Ghostly Town

Chapter VI: Ghostly Town

It had turned night as if a shadow had engulfed the town. The town may have had happy townspeople before, but now it looked so empty, so lonely. The houses were eerie dark, and looked most uninviting. No lanterns or torches were lit up, and placed outside the houses for people to find their way around. No sound was heard in this creepy little place. Where were all the people? Sylvia felt shivers through her body. She wondered what awaited them this time.

“It is too quiet here, Zell.” Sylvia whispered as if afraid to disturb the haunting silence. Sylvia's body froze stiff when everything had turned into sudden darkness. Her feet refused to move, and her heart skipped a beat. She could barely see her hand in front of her face.

“I agree. This is very strange.” He noticed she had stopped walking. “Sylvia?” He asked. He seemed hardly phased by the darkness and Sylvia could not see how that was possible.

“Oh... It is just that I... I..” She hesitated in a quiet, embarrassed voice.

“The darkness scares you?” Zell tried to ask politely.

“It’s childish. But if you knew why-”

Zell interrupted. “You don’t have to explain anything. Take my hand.” He offered. Sylvia felt uncertain. “Come on so we do not get separated.” He slid his hand around hers, and pulled her a bit closer as they began walking again.

Sylvia strangely felt at ease by Zell. She felt the warmth, and strength of his gentle hand. Her thoughts wandered to how nicely their hands fit together. She had little experience when it came to men. She had either been too young and not interested. Plus the situation she had been thrown into had not permitted her much time to meet anyone. Zell was only holding her hand so they will not get separated, and to comfort her. That was all. Right? Sylvia wondered what Zell was thinking, and had to second guess herself. She finally let it go, and pushed it off as a silly idea.

"Zell, we can barely see anything. What if we are walking into another set trap?"

"Then even if we stopped we would still be in possible danger." He added. "I will protect you, like I promised."

She was glad he was with her. She feared she would have a panic attack if she had gotten stuck here alone. Something was wrong. They heard movement and knew they were being watched.

Zell and Sylvia were surrounded. The townspeople were all around them. Zell and Sylvia had not been aware of them, until their torches, as well as their eyes lit up, and they knew they were surrounded. They stood oddly still.

"Their eyes look so strange! Are they going to attack us?" Sylvia exclaimed. Her grip on Zell's hand tightened.

"They are being controlled." Zell decided, "let's make a run for it!"

"How do you plan to do that?"

He whisked out his dagger. "I will make a way! Stay close!"

Zell cut through, and dragged Sylvia right along with him, never letting go of her hand. He headed for a small area of trees in hopes to lose most of the controlled townspeople. As they were under some trees, a fierce strike of purple lightning lit up the darkened sky brilliantly. A tree had fallen and the crash of it had been too close. Zell and Sylvia were separated by the large tree. Sylvia's leg, the same one that had been sprained before, was trapped under the tree. Some of the controlled people were making their way towards her. They helped her get her leg released, but only to be held in their grasps, and forced to walk with them. Zell was trying to make his way around the trees, and people.

Sylvia did not know where they were taking her. She continued to struggle to break free, but it was not doing much good.

She stood at the edge and trembled. Just below was a sink hole full of sand and mud. She could see it out of the corner of her eye, as the people's torches and candles provided light. Memories of her own time period flooded through her mind. Her body was stiff. She was unable to move, and barely scream. Pictures of the town guards from her time period flashed through her mind. She saw them chasing her, yelling their threats. For a moment, the strange people in front of her looked like the town guards. She remembered when she was surrounded on the roof of a building that one time. She wondered what was going to happen now. How would she make it out this time? “I was wrong to rely on Zell so much. I am a bother to everyone!” At that moment she felt herself being lifted up off her feet, and being thrown into the sink hole. She felt herself falling, sinking lower, and lower into the mix of sand and mud. It was up at her waist now, and she was still slowly sinking. All kinds of thoughts came to her mind. Maybe it was better for everyone if she just died here. Would she see a bright light? Would she go there, to the Heavenly place that she had heard so many stories of? She doubted that she would be allowed in such a wonderful place because of all she had done since she had escaped the orphanage. Since her mother had died she had had a good bit of taste of hell. She had enough of pain. She longed so desperately for the pain and sadness to stop. Would it stop here if the sink hole continued to pull her under into its pit of death? She had never thought she would die like this. Maybe shot by a town guard if not pierced by a sword. She had even thought that she would have died by starvation, if the bitter cold had not taken her down into an icy grave first. She had never had the will to resort in taking her own life no matter how gloomy everything had looked, or how far away hope was in her view. She had always fought to survive. Why did she suddenly feel like giving up everything now? All the fighting, sweat, blood, and tears would all seem like nothing now if she just gave up after trying so hard to stay alive. When she had been told her mother had passed on, she had truly wished for the icy ground to open up and swallow her. Instead she had been forced into an orphanage of a hard-hearted caretaker.

Zell rushed to find where Sylvia had been taken. He had already dealt with the people. He knocked most of them out, but after a while the rest of them had simply fallen over. He assumed that Silver's power over them had its limit. He had reached the edge of ground, and looked just below. His heart jumped with concern when his eyes spotted Sylvia. His first impulse was to jump right in and pull her out. Then he saw that she was slowly being pulled in further and further.

Above her, she faintly heard a voice that somewhat pulled her from her thoughts. She had not realized her eyes had been closed until she opened them. “Zell?”

“Sylvia!” He called. “I will get you out!”

Sylvia tried to move her arms, and felt the weight of all the mud around her. It was getting closer to her shoulders now. She could barely move. Her body was tired. She shook her head, and looked at Zell. “Don’t bother. It may be better this way!”

“What craziness are you going on about now?”

“How do expect to get me out of this?”

“I will find a way. I promise! I promised you I would protect. I am definitely not going to let you be taken down by a sink hole!”

“Do not make promises to me. They get broken. You cannot protect me. You cannot save me.”

“Don’t you dare give up! Have some faith in me.” He said through determined gritted teeth.

Sylvia only felt the ground pulling her down further and further. Darkness fell over her eyes.

Meanwhile, Quara and the others had made it to Misty Wood Lake, but danger had already found them a few times before. Nolen led the way and protected Queen Quara from the front. Tessa stayed behind the queen. “Is it getting colder?” Tess asked the others.

“I do not feel a change in temperature.” Nolen said.

“Wait,” Queen Quara stopped walking, “I think Tess is right. These chilly breezes are strange. “

“This is strange for the season.” Nolen agreed.

An eerie laugh was heard, but the person was not seen. “I know you have journeyed a while just to find me. Here is my warm… or rather icy cold welcome!”

“Silver!” Queen Quara yelled. The temperature changed drastically.

“Wow, it is so cold, yet the scenery still seemed like summer. What is this?” Tessa shivered.

“It must be one of his illusions.” Nolen said.

The mist of the lake rose and floated around them. “What is wrong with a bit of mind manipulation? Did you enjoy my plants?”

“We will defeat you!” Tessa hissed with attitude.

“Now I will stun you with fear!” Silver shouted unaffected by their threats.

Tess was suddenly overwhelmed with her fears that she always hid inside. “No. Stay away!” In her mind she saw warriors that carried swords, spears, arrows and other different weapons. She was in Lakewood, her home village that was in ruins. “Why!” She cried with her hands held tightly against her head over her ears.

Nolen and Queen Quara starred at her. Nolen asked, “Queen, what is wrong with her?”

“I am not sure… unless…” Queen Quara wondered.

A voice in their heads was heard. “Yes… correct… I am in her mind as well as yours. I pulled up a real fear from her memories. I wanted to see your group squirm with your hidden fears!” Silver laughed.

One of Nolen’s fears was failing to protect the queen. In his mind Silver was making the queen suffer slowly. Nolen was restrained with strong rope, and could do nothing. The queen’s fear was watching her kingdom suffer. From her tall palace balcony she saw buildings on fire from far away. She heard screams of her people that she so desperately wanted to save. Tess was shook. The wall she built so no one could see her pain, and her image of being so strong and carefree fell apart just like it had done with the encounter of the plants. She screamed until her lungs ached. Her fear was being abandoned.