Crimson Dawn

Chapter VII �" Crimson Dawn

 

„Sky.. Wake up..“

Utakata said rubbing his eyes, he nudged Sky easily.

 

„F.. Five more minutes.. mom..“

Sky said and turned over.

 

„Uhh.. You child..“

Utakata stood and opened a window, the sun was just about to rise, light morning sunlight pierced through the inbetweens of the mountains. Fresh cold air aggresively went into the house, Utakata loved mornings, it felt like the beginning to a journey, every day has it's own story. And he wished it never ended.

 

„Taka.. What is.. What happened..?“

Len said sitting up and yawning loudly.

 

„Hey.. Seems like, we've been here all night.. We must've fallen asleep while talking..“

Utakata said looking out the window and taking a bite of an apple. Owen and Sky were still asleep.

 

„I don't even remember.. Falling asleep like that.. In a while.. With friends.. You know..“

Len said and sat next to him, she put her head on his shoulder and sighed.

 

„Yeah.. You know.. Maybe this thing.. All that's happening.. Brought us together a bit..“

Utakata said smiling while she returned the favor with a punch into his shoulder.

 

„Oww.. Hey! What was that for!!“

Utakata said rubbing his shoulder in pain, she started laughing at him.

 

„Oh nothing..“

She said and stood up, she streched, kicked Sky in the chest and he woke up, and lightly nudged Owen, he was already awake.

 

„Oh My.. I can't breathe..“

Sky said while in a sitting position, he grabbed his chest and started coughing.

 

„Len.. Cmon.. Don't go too hard on him.. You know.. He might've died..“

Utakata said smiling and standing up. He helped Sky to stand up and tapped him on the back.

 

„Nah.. He'll be fine.. The animals will save him.. Phahaha..“

Len said giggling and drank milk out of the carton. Sky was about to say something to her, but his stomach hurt again and he grabbed while holding his finger up.

 

„Alright.. Calm down.. Haha.. Let's eat.. What do we have.. Hey, can you go..“

 

„Shhh...“

He was interrupted by Owen.

 

„What.. Owen.. Don't shush me.. Wha..“

 

„Shhh...“

Owen did it again.

 

„Owen.. Why are you doing that?“

Utakata said insulted.

 

„Don't you hear it?“

Owen said quickly and calmly.

 

„Hear what?“

Utakata said coming closer to him.

 

„Nothing...“

Owen said, with anxiety.

 

„Nothing.. Owen.. What are you talking about?“

Utakata said thinking that Owen was baffling.

 

„Nothing can be heard.. Meaning.. It's quiet.. If you remember correctly.. Utakata-san.. Every morning.. At Dawn.. People wake up and go work.. It's loud on the street..Other people can't sleep.. I know because I do it.. And regarding that nothing could be heard.. Means there are no people out yet.. Meaning something must be wrong.. Sister.. Dad is silent.. Also..“

Owen said calmly and went outside the house, Utakata looked towards Len and nodded in disbelief.

 

„Dad..! Daaaad!!“

Len yelled with no response.

 

„S**t.. Alright.. Let's get out there..“

Utakata said nodding towards the door, they went out after Owen, Utakata looked around and saw him standing down at the lake. They started running down to him.

 

„Ugh.. Len.. Please, tell me that Guren has holidays..“

Utakata said hoping for the best.

 

„Owen! What is it!?“

Len said grabbing his arm. Owen was still looking forward with an unusual expression, he pointed onto something in the lake.

 

„What is..Is that..“

Utakata said in disbelief and realized, a person was sitting in the water.

 

 

„M..Mom..“

Sky said nervously and stepped into the water.

 

„Sky.. You...“

Utakata put his hand on his shoulder.

 

„Mom.. Is everything ok..“

Sky took another step and the water was up to his knees. His mother was sitting in front of him making a motion, as if she was taking out something from the ground. She mumbling something unreasonable, Sky approached her in silence.

 

„Mom.. Please.. Why.. Mom.. What's wrong..“

He touched her arm, and slightly nudged her, as soon as he laid his hand on her, !

 

„Ahhhhggghhaaaaaa!!!!!!“

Sky screamed in horror and dropped down onto his knees, he threw himself into the lake and started drowning. Len pushed Utakata aside and jumped in after him. She swam deep and fast to save him from drowning, he already let go.

 

„S**t!! Sky!! F*****g hell.. What the.. What is this...“

Utakata almost fell, horrified by the scene in front of his eyes, he strongly held his teeth together and bit his lip. Owen nudged him with a horrified expression. Utakata stood up and saw something so horrifying, they both stood frozen in catatonic fear, shaking, their bodies twitching in horror. The townspeople were rising out of the water, but their faces, their bodies, extremelly, horrifically deformed. Spines bursting out their backs, hair falling off, bodily parts growing in, fingers prolonged, their bodies taller, their teeth growing into their skin, incomprehensible horrific shapes, slightly recognizable, all their friends, family, everyone, turned into those horrible crooked  monstrous things!

 

„LENN!!! LEN!!! GET OUT OF THE F*****G WATER!!! LEENNN!!!! LENNN!!! GET OUT!! LENN!!! WE HAVE TO GOO!! WE HAVE TO RUNN!!!! LENNN!!!!“

Utakata uncontrollably started screaming with tears falling out of his eyes, Owen was startled with tears in his eyes, Len was surfacing with Sky's unconscious body, Owen jumped into the water to help her, they both started dragging him out while Utakata stood frozen in fear of the horror in front of him. A crooked  Wilkes rose out of the water and stood right before them, he maniacally screamed making a horrible sound with his torn out vocal organs and swiped his grown out sharp fingers into Sky, Len threw herself in front  of him, and he uncontrollably started stabbing into her back, blood spouted everywhere and she fell on the shallow crimson water.

 

„WHA... WHAT... GOD.. I.. WHY!! LENN!!! YOU F*****G MONSTERS!!! YOU M***********S!!! YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST!! KILL EVERYONE!! TAKE OVER!! OUR HOME!!! KILL OUR FRIENDS!!! MURDER OUR FAMILIES!!!! I'LL BURN YOU YOU M***********S!!!!!!“

Utakata screamed in agony as Owen quickly passed by with a straight face and grabbed him under his right arm, while carrying Sky under his left. He ran towards the Raposo family house, Utakata was screaming and crying while Owen barely held his sorrow in with tears coming to his eyes seeing Utakata. The crooked were abnormally running after them, stumbling and falling over things on the ground and each other. They reached the house, Owen broke the window with his elbow and pushed Sky and Utakata inside.

 

„What the f**k... OWEN!! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!!!!! WE'RE GOING OUT THERE!! AND WE'RE KILLING ALL OF THEM YOU HEAR ME!!! WE'RE F*****G KILLING THEM ALL!!!“

Utakata said with a maniacal expression and an extreme urge to kill, he stood up and wanted to run outside but Owen grabbed him and held him back.

 

„Utakata-san.. Please.. Calm yourself.. This isn't the time to get emotional.. A situation like this requires calm.. I can see them.. Those things outside.. They appear clumsy.. Slow.. Unintelligent... And they appear to have damaged bodies.. They are strong.. But.. We might have a slight advantage here... If we play our cards right.. We might be able to save ourselves.. And outrun them..“

Owen said calmly assessing the situation, repressing his emotions and trying his hardest to stay calm.

 

„Owen.. I.. Len.. Oh God.. Len..“

Utakata said with sorrow completely possessing his body.

 

„Sister.. I love you.. We will mourn you.. After it's over.. Utakata-san.. Please.. Do not let sister's death be in vain.. She sacrificed herself for us... If we aren't careful.. And aimlessly lose ourselves in emotion.. It will result in our demise, also.. Trust me..“

Owen said looking into Utakata's teared up silver blue eyes.

 

„Owen.. I.. Im.. So Sorry..“

Utakata said with sorrow looking admirably at Owen, that's right, he was already there, in Aven, when the war, how can I let myself become so much more emotional and such a coward. When Len sacrificed herself for us, and I can't imagine how hard it must be for Owen to lose someone like this, and he's still calm, such a strong person, no, I won't let myself become overwhelmed with emotion.  We will prevail!

 

„Alright.. Utakata-san..I think I have a plan.. When we first moved here.. Ten years ago.. After the war.. Father built an underground tunnel.. If something like that ever occured again.. We could escape.. Altough.. The lock on it is rusted.. And Sister lost the keys some time ago.. We are going to have to destroy it.. Open it.. And leave through there.. However.. An axe is out there in that barn.. If we can sneak inside and take it.. This could work and we would emerge from it.. About 200 meters away from here..“

Owen said calmly and swiftly.

 

„Alright.. Sounds good.. Where is it..“

Utakata said calming himself.

 

„The basement..“

Owen said sadly.

 

„God.. Your father..“

Utakata said with remorse.

 

„He might be already metamorphosed into one of those beings.. If so.. I would have no trouble.. Putting it down.. The second he inhaled that substance.. His time as our father.. Has ended.. And the time he is dead has begun.. Utakata-san.. I trust you.. And I know we will get out of here alive.. Those beings seem to have little intelligence.. They are showing no specific interest towards this place.. Which means they aren't sure where we are.. If we can just...“

He was interrupted by a loud animal noise from the outside!

 

„What the...!!“

 

They both went to the window and looked outside.

 

They saw a pack of tigers tearing apart the crooked, jumping on them, devouring them with swiftness and aggression. They were amazingly coordinated, as if they knew perfect formations, watching each other's back and killing the beings at the same time.

 

„Oh my God... The animals...“

Utakata said in disbelief and looked towards Owen.

 

„Such beautiful creatures...“

Sky said watching next to them. He sat next to them and started coughing roughly.

 

„Where.. Where's... Lenna?“

Sky asked while coughing up water, hardly remembering what happened. Utakata sadly looked away, and Owen grabbed his shoulder, barely holding in tears.

 

All three of them heard a loud noise, the door violently broke down, revealing a dark figure against the rising sun. He was holding something very dear in his arms.

 

„This yours?“

The figure spoke.

 

„OH GOD... LEN!!“

Utakata ran towards the person and took Len from his hands, gently laying her down on the ground.

 

„She's alive, barely.“

The figure spoke leaning to the right.

 

„Oh.. Thank you.. Thank you so much.. Who are you..?“

Utakata said deeply thanking him.

 

„Name's London.“

He pointed towards the window, revealing a group of people sat around hardly visible against the rising sun.

 

„Where.. Where are the animals..?“

Sky asked confused and intimidated.

 

„What do you think?“

London calmly replied and opened the door to leave.

 

„Wait...!“

Utakata yelled approaching him.

 

„Yes?“

London asked.

 

„What... What are you people...?“

Utakata said with intimidation and grace.

 

 

„We're Grendel, and so are they.“