Be Holden

Chapter 6: Munch

The translucent woman runs to the trees and jumps on a branch. She is gone and the spider leaves the guy on the web. It goes back through the golden doors and the doors disappear. One of the sirens grabs you and you try to fight her grey, skinny form but she is abnormally strong for her size. The male yells and breaks free from the web. He runs after the translucent woman. All the sirens, with their black holes for mouths; snap their heads in his direction and like ghosts they ride an unseen wave in that direction. They leave dark, foggy woods behind them and you decide to follow them. You run through the foggy woods trying to find them. It is difficult and you are lost. You flop your butt down on warm, damp soil next to the root of a tree. You hear sounds echo through the woods. A growling sound starts up and gets louder. Flared, black nostrils breathe your scent briefly and turn away. Shortly afterwards, black boots stop by you and a black glove is offered to you. You ignore it and get up. "Some guy is chasing after her. I think we should look for her." You say. "No." He says.

"Why? I know you two have disputes but... Something tells me that we must find her."

"Don't worry. We will see her again."

"How do you know? Did you see that guy? He was in the process of morphing into something I have never seen before."

"Things like this happen all the time during the mating season. It is not that big of a problem."

"Where is your friend? Where is the other overseer guy?"

"I don't think that finding him would be a good idea, for you. You are not supposed to step one foot out here, yet we are here. The last time someone under his regime defied him they became dust. Think of little particles floating through the air that once was an animated being."

You decide to go back to the manor with him. You two were silent during the walk. The kitchen door was open and you walk in first. Upon entering, you see women lying on the counters with blood all over them. Their bodies are sloppily stacked on each other. Some bodies fall off of the counters and onto the floor. They did not have any visible wounds on them. Most of their eyes are shut but some have their eyes wide open. Their eyes are glossed and lacking hope. They have fear etched into their still faces. You look at the black gloved guy and back at the bodies.Is this real? "What happened here?" You yell at him. "We have our dark desires." He says.

"It does not matter."

"It does!"

"What can we do if our lovers are gone?"

You look up into his eyes for the first time. His eye sockets hold obsidian eye balls with electric blue horizontal slits making up his iris and pupil. Quickly, you look back at the bodies. You are more comfortable with seeing the empty vessels than staring into his odd eyes. Something inside you told you that this gruesome scene is only the tip of the ice berg. You move further into the manor and see more bodies sprawled around. A new area is uncovered and is untouched by the bodies. Black smoke swells and churns in the wall near the kitchen where a dining room should be. You reach out to touch the black smoke. You feel coal grounded up into fine powder. You feel particles sift through your fingers. You step forward and he does not stop you. You keep going until the fine, black powder engulfs you. You continue to walk through the moving black before you. It swirls around you and lifts you. You float for a bit and then it lets you down. Slowly, you descend until grass blades tickle your ankles. Gravestones peak through the rich, green grass a huge tree sits at the center of this wild, grand graveyard. Flowers bloom on it and little, dark purple berries rest on its branches with ease. You hear movement behind you. You swiftly turn. He is walking forward at an unusually slow pace, compared to his usual speed. He walks past you up to the tree's trunk. A translucent lady appears. Her hands are tied before her with a piece of green vine. Her eyes are capable of staring into those eyes. Her small, light brown irises implore with his strange ones. Bright, blue lines streak down her cheeks. His black gloves wipe away her tears. "Set her free!" You exclaim. He shakes his head. "You can set her free! Why don't you do so?" You ask.

"She needs to be here!"

"Why?"

"It is not important."

"Tell me! I want to know what the hell is going on here!"

"She is too wild! She- If I let her go, she will leave and I will be alone. I will not be satisfied, if that happens."

"She should be free to make her own decisions and make up for her mistakes!"

"What if I let her go and she never returns? What if she hates me for putting her here in the first place?"

"She may understand your reasons. She may forgive you. If you don't try it, you will never know."

His hands hover over the vine and he shakes his head. Aren't you tired of being lonely?" You ask. Hastily, his hands untie the vine. The tree's image fades into her and she goes into the soil. You both run to the blackness surrounding the serene graveyard. A few moments later, you two are spewed out of the black vortex. The bodies are still lying around the manor like a morbid party decoration. He runs ahead of you to the pantry. You follow him. He kicks the pantry façade down and steps on it. Pat. Creak Pat. Creak. Indistinguishable whispers. He peers in waiting for someone. She walks up to him. Tears threaten to leave her eye sockets. His arms interlock around her form and her minion clasps her ankle with his eyes squeezing shut. "Did you kill these virgin maidens?" She asks in a thick accented voice. He shakes his head. "Ishin is wandering around in the woods and it's mating season. It was hard for him... His dark desires overspill, and he does things like this." He says. "This is horrible. Maybe, we should tell his father, the Sun overseer." She says.

"No, that would not help him. He just needs Ishin's company for a while. This mess is Ishin's fault. She knows how he is."

"Thyme, he is out of control. You remember all the individuals that have been destroyed and crippled by his ruthlessness."

"He is better now. Ishin is helping him."

"I need to find Ishin. She promised me that she will show me something interesting."

"No. It's mating season and you should be with me."

You clear your throat. She looks at you with wide eyes. "You are ripe?" She asks. You give her a quizzical look. "You will make a beautiful tree someday. Hopefully, it is someday soon." She says. She smiles at you and he digs his sharp teeth into her neck. Her translucent skin turns to a matte purple, fleshy tone. Her wispy hair weighs down and settles on a rusty brown hue. She closes her eyes and he lifts her. He cradles her in his arms as he walks out of the kitchen. You do not follow them. Her minion sits in the spot she stood in. Its hands clench and unclench. It is in disbelief. It does not understand that its master has been whisked away by a lover.

"Hey, little creature look at me!" You yell and it looks at you. Its big, glowing eyes stare at you blankly. "Do you know how to find someone like your master?" You ask it. It nods its head and its big, pointy ears jiggle with every nod. You pick the pallid, blue creature up and it clutches the neck of your shirt. You walk out of the kitchen door and into the mist. The fog thickens as you move further in the woods. "Where do I go?" You ask. "Thy must go further. This way leads to murder." He points in a direction but all you see is fog.