chronicles of eden - act I (92 page)

Squeak smiled and moved towards the front of the cabin, with Triska and Specca glancing to her with blank expressions as she made her way up onto the seat next to Daniel. He glanced over to her and smiled as she looked around at the surrounding landscape. Old trees and fields of tall grass were seen passing by while the sky above was dark and cloudy. Small banks of fog could be seen forming around the dirt trail as Lucky kept running at a brisk pace.

“So much for our sunny weather, huh?” Daniel chuckled. Squeak nodded as she looked around with curious eyes.

“Daniel, do you think it would be alright if we stop at the next lake or river? Just for a moment?” Specca called up curiously.

“Again? We just stopped at a creek an hour ago,” Triska groaned.

“I’m sorry, I get dry scales. I can’t help it,” Specca quipped defensively. Daniel smirked and nodded as he kept looking around at the passing landscape, the fog starting to build more around the land.

“I think we can do that, Specca, that’ll be fine,” he said calmly.

“Thank you, Daniel,” Specca said with a timid smile. Triska sighed and sat back against the wall with a dull expression.

“We can’t keep stopping at every body of water we come across you know,” she said flatly.

“Daniel said it would be alright, and he knows best,” Specca said, looking back at her book with a bashful smile. Triska rolled her eyes as Squeak looked around at the increasing fog, not being able to see much around the caravan as the sky above grew darker. Small beams of light managed to pierce through the clouds, the rays casting the fog around the caravan into a soft bloom. Daniel looked around with a curious eye while Squeak showed some concern. She slowly glanced up to her antennae as they twitched slightly, the girl then looking around carefully. The fog was increasing still, with visibility dropping rapidly. Squeak looked over to Daniel, the boy still looking around with a calm expression. She then looked back inside the cabin, seeing Triska looking down at her dagger while Specca was reading. The interior of the cabin was darker now, with light from the entryway and window fading from the gloomy skies above. Yet nobody else seemed to notice.

Squeak looked around at everybody then over to Lucky, the horse running along at a quickened pace even though the road ahead of him was shrouded by a thick veil of fog. The ant girl showed an uneasy expression, squeaking softly as she looked around slowly. The rolling and clacking of the wheels along with Lucky’s footsteps were all that was heard as Squeak showed an increasingly worried expression. Her antennae twitched more as she quickly looked around the side of the caravan, only seeing fog passing by in rolling wisps.

She looked over to Daniel and squeaked a few times, the boy glancing to her with a curious eye as she pointed around at the passing fog.

“It’s alright, Squeak, it’s just a little fog. It should clear up soon,” he said before looking back ahead. Squeak looked at him puzzled then down, questioning his definition of ‘a little’. She looked around worriedly again, getting a bad feeling in her chest as she couldn’t see anything around the caravan. Looking back to Daniel she squeaked a few more times while pointing to the fog.

“What’s she trying to say this time?” Triska asked glancing over to them.

“I’m afraid I haven’t figured out her type of language yet to even make an educated guess,” Specca commented, glancing over to Squeak with a raised eyebrow. Daniel looked at Squeak curiously as she shook her head while squeaking with a worried expression.

“It’s ok, Squeak, really. It’s just some fog, nothing to be afraid of,” he said reassuringly. Squeak looked at him with worry then up ahead, seeing something through the fog. Daniel looked over to seeing an overturned carriage near the side of the road up ahead, with wooden crates and carrying bags strewn about. The wheels of the wagon were spinning slowly as it was upside down and crushed in slightly. A dead horse was seen at the front of it, the animal lying on the ground as it appeared to have been ripped apart.

“What the… whoa, Lucky, whoa!” Daniel called out. Triska and Specca looked over to him curiously as Lucky started to slow down.

“What’s wrong? What is it, Daniel?” Triska asked, sheathing her dagger and moving towards the front of the cabin.

“Is everything alright?” Specca asked as Alyssa continued to sleep next to her. Daniel, Triska, and Squeak looked around at the sight of the overturned carriage with careful eyes.

“What happened here?” Triska asked cautiously. Daniel looked around as he only saw fog around the site.

“Hello? Is anybody there?” he called out.

“Hello? Anybody still alive?” Triska called out. They waited and heard nothing, the sound of Lucky snorting as he stood still in front of the caravan all that was being heard.

“What is it, what’s out there?” Specca asked.

“Looks like some travelers ran into trouble. I don’t see anyone here though,” Triska said carefully. Daniel peered around then spotted an arm slowly poking out from the torn cover of the carriage, the hand shakily grabbing the dirt as it trembled.

“Wait, somebody still in there,” Daniel said standing up.

“Oh my god, hey! Are you alright?” Triska called out as she got out and stood up on the seat next to Daniel. Specca put her book down and headed towards the front of the cabin while Alyssa continued to sleep, the witch having a calm expression on her face.

“Hey, are you ok?” Daniel called out as he hopped off of the caravan. Triska jumped off after him while Specca poked her head out of the cabin.

“Oh my, what happened here?” Specca asked looking at the overturned carriage. Squeak looked around carefully, not seeing anything but fog all around them. Daniel and Triska ran up towards the carriage as the hand shakily reached out for them, the arm having cuts and bruises on it.

“A survivor, hey, speak to us. Are you ok?” Daniel asked as he ran over to the carriage. Triska ran over and pulled the cover aside, then screamed as she and Daniel backed up. Squeak and Specca watched with surprise as Alyssa woke with a jump, the witch looking around quickly.

“Huh? What’s going on?” she said as she slowly came to her senses.

“What is it?” Specca called out. Daniel and Triska stared with wide eyes at seeing an ant-lioness reaching out towards them from inside the carriage, her lower body under the ground and poking up through the broken wooden planks. Her mouth was opened wide as she screeched hoarsely at the two humans, her teeth having scraps of flesh stuck in them while blood was smeared over her face along with the inside of the carriage from her recent kill. Triska backed up a step before she screamed in pain, being pulled down as her foot sank into the dirt. Daniel grabbed onto her as her leg dropped down below the ground, the girl screaming as the dirt below them shifted around.

“Something’s got me!” Triska screamed.

“Triska!” Daniel cried out as his friend was being dragged down, the girl clawing at him franticly as Specca and Squeak watched with shock.

“What the heck is that?” Specca cried out. Squeak watched as Triska thrashed around, the girl being dragged down into the ground up to her waist while Daniel desperately tried to pull her up.

“Daniel!” Triska cried as she was pulled under, her hands letting go of him as she vanished into the ground with a loud scream.

“TRISKA!” Daniel yelled out as he looked down at the ground. Alyssa ran up to the front of the cabin and looked outside with surprise.

“What’s going, what happened?” she called out.

“Something ate Triska!” Specca screamed as she grabbed her head in fright. Squeak stared at where her friend was pulled under with shock, frozen in fear as she had witnessed an ant-lioness devouring her friend right before her eyes.

“What?” Alyssa cried out. Lucky neighed and bucked back, the group looking over to seeing the dirt under him shifting around and shooting up. The animal bucked around before the ground below him gave away, the horse then dropping down into a sandpit while loud screeches were heard below.

“Lucky!” Alyssa screamed out as she watched her horse fall down into the pit. Lucky cried out as he thrashed around, with the sight of a few ant-lionesses biting into him from all around underneath. Their mouths and heads popped out enough to latch onto the horse while their arms clawed at him franticly.

“No!” Alyssa shrieked as she saw her horse pulled under, the reins and straps for him yanking down then snapping off.

“What the hell is this? Were those ant-lionesses?” Specca screamed.

“LUCKY!” Alyssa cried out as she started to cry, shaking her head as she looked down at the torn up dirt where her horse was dragged down to its death. Daniel looked around at the two patches of torn dirt then screamed out in anger and horror.

“NO! TRISKA!” he cried out with agony. Specca looked at where the horse was pulled under before the caravan shook about, the rear wheels sinking into the dirt as the ground below it gave away. Daniel watched as the caravan rocked back before dropping down from the rear as dirt shot up around it. Specca and Alyssa tumbled back into the cabin and rolled to the back wall while Squeak held onto the entryway’s frame, the ant girl looking around with wide eyes. Screeching sounds were heard as the ground around the caravan shot up in small bursts. Daniel watched as the back half of the caravan sank into the ground while the front half lifted up off its wheels.

“No!” Daniel yelled out as Squeak struggled to keep her balance. Inside the cabin Alyssa was rubbing her head with a groan while Specca slumped against the back wall, the nixie looking around with blurry eyes as her glasses had fallen off.

“Lucky, no!” Alyssa cried out. A pair of hands broke through the wooden wall behind and grabbed her, the witch screaming as she was pulled back through the wood and into the dirt. Specca grabbed her hand and tried to pull her back, only seeing a dark and blurry image of Alyssa’s body thrashing around while blood shot out of the opening her upper half was being pulled into. Alyssa screamed in agony before being pulled back into the dirt, being viciously devoured as Squeak stared down through the entryway with shock. She saw her friend being torn up by the monster’s mouth and vanishing into the dirt while Specca started crying.

“No! Alyssa!” Specca cried out. She looked around franticly while whimpering, not able to see properly without her glasses. Squeak reached down towards her, squeaking loudly as she held onto the frame of the doorway. Specca looked up towards the dim source of light, her eyes not able to make out much detail other than Squeak’s silhouette.

“Squeak!” she called up with tears forming. Suddenly the floor below her gave away, the nixie screaming as she was pulled down into the dirt with loud screeches coming from below. Squeak watched in horror as Specca was dragged down into the ground, her arm and outstretched hand dropping and shifting down through the dirt. Squeak shook her head as tears started to form, the ant girl letting out a loud squeak of anger and horror.

“AHHH!” Daniel’s cry came from nearby. Squeak quickly looked over to seeing the ant-lioness in the broken carriage trying to pull Daniel towards it by his leg, the boy holding onto the ground as the monster screeched loudly at him. Squeak let out a high pitched squeak and leapt off of the caravan, the ant girl then landing down on the ground and racing towards him. He screamed before he lost his grip, being dragged towards the monster as it shifted down through the ground. Squeak lunged over and grabbed his hand, desperately trying to pull him back as his legs sank into the ground inside the broken carriage. He screamed as the dirt flew up around behind him, his grip trembling as Squeak watched with horror.

“Squeak!” he cried out, the boy then being yanked from her grip and dropping down into the dirt with a scream. Squeak stared in fright as she watched him vanish, his voice fading away down below the ground. She trembled then squeaked loudly, tears forming as cried while shaking her head.

Suddenly the ant-lioness shot up in front of her, the monster grabbing Squeak by the shoulders and biting onto her face. The ant girl squeaked franticly as she thrashed around, the girl then being pulled down head first into the ground. Her legs kicked and flailed about, then fell limp as they were pulled under into the ground.

Squeak shot up with a loud squeak, her eyes wide as she was breathing heavily from her dream. She looked around quickly to seeing that she and the other girls were all sitting back in the caravan again, with Daniel riding in the driver’s seat while looking around outside. Lucky was running along just as before while the sky above was getting cloudier. Alyssa murmured quietly as she slept while lying back against her pillow while Specca and Triska were looking at Squeak curiously, with the nixie holding a book in her hands while Triska had her dagger in hers.

“Squeak? Are you ok?” Specca asked. Squeak looked around with a stunned expression then down as she closed her eyes, slowly breathing out in relief as she squeaked quietly.

“Bad dream?” Triska asked with a raised eyebrow. Squeak nodded and looked at her with a worried expression, squeaking while moving her hands around as she seemed to be describing her nightmare. The other girls just watched her as she tried to explain her bad dream then glanced to each other.

“Well… that sounds… bad,” Triska said with a shrug.

“Indeed, but you can relax, Squeak, it was just a dream,” Specca reassured before looking back to her book. Squeak nodded and leaned back against the wall, slowing her breathing down as her antennae twitched slightly. Specca scratched her hands a bit then looked up towards Daniel.

“Daniel, do you think it would be alright if we stop at the next lake or river? Just for a moment?” she called up curiously. Squeak looked at her with a careful glance as the caravan rocked a bit.

“Again? We just stopped at a creek an hour ago,” Triska groaned.

“I’m sorry, I get dry scales. I can’t help it.” Specca quipped defensively. Squeak showed a worried expression then slowly looked over towards Daniel. He smirked and nodded as he kept looking around at the passing landscape, the fog starting to build more around the land.