Chapter 66: The Island Of Blood[1]
The sea had been calm for some time now, in the distance now everyone could see the island getting closer and closer.
At first glance, it looked no different from normal islands. An uneven mass of green, with trees spilling down to a dock of half rotted wood and a jagged mountain which stabbed at the clouds above it.
"It almost looks...normal," Alice murmured as she squinted her eyes from the bow of their ship. Her hair whipped in the wind and her eyes traced the shore, searching for any hidden danger.
"Nothing in this Tower is normal," Becca said and rested her sword against her shoulder, her voice was flat but firm. "If it looks ordinary, then it’s hiding something worse. That’s what I’ve observed so far."
The ship moored against the dock and they stepped onto the island, nothing jumped at them how they had anticipated.
Birds chirped above them and the breeze carried the smell of pine and wet grass. The soil beneath their boots was soft.
For the first time since their arrival on the Eleventh Floor they felt the ground beneath them. The group decided to make a camp near the trees, it was Beatrice who spotted the first sheep who were grazing lazily by the edge of a clearing.
Soon they discovered a whole herd along with a few stray cows. Xior felt his skin crawl as the animals didn’t react to their presence, they never showed fear nor curiosity. They stood almost unnaturally still until chased.
When Becca cut out the throat of the first sheep, the blood gushed out of its throat in a torrent far thicker than it should have had. It soaked into the ground in seconds.
Next they slaughtered a cow, it bled a pool large enough to stain the grass red but the animals’ bodies grew pale within moments as though their life had been sucked away unnaturally fast.
They gathered materials and built a bonfire on the shore, the flames cracked bright against the descending twilight.
Becca roasted the lamb, her expression brightening at the smell, while Alice prepared roots and herbs she had gathered.
Xior sat apart from them while sharpening the claws of his gauntlet in silence.
The firelight reflected in Becca’s eyes, "This island feels a bit weird...like the blood from earlier..."
Meeka who sat across from Becca with her legs crossed and her praying with her eyes closed lifted her head and opened her eyes, "I feel it too, the blood doesn’t get soaked this quickly. It is as if it was being swallowed."
*****
When night fell, Xior excused himself and wandered beyond the forest edge, his boots crunching softly over the dry leaves.
The forest seemed ordinary; oak trees, birch trees and pine trees clustered thick together, their branches rustling with the occasional birds or insects. But there was an eerie silence.
There were no crickets and no owls, only a low howl of the wind. He crouched near the base of a tree and brushed his fingers against the soil. It was damp as if it had rained just now, but the sky was clear.
When he lifted his hand, a smear of dark red clung on his hand. It was blood, seeping up from the ground itself.
When he returned the group was gathered in a loose circle around the fire, the lamb was cooked fully and they shared it among themselves.
Alice had prepared carrots she found and set them neatly beside the meat. Becca raised a piece of roasted lamb and took a bite.
Alice shot her a glare as if Becca was forgetting something. "Don’t forget the vegetables, dear. You’ll collapse if all you eat is grease."
Xior accepted both meat and the vegetables from them and bit into the lamb first then the carrot.
Soon the laughter faded and silence returned. The crackle of the bonfire sounded too loud in the absence of other noise.
When the fire dimmed as they drifted into an uneasy rest, Xior remained awake. His gaze lingered on the forest, the shadows beneath the trees shifted strangely with every gust of wind.
At some point his eyelids grew heavy and though he didn’t mean to fall asleep, he drifted into a deep sleep.
And then he wasn’t himself, he felt awake but everything his eyes saw was weird. It felt unreal as he stumbled through the forest.
Blood trickled down his...or was it her? Arms. Each step left a wet footprint on the ground. The branches clawed at his skin and tore cloth and flesh alike.
Behind him came the sound of pursuit, dozens of armored figures crashed behind her, their movements were in a perfect unison.
Their eyes glowed red like the red moon looming over in the sky. And then he glanced back, they were close now. Dozens? Maybe even hundred, they were clad in black iron armor with red eyes glaring at her. Their weapons were painted red with blood and their footsteps made no sound against the ground.
The dreamer screamed, it was a raw and desperate attempt at calling for help, but soon he was swallowed by the tide of the red eyed soldiers.
Xior jolted awake with a strangled gasp, sweat dripped down his chin and his hand instinctively reached for his gauntlet as his eyes darted towards the shadows.
The bonfire burned low, its embers glowed faintly. Around him, the others slept, unaware of his sudden startle.
Only Becca stirred, her gaze was half lidded but watchful. "...Bad dream?" She asked quietly.
Xior’s eyes narrowed and he nodded. "Yeah, you should go back to sleep. I will also do the same."
Becca nodded and closed her eyes once again, she drifted into sleep after a few minutes. Above Xior in the night sky, the stars flickered and somewhere deep within the forest, unseen by the human eyes an old man with a hunched back walked towards the mountain.
He paced slowly towards the path carved into the mountain to climb it, he had a small wooden cane to help him balance.
As he started his ascent he looked back towards the dark forest behind him, his eyes glowed red as he turned his neck back to normal and continued walking.