Journey Through All Creatures

Chapter 45: The Caves of Death: Part 2: Grotesque Grotto

Note: Story starts in Achatina, The Island ABC order for Section I, Scorched Earth and Aberration exclusives for Section II and has a Prologue. Last chapter in Lamprey, next chapter in Rock Drake.

Chapters to the end of Section II: 5! Chapter 50 will be called T X S

Cave Chapters: Aberration: Part 2/3

Later on Day 4 of Aberration…

Sodden and Dorack rode their ravagers east across the Green Zone, continuing through the Mushroom Forest. The sun’s light was slowly fading from the cave. The cave was quiet, and all that made noise were creatures walking along the grass, some hunting down prey, some running from predators, and the occasional Basilisk hiding in the ground. The two survivors continued to their base, and as they did, Dorack turned his head and looked to Sodden.

“Hey. So… when should we do the Grotto cave? You know, that cave in the Blue Zone?” Dorack said. Sodden sighed.

“We might just have to take a few days to get scuba and resources to be able to go. Gonna take some time to do. Uh, so when we get back to the base, we gotta get a Anky then some metal. We need a fabricator and whatnot…” Sodden said. Dorack nodded and looked forward The two kept going, getting closer to the base by the second.

Meanwhile, back in the Red Zone…

Marison stood in the giant, light blue chamber with the whirring strange machine in the center. The essence inside it was purple-pink, meaning it was critically damaged, and slowly turning gold, meaning it was dying out. Marison smiled at the sight.

“Heh. And Dorack seriously thought he could find her. Noob. Hmm.” Marison chuckled. He looked around the place, then, as he began to walk to the door, he got a notification on his implant. Marison looked down at it and saw that he got a message from Rod. Rod had set up a base in the Blue Zone and was advancing nicely. He also noticed the Rock Drakes from the Aberration Kingdom marching through the blue zone and towards the Green Zone. Marison chuckled.

“These idiot Drakes have no idea what’s waiting for them at the Green Zone…” Marison sneered. He walked out of the room.

~~~~

Dread crouched down near Serenity, who was sitting against the wall, shaking and breathing heavily. Dread gripped the club with his right hand and sighed.

“The Aberration Kingdom is trying to find your little friends. We have a plan for them. We cannot let Sodden and Dorack see any of these guys. Hopefully they’re still in that cave, getting decimated and all that.” Dread sneered. He then growled quietly and sighed.

“Listen up. When Terad came down here, I already hated him. I so badly wanted to get control of the Assassin Heart. Thought they’d just let me have it. They clearly did not understand how powerful we were. Not once did they back down, even when I kidnapped you, when I kidnapped him, and when I… well.. You know. Both our tribes suffered grand losses. Many creatures died, some survivors died permanently. Heh. It’s funny, you know. You came back to your worst nightmare all because Sodden wanted to kill a bunch of creatures.” Dread chuckled. Serenity sighed and shook her head.

“I came here to find our way to the Assassin Heart. So we could destroy it and free the C Tribe and myself.” Serenity said. Dread then spat loudly and cackled loudly.

“Yeah, sounds like a great plan. Just sneak into Dead Earth, find the heart and destroy it. Easy, right!? Heh. There’s just one little, tiny issue with that plan. It’s impossible. These artifacts host the power of the Creator. He wanted to share his powers with the survivors to allow them to do what they want. You can’t just go up and destroy it. Besides, even if you could get the resources to go down there and destroy it, the chances of surviving all the waves including the destruction are about as good as anyone getting out of this Ark alive. You know what that is? Around zero percent. Yeah. Yeah. Uh… like the odds of all of your friends, including you, getting out of this Ark alive.” Dread chuckled. He then started growling deeply as he picked the club up and stood up tall, looking down at Serenity. Serenity gasped.

“Hmm. Not sure what makes you think you can get out of this Ark alive, let alone destroy such a artifact. Anyway… guess you don’t wanna talk with Sylveevee about this whole situation. Yeah, just… just sit there and cower in a hole like the chicken you always have been.” Dread chuckled. Serenity gasped and stood up.

“Wait… you did what?” Serenity said, her voice shaking.

“Well… we caught Queen Syl, brought her here, and injured her so she couldn’t morph into a creature and leave. Don’t worry, she’s fine. Just on the first floor of the base. But you are going to stay near me and follow my orders. You know what happens if you don’t.” Dread growled. Serenity nodded and Dread then walked upstairs, and Serenity followed him. Both survivors walked towards the staircase to the main floor of the base, right above the dungeons.

~~~~~~

Dorack and Sodden were on Reaper, traveling towards the Blue Zone. Both survivors had metal pickaxes, grapples, crossbows, and many, many tranq arrows. The two were planning to go on a resource grind and a taming spree. They were approaching the southeastern corner of the Green Zone, and they were scouting the area for any good creatures to tame. As they approached the cliffside separating the green zone from the blue zone, Sodden, who sat at the front, took out a spyglass from his bag and held it up to his eye, to look around the area for something to tame. There were a few Ankys nearby, but all of them were low levels. Sodden put the spyglass down and sighed. They kept going down the path. Sodden then turned to Dorack.

“So I heard you nearly got Reaper killed the other day. I also saw one death message indicating that something happened while you were away. What happened?” Sodden asked. Dorack sighed.

“Well, I was lost in the blue zone at the time, and then I heard Reaper’s howling, so I went to her, then Marison and this other guy came up and injured us badly. We nearly killed Marison, but he managed to escape. His friend wasn’t as lucky.” Dorack sighed. Sodden gasped and sighed.

“Why did you not tell me this sooner? Okay… just say exactly what happened while you were in the Blue Zone. What happened to Serenity?” Sodden asked. Dorack looked around the area.

“Well… Marison and his buddy kidnapped Serenity and knocked me out so I couldn’t follow her back to Dread’s base. Like… come on. It’s not like we’re gonna be able to raid the base anyway.” Dorack said.

“Yeah. Maybe this is related to the Aberration Kingdom. Like… maybe it was to prevent us from finding them then raiding them with the help of the Aberration Kingdom.” Sodden said.

“Oh… so you believe me now?” Dorack asked. Sodden nodded.

“Yeah… well, apparently, Serenity was allowed to contact me with the implant and we had a little chat. There’s a lot of complex stuff going down here. I’m still not totally sure exactly why or what’s going on, but what I do know is that there’s something bad going on and we’re part of it.” Sodden explained. Dorack nodded slowly.

“Okay… okay. Did… did she say what happened to Nal?” Dorack asked. Sodden shook his head.

“No. She said she couldn’t give any specific details about the plan. But she did say she had around 12 days to live before her essence is gone for good. Not sure what’s happening with that.” Sodden said. Dorack nodded slowly in affirmation.

“Interesting… okay. Uh… you find any good Ankys?” Dorack asked. Sodden held up the spyglass and looked through it. He looked at a group of three Ankys. One of them was a 115. Sodden gasped and put the spyglass in his bag.

“There’s a 115 to the northeast. Let’s go.” Sodden said. Reaper growled softly and began running northeast to the slope where they saw the Anky. It was in a bright blue bush, eating some berries off of it. There were mushrooms scattered around the place and the plants were glowing brightly with blue-greenish colors.

“Okay. Dorack, you can tame the Anky, since you have the trap. I’ll get the metal.” Sodden said. Dorack nodded, then they both hopped off Reaper. Sodden turned back to the raptor.

“I’m going to need the cryopod to transport that Anky, so you’re gonna need to keep a eye out for anything here.” Sodden said. Reaper screeched in affirmation.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Two large doors burst open. Dread had just kicked them open, as Serenity stood tall, walking beside him. They walked into a large hall, with a staircase on the two sides of the room and a narrow hallway in the center, that led to a large gate on the far end of the base. Then in the center of the room, in front of the narrow hall, was a large table, with two curved sides and a parallel pair of sides on the front and back. There were chairs scattered around, the table was not very wide, but sitting on the other end was Queen Syl, bruised on her shoulders and chest, messed up hair, and two other people holding her down to the chair. The two survivors were keeping Syl down to the chair and stopping her from escaping. Serenity walked towards one of the chairs that sat directly across Syl. Dread stared at Serenity.

“Well, go sit down.” Dread said. Serenity nodded and sat down in the chair. Syl looked up at her.

“Ah, so we meet. Been waiting a while for this, you know. I wanted to meet you in a different fashion, but eh, it’s fine. We have bigger problems now. Until a few days ago, we had no problems with Dread and his tribe. Which is good. But when you got here and one of your friends died super violently somehow, I suspected something was up. Serenity, one of my friends remembers you from the last time you were here, over a year ago.” Sylveevee said. Serenity sighed.

“Yes. I met them one time. They were cool. I bet they told you about everything that happened.” Serenity said. Syl shook her head.

“Oh, no. He didn’t need to tell me. I already knew. Then I heard of Rod’s messages and learned about you and your friends. I wanted to protect them, but… It’s too risky.” Sylveevee said shakily. Dread chuckled.

“Yeah, you think I didn’t know that? I-” Dread said, then he was interrupted by a sound. His implant made a ding, and there was a message from one of the Rock Drake hunters. Dread growled quietly.

“Gimme a sec.” Dread said as he turned around and lifted his arm to see the message. He gasped when he saw what it read. He turned on voice communication just then.

“Stay out of sight. Do not let them see you. If you see Syl’s army approaching, attack immediately.” Dread growled. He turned off the voice, sent the message, then put his arm down and turned back around. He chuckled and growled.

“Looks like we have a bit of a… predicament. My army has discovered you-know-who in the Blue Zone right now. Syl’s army is approaching fast. Hmm… Queen Syl… recall your army. That way, you won’t have to lose any of your troops.” Dread sneered. Syl gasped and stood up, pushing the two survivors behind her away.

“One, it’s Highness to you. I guess you hate royality, huh? And two, I’m not giving up my army. We will fight, no matter what it takes.” Syl yelled. Dread growled and stormed over to her then grabbed her neck. Syl gasped in pain as Dread held her down to the chair. Serenity gasped and stood up.

“Serenity, you have anything to say about this crap?” Dread growled deeply. Serenity stammered.

“Uh… well, where did you find the army?” Serenity said. Dread chuckled.

“Why do you care?” Dread growled as he gripped tighter on Syl’s neck, causing her to start choking.

“Listen! I saw where the army was going. If Sodden and Dorack are nearby, they’re quite close to the Hidden Grotto. I…” Serenity stammered. She then looked around and whispered something.

“I’m sorry, Sodden and Dorack. I love you two.” Serenity said under her voice, then she looked back up at Dorack.

“Lead them to the cave entrance. That’ll lure them away.” Serenity said. Dread chuckled.

“Ah, yes. Good.” Dread sneered. He released Sylveevee’s neck then threw her onto the table. She shouted in pain as she sat up, groaning.

“Serenity, stay here. Watch her and do not let her heal. And one more thing. If I find you anywhere else… well, you know what happens.” Dread sneered. Serenity nodded. Dread turned away and walked through some doors on the right side of the room. The second the doors closed, Serenity looked at the table , flipped a chair over, and took a bag out from under it. The bag had multiple medical brews. Serenity chuckled.

“I think he forgot how smart I am. I know how to outsmart you, Dread. I’m not scared of you.” Serenity said. She took out some medical brews and turned to Syl. Serenity then held two of the brews to Syl’s mouth, and she gulped the liquid down. As she did, her bruises slowly dissolved and her energy was slowly regained. Syl sat up and looked at Serenity.

“Wha… do you know how risky-” Syl said, but Serenity interrupted.

“You need to morph into a Rock Drake and escape this place. Find Sodden and Dorack and protect them. Do not let Dread’s army stop them.” Serenity whispered. Syl nodded and looked around the place. She stood up then looked up at the thick stone ceiling, which had metal right above it. She then yelled and her body started glowing pink, magenta-ish, then her arms and legs began to extend and feathers grew from them. Her neck extended and her head began to morph into one similar to that of a Rock Drake. Her tail formed and her arms had become the wings. Serenity nodded. Syl growled quietly as she lifted off the ground right as Dread burst into the room.

“What’s going- oh.” Dread growled. He was silent.

“GET THE DEFENSES. DO NOT LET HER LEAVE.” Dread snarled. Syl then broke through the ceilings, shattering the top metal wall and exposing the middle layer to radiation. The insulated base would protect everyone inside from radiation. As soon as Syl left the base, the towers surrounding each corner of the base walls lit up with survivors holding crossbows. The guards continued to shoot at Syl as she glided away, dodging all the arrows. Then some Rock Drakes guarding the front gates saw Syl leaving and they took off to chase her down. Dread stormed over to the front walls.

“Seal the ceiling now! Serenity, get back to your cell. I’ll handle you later.” Dread growled. Serenity gasped and ran in the other direction, towards the staircase going down to the dungeons.

~~~~~~~~

Sodden and Dorack sat near the unconscious Anky, feeding it berries and keeping watch. Reaper kept watching the area. Then as she was sniffing the place, she smelled something strange. She chittered and growled softly then started sniffing as she followed the trail down south. Sodden looked up to see Reaper walking away.

“Bro… where’re you going? Did you find something?” Sodden asked. Reaper sniffed and looked around the place, then she noticed something walking towards her from a distance. She then screeched loudly and ran straight at Sodden and Dorack, then she grabbed their arms and threw them both on their back. Sodden yelped and grabbed the saddle, and so did Dorack. Reaper roared and ran straight from the Anky.

“Bro… what… what happened!? What did you see?” Sodden asked. Dorack turned around and gasped.

“Uh… dude… I think I know what’s going on…” Dorack said as he pointed to behind him. Sodden turned around and gasped. There were 10 rock drakes running at them, and there were two survivors on each one, shooting arrows and bullets at the survivors. Sodden gasped.

“Crap. We need to find somewhere to hide!” Sodden yelled. Then, as the Rock Drakes approached, another one showed up in the sky, gliding straight at the survivors. But this one was unusual. It had a fully magenta body, with slightly bruised wings and a bright red tail. Then it swooped down and grabbed Reaper and the two survivors and swooped straight east, speeding towards a giant lake.

“What!? What the heck… who is this?” Sodden yelled, gripping Reaper’s saddle tight. The Rock Drake roared loudly. Dorack gasped as he stared at the rock drake. It was completely pink-magenta colored, and the feathers felt more like human hair.

“This… this is her. This is her. This is Queen Sylveevee right here!” Dorack yelled. Sodden sighed.

‘’Can we not right now?” Sodden groaned.

“No. He’s right. I am Queen Sylveevee. I just escaped from Dread’s base. His army is hunting us down. We’re going into the hidden grotto. Hold your breath, we’ll talk later.” Syl said. Sodden nodded then him and Dorack iinhaled some air and held it in as Syl dove into the water, going straight down a large, deep hole that led into a cave system. They flew straight through the entrance, then Syl started glowing as her body shrunk. Her tail then became more flattened and her body became slimy. She then became a diplocaulus. Sodden and Dorack gasped and jumped on her back, then held the air pockets to their mouths as the diplocaulus swam past multiple cnidarias and eels.

Meanwhile, on the surface, the rock drakes were put into cryopods by the survivors.

“We need to go down there now. Kill them all.” One of the survivors said. The others nodded in agreement and two of them walked to the shore of the lake and took a cryopod out of their bags. They threw out a Bary, then the two survivors got on it and dove down, wearing scuba armor, to find their targets.

Meanwhile, deep in the cave, Reaper, Sodden, Dorack, and Syl all arrived at the surface chamber of the cave. Reaper screeched loudly as she inhaled the oxygen in the room again and again, and Syl then leaped forward, Sodden and Dorack jumping off, then Syl glowed and she became taller and her tail disappeared, and her normal human form returned. Sodden was shocked and confused. Dorack was speechless and confused.

“Okay… you might be asking what the heck is going on. So… basically, I had no part in all this until Dread invaded my base and took me away. I was forced to get my hazard suit to protect from the radiation and then we got to Dread’s base. They badly injured me so I couldn’t morph into a creature. Then Serenity was brought upstairs to talk with me.” Syl said. Sodden gasped.

“Oh… how’s she doing?” Sodden said. Syl sighed.

“She’s badly bruised and bloodied on her entire body. Looks like Dread gave her quite a beating. She had tears in her eyes as she was walking with Dread. But she was determined to protect you two, so she healed me and I was able to escape. We’re not safe for long, though. They’re definitely coming down here to kill us.” Syl explained. Sodden nodded slowly. He then turned away and sighed. Reaper growled softly and walked to Sodden. She whimpered as she moved her head onto his shoulder. Sodden sighed and petted her softly. Syl walked over to Sodden.

“So you must be Sodden. I heard of you when you came to Scorched Earth. Quite a tough mission you’re pursuing here, but it’ll be worth it. Anyway… uh… who’s the raptor?” Syl asked. Sodden turned back around to Sylveevee.

“This is Reaper the Raptor. She has a creature implant, something very rare for us survivors.” Sodden said. Syl gasped as she noticed the glowing speck on Reaper’s big red claw.

“I’ve seen many creatures with implants down here. Many of their implants dissolve within hours, though. Some persist for days or even weeks. It’s rare for one to last forever, as it only happens if you tame a creature with a implant then get a baby from that creature. If the baby has the implant, then the tame will keep the implant forever until it dies. So you don’t see these often in your Ark… right?” Sylveevee said.

“No, we don’t If I had to guess, the reason so many creature implants occur here is because of mixes with survivor implants and radiation. It may cause the implant to have different host data, so it’d be put on a creature of some sort. Because of its radiation, though, it dissolves quickly. Unless it’s put on a imprinted creature. Like Reaper. That’s why she’s had it for so long.” Sodden said. Syl nodded.

“Makes sense. Uh, I don’t know much about this whole plan or what Dread wants to do, but I know that you two are in danger and we need to leave the place fast. Okay, we need to go.” Sylveevee said. Sodden and Dorack nodded. Sodden took a cryopod out of his bag and put Reaper in it, then Sylveevee walked to the other side of the chamber, to the underwater passage. Sodden and Dorack walked closer to her, then Syl began to glow magenta-pinkish. A bright red hue surrounded her body as she began to shrink, her body becoming more slimy. Her legs and arms flattened and her tailbone extended from her rump and became long and flat. Her head became flat and some openings appeared in the sides of her body. She them stood on four legs, as a Diplocaulus. Sodden and Dorack hopped on and the group shot down into the passage, the two survivors holding the air pockets on the sides to their mouths, and they continued through the tunnel of deadly creatures.

After some time of manuvering through the cave, dodging creatures, and speeding through cave tunnels, they arrived to a bright blue room full of water, where there were multiple cnidarias around. There was a small, bright blue container on the bottom of the room. The container had a small, light green beam of light going through it. Syl swam down to the container, and Sodden then got off, holding the air pockets, and mumbled as he pushed the lid off, groaning. He quickly got the artifact of the Shadows and got back on the Diplocaulus. Then they dashed away as the cnidarias closed in. However, something was waiting for them back up at the surface chamber…

As they rose to the surface, a loud sound went off and a bullet flew straight into the Diplo’s body, and she immediately threw Sodden and Dorack off and morphed back into her human form. She collapsed to the ground, groaning as she clutched her chest. There were two survivors standing right in front of the group, and they had some Megalosauruses with them. Then someone came from behind the creatures. He had a thick, black and gold armor, made of metal and element, and he was wearing a helmet with bloodied horns on the top. Then the survivor stormed over to Sodden and Dorack. Sodden gasped and stood up in front of him. Then he took his helmet off and put it down on the ground.

“So… we finally meet.” The person growled. Sodden gasped.

“You’re… you’re him. You’re Dread. I know you. What… what are you doing here and what have you done with-” Sodden said in a rising voice, then Dread interrupted by punching Sodden in the shoulder and then picking him up, and throwing him aside. Sodden slammed into the ground, and got up slowly, groaning in pain.

“I want none of your business. Did you really think you were going to be able to escape this cave alive? Ha! I came over here on my Rock Drake to talk with you personally. Heh. Y’all are idiots. Sodden… yes. I know you. Rejected by Nudon on day one. You can’t run from Terad forever, you know that. Dorack… ah, yes. He’d do anything to save Nal…” Dread growled as he walked towards Dorack, who gasped as he stood up and looked at him, shaking a bit.

“You are ignoring what Rod gave you. What he told you. Just… hmm. I’ll give you back Nal. I’ll give her back in her full form and essence, and she’ll be left unharmed. I just need you to do this one thing.” Dread sneered. He took out a shotgun, which had red-black streaks across it and orange-cyan colored bullet chambers. Its trigger was painted yellow, and its handle was painted entirely red. Dorack gasped as Dread held the shotgun out. Dorack took the shotgun from his hands.

“Just shoot Sodden and Syl down. Do it. And Nal is yours.” Dread sneered. Dorack gasped in horror and stared at Sodden, who was sitting on the ground, groaning from bruises on his back, and Syl, who wrapped a bandage on her chest to heal herself. The two looked up and gasped as Dorack looked around with the shotgun. Dorack was gasping quietly as he tried to find a way to get out of this.

“Do it… and your girlfriend is yours…” Dread whispered. Dorack struggled to keep all his anger inside. He may’ve looked stressed and chill on the outside, but he was boiling as hot as lava with rage inside of him. Dorack continued to gasp, and he started growling quietly. Dread growled deeply and spat on the ground next to him.

“Well? You gonna save your girlfriend or what?” Dread sneered. Dorack knew what was happening. Dread assumed Dorack was stupid because of his brain injury. He assumed Dorack wouldn’t care about Sodden. Dread thought that Sodden was merely an acquaintance. Dread didn’t understand that Sodden is the whole reason that Nudon got the courage to hunt down the Assassin Heart. Dorack then whistled quietly. He started whistling a quiet howl, a sound that sounded like a raptor’s call. Then Sodden’s bag shook. A cryopod fell out of it. Then Reaper rose from the cryopod.

“Distract him. I’ll cryopod you as fast as possible. Syl… morph into a Rock Drake. Now.” Dorack whispered. Syl and Reaper nodded softly. Then Reaper lunged far and forward, then grabbed Dread’s head with her claws, and he shouted in pain. Dread yelled in anger as Reaper distracted him. Reaper pinned down his shoulders as Dread grabbed her neck and tried to push her off. Reaper’s claws were strong, but Dread was even stronger. Reaper got pushed away then she lunged again, this time she bit straight into the armor and starting ripping off pieces of it. The other two of Dread’s tribemates got on their Megalosauruses and ran straight at Reaper, and Syl stood up and began glowing magenta. She dove into the water as she did and she transformed into a megalodon. It roared loudly as it began to glow again, this time rising out of the water and becoming a Rock Drake. Reaper got shoved off Dread by the Megalosauruses, but Dread’s armor was badly damaged and he was mildly bruised. A Megalosaur then ran straight at Reaper, who was groaning as she stood up, and opened its mouth and grabbed Reaper by the body. Reaper screeched loudly as she was plummeted down into the water. Then Dread growled as he stood up and yelled as he ran at Dorack, who held Dread’s shotgun. Dorack fired the gun, and jumped to the other side as soon as he pulled the trigger. The bullets cracked his armor and did even more damage to his armor. Dorack then saw the Megalosaur and its rider continue to bash Reaper, chewing through her flesh. Blood spread across the water. Reaper growled softly as she began to suffocate. Dorack gasped and dove straight in, then he used the shotgun to bash down the Megalosaur and its rider, then after the rider andd creature died, Dorack grabbed Reaper and swam back up. Dread was lying on the ground, groaning, while the other survivor grabbed him and ran to his Megalosaur. He put it in a cryopod and threw a Baryonyx out.

“Bro.. where are you… going…” Dread groaned.

“We’re leaving. That raptor’s dead anyway. Just forget these idiots.” His tribemate sneered. He stared back at Syl, Dorack, and Sodden. Then he and Dread got on the Bary and dashed for the exit. They both swam upwards to the exit. Dorack took some gauze pads and pressed them down on Reaper’s body as he put Reaper on Syl’s back. Sodden got on too and the three dashed into the entrance, dashing out of the cave. As they rose, the army at the top started shooting arrows and rocks at Syl. Most of them missed as Syl glided away. Then a arrow with a strange purple tip flew through the air and struck Sylveevee in her rump. She screeched in pain as Dorack and Sodden held tightly on Reaper and Syl.

“I got her! I got her!” A survivor shouted as he jumped up and down. He saw the Baryonyx rise from the water. Dread had a scratch on his shoulder, but he was barely able to stand up. His implant flickered orange and green rapidly. Dread growled as he jumped off the Bary and saw Syl swerving through the air and glowing pink, then she began descending to the ground.

“Ugh. Whatever. With Sodden’s raptor and Sylveevee out of the way, we can finally do this. Army, get back to the base. We need to repair our armor and fix the damages. Besides… I have someone to talk to.” Dread growled deeply. The survivors standing around him nodded and they got on their Rock Drakes. The Bary was put into a cryopod and Dread got on one of the Rock Drakes. Then the Rock Drake army screeched as they took off. Syl’s army had long been called off because of Dread. Serenity was in danger of going to the Reaper Queen, Sodden and Dorack potentially exposed their location, and both the Queen of Aberration and Reaper were in critical condition.

~~~~~~~~~~

The magenta-colored Rock Drake rapidly fell to the ground, near the base. Sodden and Dorack screamed as they held onto the feathers and Reaper. Syl screeched in pain as she shrunk quickly, then they all struck the ground hard. The impact ejected a lot of dust and dirt and most of it flew across the place, towards the base. Sodden groaned as he stood up. He was moderately injured, and so was Dorack. Dorack grunted as he stood up, picking up Reaper, who was losing blood quite quickly. Sylveevee didn’t get up, though. Dorack set Reaper down on the ground, and started putting some gauze pads on her wounds. She had a open wound on her back, her tail was badly bruised, and her neck was bleeding a bit. Her legs were not in good shape either; there were cracked claws. Dorack wrapped Reaper’s body in a roll of gauze and put bandages on her legs. Sodden ran to Dorack and gasped.

“You have to put her to sleep. Okay? That way, we can help her without hurting her.” Sodden said. Dorack nodded and took some narcotics from his bag. Sodden turned around to Syl and ran to her. Sodden crouched down near her body and put his fingers on her chest.

“She still has a pulse. She seems to be unconscious.” Sodden said. Then he saw a arrow sticking out of her upper leg. Sodden then grabbed the arrow and slowly lifted it out. Then as he did, blood spurted out of Syl’s leg. Sodden took the arrow out and got some bandages from his bag, then pressed them down on Syl’s wound. Then he looked at the arrow and gasped in shock. The arrow was a poison arrow. Syl had gone unconscious from the poison. The poison was spreading through her body quickly. Sodden picked her up and walked into the base, and set her down on Nal’s bed.

“Oh… I wonder how Serenity’s doing…” Sodden said. He then put more bandages on her chest wounds and some of her bleeding bruises. Syl then started gasping quietly, then blood started pouring out of her mouth. Her breathing then stopped suddenly and she started making noises. Sodden gasped.

“Dorack, get in here now!” Sodden yelled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, at the Rock Death base…

Dread stormed through the halls of the base. He had just arrived at the base and immediately burst through the gates. He then stormed down the staircase to the dungeons. He then walked down the hall to the other staircase, leading to the bottom cell. Dread then took out a long metal club that had small spikes on it. He burst open the door. Serenity was sitting in the far corner and saw Dread come in. Serenity gasped as she saw Dread coming.

“No…” Serenity gasped, her heart beginning to accelerate. Dread growled. Serenity whimpered and turned her head away, and Dread grabbed her neck. She screamed, trying to get out by hitting Dread’s hands. Dread then threw her across the room. She couldn’t stand because the impact broke her legs. Tears began appearing in her eyes.

At this same time, Dorack was trying to stitch up Reaper and Sodden was trying to stop Syl from choking on her poison.

Meanwhile, Serenity backed up against the wall, gasping quickly. Dread lifted the club and Serenity looked up at him.

“NO!!!” Serenity screamed as Dread brought the club down quickly. It struck her chest and everything went black.

To be continued…

-RelatingHen8906