"The Lost Empire XIII: The Secret Forest"

The quest for the Lost Empire continues!

“The Secret Forest: A Lost Empire Story”

By Cody Williams

 

1.

James led the way as the rest of his Kliq (Walter, Lenora, Cain, and now Bachman) followed as they walked along the red dirt road on their way to the Secret Forest. Walter put his arm around Lenora as they walked and pulled her close to him.

            “I’m terribly sorry to hear about your sister Lenora. I really am!” Walter said with a sympathetic voice. Lenora’s eyes began to water and she stopped and gave Walter a hug. She pulled away and then looked him in the eyes.

            “You don’t think that there’s a chance that she could still be living do you?” She asked him.

            “Oh, she’s still alive…for now at least.” Bachman said as he walked by them. Lenora reached out and grabbed him by the arm to turn him around.

            “What do you mean?” Lenora asked him.

            “Your sister, she ain’t dead yet. I can assure you of that. But if we don’t hurry, she will be. You can count on that.” Bachman said.

            “How do you know all of that?” Walter asked him in a mistrusting tone.

            “She’s too important to the Bloody Mary’s plan. Bloody Mary needs her to live.” Bachman said.

            “What plan is that?” James asked as he and Cain stopped and walked over to them.

            “Bloody Mary wants to be the queen of everything. The Middle Universe, which is where your hometown of Dillon is James, Lowland, which she already rules, and the Common Universe, which is where you and I are from Mr. Bing.” Bachman informed them. They all looked at each other and then looked back at Bachman.

            “And how is she going to do this? How does Wilma play a role in all of this?” Lenora asked.

            “She’s a chosen one. There are several people in different worlds that are chosen by Bloody Mary herself. These people have certain powers that allow them to be the key to open the gates between worlds.” Bachman said.

            “What happens once the gates are opened?” Cain asked.

            “The worlds bleed into one another. Everywhere will be a so called ‘thin spot’ and there will be no separation between this world and the monsters of another.” Bachman said. They all looked at each other again.

            “We got to go! We have to stop Bloody Mary!” James said as he turned around and entered the Secret Forest and the Kliq followed.

 

2.

The Kliq began to make their way though the secret forest. Lenora looked around at the tall trees that surrounded both sides of them blocking to two sons of Middle Universe from lighting up the area around them.

            “Stick close together everyone. You never know what kind of creeps or creatures could be lurking the shadows of the secret forest.” Walter said. They banned together as they made their way through the forest. James looked down the road. He could se the light from the other side and dreamed about what might be there.

            Dillon! The lost kingdom could be on the other side of the Secret Forest! James thought to himself. I would be home and able to see my mother and little boy again. He thought. And if this were a fairy tale he would probably be right. But is no f*****g fairy tale. He knew that. But it didn’t stop him from dreaming.

            Lenora looked up above her and saw a yellow snake slithering on the branch above her. She quickly sped up to stay closer to the group.

            The sounds of crickets and frogs surrounded them the deeper they got into the forest. As they approached the end of the road, Cain began to notice something moving in the bushes beside them. Cain got low to the ground and slowly began to make his way over towards the moving bush while growling.

            “What? What is it?” Walker asked. James grabbed his sword from his sheath and walked over to the bush. He closed his eyes for a moment and then bent down and pulled the leaves of the bush to the side.

            “Hey! What’s the big idea?” Said a snapping turtle. The turtle stood up on its legs and walked out from behind the bush shaking its fist in the air at Cain. Cain growled before Walter stepped in and pulled him back.

            “Sorry…we didn’t mean to…disturb you.” Walter said with confusion that he was talking to a turtle. The turtle sighed and then smiled at them.

            “Don’t worry about it. I shouldn’t have over reacted. Who are you kids anyway? What are you all doing passing through the Secret Forest?” The turtle asked.

            “We are trying to find our way to find a thin spot to Lowland.” Walter replied.

            “Lowland? Why would you all like to go there? Lowland is a dark place ruled by a blood thirsty b***h!” The turtle said.

            “She has my sister.” Lenora said.

            “Well you might as well forget about that! She’s as good as dead.” The turtle said.

            “Plus, James here is the chosen one to take down Bloody Mary. He’s the only one who can stop her!” Walter said pointing at James.

            “The chosen one?” The turtle asked. The turtle bowed down to him and then looked up at him.

            “I didn’t think you would ever come.” The turtle said kissing his feet. After a moment, the turtle got back up. “Look, I’ll help you the best I can. Word is that Judgment Day is coming. The day when Bloody Mary will mix the universes together. If you continue on this path for about another mile, you will come to what they call The Golden City. In the center of The Golden City will be a castle where a great wizard lives. He will be able to help you find your way to Lowland! But you better hurry! You don’t have much time! Judgment it is coming soon!” The Turtle told them. Lenora knelt down and gave the Turtle a kiss on the cheek and quickly darted out of the woods.

            “Thank you!” Walter said as the rest of the Kliq ran out of the woods and the turtle watched.

            “Glad to help.” The turtle said as he stood there smiling until his head fell from his shoulders an onto the ground as his now lifeless body too fell to the ground.

            “Thanks for the tip!” The man in black said as he held a blood-covered machete with his eyes glowing red and a sick grin on his face.

Copyright 2014 by Cody Williams
Courtesy of TRUE TERROR PUBLICATIONS
A division of TTP Entertainment

Author's Note

The Lost Empire continues. The end is near! I've started thinking about how I'm going to wrap it all up. As of right now, there will probably be three more installments. Stay tuned...