in a bit."
Alice stared back at me, curiosity in her eyes now. “You different.”
“Different?”
“You…good. No one good here.”
I smiled and lay down beside her. A few moments later, we were both asleep.
I awoke to the sound of croaking, like a frog, but much deeper, and much more sinister sounding. I sat up and looked around, trying to locate where the sound was coming from. Deep red light bathed the marsh in front of me, the stagnant water occasionally bubbling. The bubbles didn’t annoy me, not the small ones anyway. Further out in a larger pool, I saw bigger bubbles coming to the surface, and I wondered what was causing them. No doubt, there was all manner of strange creatures living in that swampland, but I hadn’t seen any yet, which made me think they were hiding from us. I continued to stare at the bubbles while I considered if it might not be a good idea to move on before something out there decided Alice and I would make a good meal.
