Read What Following Brings Online
Authors: S. E. Campbell
What Following Brings (14 page)
Eden went down the stairs with Don, Aaron, and the rest of the prisoners behind her. When she reached the bottom floor, she
peered
ahead and saw what had caused the prisoners to scream. All of the Raiders, in their haste to leave, were in the same area and the floor was covered in thick white mist.
The only thing
which
stopped the Raiders
from
leaving
the prison was the glowing
,
white light of lanterns that poured in underneath
the double-doors
.
The prisoners cowered in cells as the white mist licked their legs and hunched
.
Morsus
-
infected soldiers lay on the floor moaning. Someone in a cell screamed again, a high-pi
tched trill, and began to bang their
fists on the wall. Eden shuddered.
“
Oh, no,
”
Don groaned.
“
This is worse than the imp.
”
Eden walked into the hallway. The same Raider
who
had struck a deal with
her
appeared before her and grew tall at a frightening rate. Her cold white eyes glared at Eden
.
Eden
looked
right back at her, feeling chilled. All around
her
, faces appeared and then all of the rest of the Raiders became
tall,
cloaked women too.
She
stood before an army of the most feared
Satan Spawn
in purgatory. Behind her, she heard Aaron swear and Don groan. A prisoner screamed again.
“
We had a deal,
”
the Raider said.
“
Destroy the lamps and o
pen the doors.
”
“
Let me get the prisoners out of their cells first,
”
Eden said.
“
No,
”
the Raider said.
“
We have waited long enough. Open the doors. Remove the lamps and let us free, or you will regret the day you ever made a deal with me.
”
Shakily, Eden nodded. She walked by the Raiders
. The
head Raider stepped to the side and allowed her to pass. Eden expected
the Raider
to turn around, but she didn
'
t. None of the Raiders did. Instead, heads twisted on their boneless necks and
leered
at her backward. They stared at her with empty, broken necks for a moment, and then their lowe
r bodies
spun
too. Eden shuddered, not liking their eyes on her, and was grateful when she finally
reached the door
.
Eden pushed the door open and stepped outside.
She surveyed her surroundings and saw the terrain was covered
in thick white mist, thicker than when she had arrived.
The Raiders are excited,
she realized
.
They know they
'
re about to take over this prison.
Fear
filled
her
.
Eden grabbed the glowing lamp
,
which
had been stuck to the wall with
hardened
goo that
appeared
a bit like cement, and tore it from the wall. Glass shattered
. Cool
liquid poured down her
hands and then disappeared into nothingness, leaving her completely dry.
Eden walked toward the other lantern on the other side of the door and tore it off too, causing it to shatter in her hands. Darkness came over th
e front of the prison.
She
shuddered
as white mist left the prison
'
s entrance so quickly it was like a visible strong wind. The main Raider
stopped before Eden and
turned
and
looked
at her with cold eyes. Eden remember
ed
the imp
'
s words as
the Raider
stepped closer.
“
Never trust a Satan Spawn. We know no loyalty except to our Dark Lord.
”
When the Raider drew closer, Eden stepped back farther, until her back was against the wall.
“
You do not trust me now I have gotten what I wanted,
”
the Raider said, drawing herself upward and gaining yet another foot of height.
Eden gripped the wall and shuddered.
“
N, no, I don
'
t,
”
Eden said.
“
Then you are wise,
”
the Raider said, reaching forward and grasping Eden
'
s head.
“
Once my touch is removed, you and the rest of your prisoners areâ
”
The Raider froze and then disintegrated in white mist. Eden gasped,
quaking
, and
looked
down at the swiftly retreating white mist as well as the light
which
seared her vision. She blinked and realized somebody stood before her. Two tall figures.
The pair was
Adanna and Sergeant Dale, each holding a lantern
.
.
They had come from the side of the prison.
Relief filled her heart at the sight of her friend.
“
Adanna,
”
Eden said,
“
what timing.
”
Adanna rushed forward and hugged Eden
.
Eden hugged her back as hard as she could.
I
'
m so glad she
'
s okay.
With a sigh of relief, Eden buried her head into Adanna
'
s shoulder.
She had missed her friend so much while she was in here, and now they could go back to Horace to find the remaining two people in order to save
E
arth and purgatory. She sque
ezed Adanna even tighter in gratefulness. The two of them released one another.
Sergeant Dale
looked
over her shoulder at the inside of the prison and his jaw tightened
at what he saw
.
“
A week,
”
he said, putting up his finger in the one symbol.
“
One week and you manage to overthrow the worst prison on the whole continent that never even had a breakout before. Youâ¦
Youâ¦
I can
'
t even form words for what you are.
”
Shrugging, Eden
turned
and went back inside.
Once there
, the prisoners pressed themselves against the bars of their cells and
gazed
at her with wide, pleading eyes. Just as she opened her mouth to assure them she would get them out of their cells, Don seized her arm with Aaron hovering behind him.
“
You are amazing,
”
Don said.
“
You came out of that completely unscathed.
”
“
Thanks to Adanna.
”
Adanna and Don
gazed
at one another
.
Adanna extended her hand to him and
grinned
.
As Don reached forward to shake her hand, Aaron elbowed his way past them both and looked at Eden.
“
What should I do?
”
Aaron asked.
She thought about the fast approaching mist and it swiftly pushed away any happiness she felt that Adanna was back.
I think the Raiders aren
'
t going to be happy with me now
that
I thwarted them. If they can feel any emotion at all.
Fear caused her to become
rooted to the spot, but she thought of her mom and the gates of heaven and realized she had to get out of here. No matter what.
“
Are there any more lamps?
”
Eden asked.
“
With a group this big, we are going to need a lot of protection.
”
“
Please don
'
t tell me we are going to be taking all of these prisoners with us?
”
Aaron said.
“
We can
'
t, Eden. The journey is going to be hard enough with just us.
”
“
They
'
re coming with us,
”
Eden said.
“
I
'
m not leaving anybody behind.
”
Somebody in the prison cell gave a loud cheer. Aaron wrinkled his nose and nodded.
“
Fine. I
'
ll go and get the lanterns.
”
“
And all the holy water you can carry,
”
Eden said.
“
W
e
'
re going to cure the soldiers
too.
”
“
Eden, no,
”
Aaron said.
She turned and looked at a nearby squirming soldier, and the black aura surrounding him, with pity.
He, like Aaron or Yuri, probably had a dark past
which
caused him to be here. He deserved a chance, and she was going to give it to him.
“
Please,
”
Eden said.
“
Fine,
”
Aaron said.
“
I
'
ll help,
”
Don said.
“
And Adanna
too?
”
Adanna nodded eagerly.
“
While you guys do that, I
'
ll unlock all of the cells,
”
Eden said.
She pulled the key from her pocket and approached the first prison cell. When she unlocked it, the scruffy woman inside
raced forward and
hugged her.
****
Soldiers lined the floor as Eden poured holy water over them. As
she knelt
by the dark-haired man
she
recognized as Jared, one of Yuri
'
s men, he stared up at her in surprise once the Morsus had cleared from his eyes.
He had a big beard, blue eyes, and messy dark brown hair.
He was young but not as young as she
.
She placed his dying age
in
his late twenties to early thirties.
“
Why are you helping us?
”
Jared asked, staring at her with large eyes.
“
Well, this is sort of my fault,
”
Eden said sheepishly.
“
We locked up the Satan Spawn to begin with and tortured prisoners with them,
”
Jared said.
“
It was bound to happen
to us
. No, you
'
re helping us for a different reason.
”
Jared
'
s eyes narrowed suspiciously.
“
I don
'
t understand you.
”
What an odd guy.
He obviously didn
'
t
trust her, judging by the way he moved away from her. Shrugging, Eden
whirled
around and headed to pour holy water on the next Morsus
-
infected soldier, who groaned and squirmed on the ground while
screaming the name Rosie
over and over again.
Eden bent down by him as thundering footsteps came down the stairs. It was Aaron, who had his arms full of holy water. He kneeled down by Eden and deposited the bottles of holy water at her feet. She
grinned
at him gratefully.
“
Thanks,
”
Eden said.
“
While I was up there, I checked on General Yuri,
”
Aaron said, laughter in his voice.
“
Is he okay?
”
Eden asked, her head shooting up. Worry coursed through her.
“
He didn
'
t do something dangerous in order to get free, did he?
”
“
Yes and no,
”
Aaron said.
“
He was attempting to get through the door with his hands bound and I knocked him over with it. The expression on his faceâ¦
I can
'
t get over it.
”
Frowning, Eden
looked down
at her hands. She didn
'
t think
it
was amusing at all.