Inhalt

**~** PART 1 **~**

*~* CHAPTER 1 *~*

Aerandria stood there, watching a little girl descend dirt stairs into darkness. She couldn't help but wonder why what looked to be a three year old would willingly enter this. Most three year olds she knew were so scared of the dark they ran from their own shadows.
She tried to speak to the child, tried to tell her that when people said, "Come into the darkness... we have cookies!" they were just kidding. She wanted desperately to tell her to run back to her mother, but no sound would escape her lips. She tried waving, she didn't care that she looked like a psycho; she wanted the girl’s attention. The three year old never noticed her, all Aerandria could do was watch the strange little girl continue on.
She didn't want to be left alone, so she followed her. Taking notice of her surroundings as she proceeded. She couldn't see the wall opposite the one she clung to for dear life, for it was invisible in the gloom. The darkness was endless.
The stairs dramatically began sloping, and she got the sense that it was a long way down. The ceiling above her rose, and she found that she had to hold on to the wall just to keep moving.
Paying attention to her surroundings awakened Aerandria to a sound. It was faint and she seemed to be heading towards it. It got louder and louder the further she went. The sound was probably dripping water; the wall was damp, and the air humid enough. She got closer and closer, listening to the water.
Hearing something else, she stopped. A honey sweet voice was softly beckoning her towards it. It called her forth with so much affection she could hardly disobey. Such a beautiful voice. She looked ahead to see if the little girl had heard it too, but she wasn’t there. The three year old had disappeared. Aerandria was all alone, it scared her a bit, but then she realized the little girl probably went ahead with out her so she continued on.
After what felt like hours, Aerandria descended her last step. A basic layout of the land could be seen through an eerie luminescent glow. The ground opened out, and was mostly flat, piles of what looked like dirt could be seen, but other than that there was nothing. Nothing visible anyway.
Aerandria walked forward, toward what looked like a pool. There were dry patches, stepping stones, leading towards the mouth of a sealed cave. Letting her curiosity get the best of her, and thinking the little girl was somehow inside the cave, she made her way across. Symbols were etched into the dirt wall sealing the cave shut.
She reached out and ran her hand across the symbols, making them glow brighter. She barely observed it as she noticed her hand, it was tiny. Minutes passed by as Aerandria realized the little girl hadn't disappeared, she'd become her. The panic started setting in, as her focus once again shifted; the seal had begun to pulsate. The wall grew brighter, lighting up the area.
Aerandria turned in a slow circle, re-inspecting the area. She saw that there weren’t any piles of rock and dirt, they were all dead bodies. Everywhere. They surrounded the pond in heaps. Sprinkled here and there. The one distinct thing about them was that they were all turned away from her. They seemed to be trying to escape this cave, and what ever powers it held. Something inside her suddenly screamed run, it told her to get out.
The ground shook, and she fell to her knees. She was now face to face with her reflection in the pond.
She could see the pond better with this new found light. It looked to be a large red pool instead of a clear one, and it didn't quite have the texture of water. Curiosity taking control, she dipped her finger in and tasted it. Not five seconds after licking her finger did she spit the vile liquid out. It was blood. A huge pool of blood. She had just licked blood.
She let go of an ear splitting shriek and backed up as fast as she could on all fours. Anything to get away from it.
A drop of something wet fell on her head and she backed up even more, until her foot submerged. Blood dripped down from somewhere above her like rain. There was no where she could go to escape it. She crouched there as the liquid continued to drip down her scalp. It spilled onto her face and continued on its journey.
She finally looked up and saw the bodies of many men hanging from the ceiling. Their life's blood draining from them.
She went in to shock; she couldn't find her voice to scream. Blood continued to flow onto her.
Aerandria stood and stared up, both feet in the pool, unable to look away.
Something or someone grabbed her, breaking her out of her trance. She turned, hoping it was a miner who had survived and was going to help her out, or someone from above come to take her home. It wasn't. In fact, the only thing that could be seen, other than the unnaturally long pale arms, was the cave. The cave that was no longer sealed. The cave that still pulsed and beckoned.
Growls, hissing, buzzing, and barks emanated from deep within it, she found herself surrounded, enveloped in it. There wasn't much she could do, so with an unexpected calm she took note of the things she could see and hear.
The caves outer shell gleamed, yet the interior remained pitch black, it's inhabitants hidden from view.
Another set of hands swiftly stretched out and clutched her. She lost her calm, and fear took over her as the hands began pulling her into the cave. Aerandria couldn't fight back, she was powerless.
Closer and closer, slowly pulling her in. She couldn't take it anymore, she drew strength from somewhere deep inside herself, and fought. She dug her feet deep in the ground, and pushed against the hands. She began slowly and steadily walking forward. She was determined. Making her way to the stairs, she felt overjoyed at the strength she held, happy that she was almost free.
She lifted her foot to initiate the climb, when the ground was stolen from under her. She fell forward and hit her head hard.
A third set of hands had grabbed her.
They were stronger than the others, stronger than she, and had more determination. Sliding down her legs to her ankles, it dragged her.
More hands shot out and wrapped around her. They secured her arms to her sides. She was moving so fast, she couldn't hold onto anything. Then suddenly, the ground once again disappeared. She had entered the cave, the opening of it rose as she fell. Her drop never ending, taking her further and further from her sanctuary.

*~* CHAPTER 2 *~*

Aerandria awoke with a start, in her bed.
She could still feel the cold hands grabbing at her, the arms wrapping around her. She could feel the damp darkness clinging to her, the pulsing wall under her palm. She felt the blood seeping through her pajamas.
She tried to shake herself of the dream, but the sensations still clawed at her. There was no way she was getting anymore sleep tonight.
She wrapped herself in her blanket and curled into a ball. Laying on her side facing her bedroom door, she shivered uncontrollably, though not from the cold. That dream had disturbed her to her core, not even closing her eyes and going to her happy place could save her now.
Eyes still closed her bedroom door opened, and she knew exactly who it was.
Zander, her elder brother.
He sauntered in the room with a metal studded belt wrapped around his hand and looked over his sister.
With a grunt and sounding slightly unhinged, "You look like hell."
Aerandria stared at the belt as she answered, "Yes, I had a nightmare."
"Were you being chased? did he have a chainsaw? a mask? maybe a knife?"
Aerandria simply shook her head. "At first I was watching a three year old walk down some really creepy stairs made of dirt. Then I was following her, and then! I was her!" she took a deep breath before continuing, "Hands... there were hands, and darkness, and this voice. This extremely beautiful voice, but it was only there for a moment. There were dead bodies too. and blood... so much blood" she trailed off shaking her head and looking at the floor. It was all just so hard to explain, hard to understand.
Zander crossed her room in no time at all. He stood over her, bent down and pulled her up carefully by her chin. When she was upright and looking him in the eyes, he spoke, "Sounds pretty bad... but it's not real. Why dwell on things that don't exist when things in the real world aren't much better?"
"What are you talking about Z?" As far as she knew life was great. Her little brother was finally making friends, she had finally gotten a boyfriend, and Zander was out of a relationship with a loose woman. Well, almost out of a relationship with her. Life was amazing, it would be better if her father was still alive, but you can't change the past no matter how much you may want to.
"I'm talking about you ruining my life Aeri!" he shouted, his face twisting with anger.
She had never seen her brother like this. He was usually calm, the voice of reason in this hellish house. The one they all turned to when they're lives were going down the drain.
"What?! How did I do that?!? What's wrong?" now Aerandria was seriously confused, How did she ruin his life? Why was he so mad? What did she do? and Why did he have that randomly sharp belt? Did he bring it to make sure no one was attacking her in her sleep? He was very protective of she and Cyruson.
He glared at her ferociously and answered, "Veronica. You drove my Veronica away! Everything is wrong, Why couldn’t you just leave things alone?"
"No I didn’t, I mean you guys are still getting married in April right?" She was extremely puzzled.
"Don't play dumb. I know you never liked her, and that’s why you got her to dump me! You thought she was stealing me away. You were jealous of our happiness!"
Recognition hit her hard, "Z, I didn’t make her dump you, I simply spoke to her about your relationship. Besides, she was cheating on you! She's slept with at least 3 other guys multiple times! AND you don't even like her! You love her, but you don’t like her. You like and love Emma. She’s a better choice."
"I never asked for your input. You had no right to get involved!" he squeezed his left hand into a fist and tightened his grip on the belt with his right.
"You deserve better Zander! I think that’s why you unconsciously started flirting with Emma. You already do anything for her, anything she asks for. She's a really nice girl and she’s completely head over heels for you!" Aerandria tried reasoning with him.
"I love Veronica" He said.
"If you really cared about Veronica you wouldn't have slept with Emma." Out of the pot and into the fire she thought. This was turning out even worse than her nightmare had.
"Veronica was changing. She stopped sleeping around. She loves me! and I loved her!... but you couldn't accept that. You can't accept that we would be happy together. You're so selfish! You have this silly idea that if your not happy, no one else should be!... That's why you should be punished. You need to be punished. I can't have you thinking like this." He was shaking with rage.
Aerandria opened her mouth to protest, but before she could oppose, he hit her with the belt.
With the pain of what he was doing, what he felt he had to do, evident on his face, he began to beat her.
Many times she yelled out in pain and tried to escape. He would just drag her back by her hair.
He beat her for close to an hour, said she had caused him so much pain. He said that she had to be punished.
He left her.
Sobbing in a bloody heap on the bed, she just lay there crying, unable to move and in intense pain. She was so confused.

*~* CHAPTER 3 *~*

Aerandria lay there crying heavily for quite some time. Long enough for her little brother, Cyruson, to run into the room crying and bleeding.
When he entered, she stood up despite the pain. Just one look at him told her that Zander had beaten him as well.
Aerandria held him while he cried for a few minutes, before picking him up and making her way to her mother's room. There was a good chance Zander had beaten her as well. Even though she wasn't the greatest mother, she didn't deserve this.
She walked in to find her mother asleep in her bed, bleeding and completely covered in wounds from the belt. Cyruson ran and hid in the closet, crying. Aerandria tried to get him to stop, but to no avail.
She gave up and tried to wake her mother.
She woke up looking completely dazed, mumbled something unintelligible and started slipping away again. She was drugged, she had to be. Zander would never drug her, he hated drugs with a passion. She had to have come home like this. Wonderful timing as always.
Zander bellowed up the stairs for aerandria to come to the kitchen immediatly. Without thinking she quickly ran down the stairs to tend to his needs. She had to find out what happened to make him so dysfunctional.

*~* CHAPTER 4 *~*

When she entered, he told her that her previous punishment was not enough and that she had to be punished more. He grabbed a butcher knife from the kitchen counter, and started calculatingly making his way towards her.
A scream bubbled through her lips, and she backed away. As soon as she had the chance, she turned and ran full speed down the hall and back up the stairs.
Finally understanding that Zander is just getting worse, she realized that they need to get away. They have to get out of the house. Have to get Zander some professional help.
Aerandria ran through the halls to her mother's room to get them out. She grabbed Cyruson from the closet and pulled him towards their mother. She proceeded to trying to awaken her again, and received the same results as the last time.
"MOM! Wake up! We need to get out the house... Zander has lost his mind and he only seems to get worse by the second. If we don't leave right this second he may take our lives. You need to get up!" She yelled frantically.
"We need to leave? Runaway? Escape?" asked a slightly hysterical Cyruson.
"Yea Cy. We need to get outta here if we wanna live. Help me wake your mother up." She felt bad for her little brother, so young and had to face this traumatic experience. He was going to need psychological help after this as well.
Cyruson just stood there, repeating her words over and over again. After about eight minutes of that he ran out the room. Without thinking, Aerandria let him go and turned back to her dozing mother.
She shook her a few times and slaped her across the face to wake her, but she wouldn't wake up. A high pitched scream pierced the air, and Aerandria ran out the room in its general direction, her mother slowly trailing behind.

*~* CHAPTER 5 *~*

Aerandria found herself standing at the top of the stairs, staring at Cyruson. He was laying in a pool of what seemed to be his own blood at the bottom of the stairs.
She stood there, frozen, for an immeasurable amount of time.
Her mother ran to Cyruson to see if her baby was still alive.
She checked his pulse and while it was a bit fast and kind of weak, it was better than nothing.
Aerandria ran down the steps at full speed towards her mother and Cyruson.
Zander enters. He walks in slowly, holding a knife as though he's about to stab someone. Laughing maniacally he advances.
Aerandria turns to her mother. She’s fainted. It was probably because of all the blood, or the drugs.
Losing any nerve she’s had, Aerandria drops to the floor. Her legs giving out, due to the pain she was in, the anguish she felt and the fear she faced as her life was coming to an end.
Zander started making his way towards her, smiling like a kid in a free candy store. He raises his knife into position.
As a last ditch effort, Aerandria screams at the top of her lungs. She shuffles back, trying to get away from him and eminent doom.
The front door flew in, at first all she saw was the bottom of a shoe. Zander sharply turned his head towards the door, and Aerandria crawled a bit closer to see. There were two strangers, with guns, and flashlights.
This was the first time she'd ever seen a real gun. The power it exhibited was enthralling. It captured both Aerandria and Zander’s attention.
Both men took a step forward, and pointed their guns towards Zander. Aerandria looked away from them and turned to her brother, he was still taking them in.
Utilizing the distraction, Aerandria jumped to her feet and quickly made her way to him. He turned back just in time for her to snap kick him in his jaw and send him flying. Zander fell to the floor completely winded, but still conscious. The knife slides out of his hand and Aerandria shoves it away with her foot. She kicks him hard in the gut, and Zander blacks out.
With a grunt one of the strangers leaves, cell phone in hand to make a call. Aerandria sinks to the floor and the other stranger walks over. He puts his gun down, in Aerandria’s reach and begins examining Cyruson.
When he's done, the stranger introduces himself as Ashur, and informs them that Cyruson should be fine.
Her mother, who was now awake, not fully but she was now aware.
Aerandria and her mother hug Cyruson tightly and awkwardly, not wanting to put him in more pain.
"How do you know that he'll be fine?? There’s so much blood." Aerandria says through tears.
"Mr. Psycho killer over there--"
Aerandria cuts in, "Zander, his name is Zander and he's not a killer."
"Zander never stabbed him in any vital areas. He has lost a lot of blood though. Oh and, the guy who just left to make a call? That's Juliano." he said with ease, as though he saw that much blood and faced situations like this everyday.
Just as Ashur finished explaining, Juliano walks in saying that its time they left.
"It was nice meeting you both, and thank you for your assistance." Aerandria say's as she gets up and heads towards the phone.
"What do you mean by that?" asks Juliano.
"I mean exactly what I said. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to call the cops and an ambulance." She picks up the phone and begins dialing. The 911 operator answers asking her what the nature of her emergency is.
Juliano walks over and takes the phone from her. He ends the call and says rather outraged, "What are you doing?!?"
"I'm calling the police!" she yells a bit insolently.
Turning to face Ashur, Juliano says, "You haven't told them yet, have you?"
"Told us what?" Aerandria asks.
After letting out a deep sigh Ashur responded, first to Juliano, "I was about to before you barged in, you need to work on your timing." Then to Aerandria and her family, "You can't call the cops, we don't have the time... and they can't know".
"Why? What’s going on?" she asks desperately, "My brother just attacked us. My brother who cries during sentimental movies and couldn't hurt a fly. There's blood everywhere, my mom is drugged and drunk, and Cyruson is slowly dieing. How can you tell me I can't call the cops?!?"
"They're coming for you. What happened here, with your brother, is nothing compared to what could happen. That my dear is why we need to get you all out of here." Ashur replied.
"Who's coming? What do they want with us?? What did they do to Zander???" Aerandria questioned hopelessly. It was obvious they weren’t going to give her any real answers just yet.
Before Ashur or Juliano could answer, Zander groaned and started moving, trying to regain consciousness.
Ashur and Juliano, fearing the worst, quickly ushered them out the house.

*~* CHAPTER 6 *~*

Cyruson was awake, but wouldn't move because it caused him a lot of pain.
Juliano carried him.
"Who are you guys? and Where are you taking us?" Aerandria asked severely confused and upset.
"To safety" Ashur replied simply.
"And where is that?" She was beginning to get impatient.
"There's a car on the corner of West minister and Katherine... Where is that?" Juliano asked nonchalantly.
Aerandria began showing signs of the wear and tear on her mind, "Is there something special about this car that makes it safe? Is it bullet proof? Does it have some sort of magical shield that will protect us from this mysterious and invisible enemy??"
Juliano and Ashur both smirked and shook their heads, but it was Ashur that responded, "No. It's just a car... It is beautiful though... Runs wonderfully, real quiet, great paint job, clean... I've had it for a while, but it still has that new car smell, its a... "
Aerandria interrupted him, "Sounds amazing and all, but I don't speak guy. Can't you just give me a straight answer?"
"I'd love to gorgeous, but like we said before... we don't have the time and your in a lot of danger. So with that said... How about you give us directions to my sexy car so we can get you guys to a first aid kit?" Ashur asks as he moves closer to her.
"It depends" Answers Aerandria,
"On?" says Ashur looking into her eyes.
"You're really creepy.. you know that?" She says stepping back
"I believe I’ve heard others say that to me before... You haven't answered my question yet." He answered with a chuckle.
"Why should I when you guys have yet to answer one of my questions?" She countered.
"We will, just not here. Can we make sure your safe first?"
Aerandria took a deep breath before replying, "There’s a shortcut through the forest behind the house, but since its so dark that’s too dangerous. We can take Union down to the corner and walk down Gerban. Take that over to Imal, cross the street, walk across the field and be there in 45 minutes." she said it all in one breath, and when she was done she was off balance. She wobbled a bit before falling over and almost knocking Cyruson out of Juliano's arms. Luckily Ashur was able to stabilize her before she could hurt herself. He held onto her a little bit longer than necessary and she pulled away glaring at him. He returned her glare with an innocent look, and a suggestive smile.

*~* CHAPTER 7 *~*

Juliano, after watching everything play out could only sigh, reposition Cyruson in his arms and start walking around the house.
Before entering the forest, Ashur gave Aerandria Juliano's flashlight. He stood by and let her lead, as she was the only fully conscious one who knew the way.
With Aerandria in the front, her mother behind her and Juliano and Ashur bringing up the rear, they trudged on through the forest in silence. They had only walked about 10 minutes when Juliano told them to run. They were close to the road and could see the street lights ahead, so there was no fear of anyone getting lost.
Aerandria froze and Juliano passed her to help her mother along. Her brain refused to accept that there was probably danger, so she just stood there frozen until Ashur knocked her to the ground.
She gasped out for air, but was not able to replenish her supply before Ashur laid on top of her. He was heavy, and this was uncalled for. Just what the hell was he trying to pull?!?
Aerandria tried to scream at him to get off, but sensing what she wanted to do he covered mouth. He looked into her eyes, forgetting the danger for a moment.
It wasn't long before loud foot steps brought him back to reality. Holding on to her tightly, he rolled them under a group of fallen trees. The shrubbery hid them from view.
Aerandria reached out to grab the dropped flashlight, but Ashur grabbed her hand. He pulled it back under their shelter, just as their pursuer emerged from whence they had come. He was holding a gun in one hand and a knife in the other.
Ashur quietly let out a curse as he remembered leaving it behind. How could he be so stupid?
The assailant stepped into the moon light, and it lit up his face. It was Zander.
He was fine.
He looked like hell.
His face showed hat he wanted to kill someone, but all Aerandria could think of was that he was fine. Her big brother was fine.
She began to cry tears of joy and tried to reach out to him, to call his name, let him know that she was fine, but Ashur stopped her. She became enraged, he was keeping her from her brother! She tried to fight him, he was much stronger. She shot daggers at him, and he thought "if looks could kill", but he never let go of his hold on her.
There was a rustling in the brush by Aerandria's head.
Zander turned and shot multiple times at the sound.
Aerandria yelled out, only to have the sound completely muffled by Ashur's hand. He could feel her tears run into the crevices of his hand. He could feel her pain. He wanted to comfort her, tell her that everything would be fine, but this was not the time. Instead he focused on Zander and a way to get them out of this. He had to protect her.
Zander was close to the shrubbery now. He was digging through it. They were so afraid he would find them, he was searching right by their heads.
The rustling ended when he found what he was looking for.
He grabbed it and yanked it out, only to find that it was a wild rabbit. Not his sister. He threw it and it hit a tree with a thump.
He screamed out in pain and cursed into the night. He needed Aerandria. He needed to punish her. He had to find her. After making one last visual sweep of his surroundings, he continued on through the forest.
"Baby, I know your in pain right now, and you just wanna stay here and cry, but we need to get out of here. He might come back and we probably won't be so lucky next time. We gotta get to the car." Aerandria didn't budge. "Think about your mother and brother. How would they feel if Zander were to kill you out here? We gotta go." Ashur whispered gently into her ear. She still didn't move, all she did was lay there beneath him completely silent and motionless.
A full minute passed before she slid out from under him. She hesitantly climbed out of their hiding place.
Ashur solemnly followed.
She began quietly walking towards the street when her foot brushed against something cold and wet. She wasn't wearing shoes and the liquid seeped into her socks. She looked down and immediatly regretted it. There lay the rabbit that had lost its life saving hers.
A soft whimper left her lips that caused Ashur to forget for a moment the danger and kick it away. He hated seeing her in any sort of pain.
The rabbit landed a few feet away with a loud thud that could be heard for quite a distance. Ashur cursed and urged Aerandria to run, there was no way that Zander didn't hear that.

*~* CHAPTER 8 *~*

Aerandria and Ashur began to run at full speed towards the street lights. Trying desperately to get as much distance between them and Zander. Near the street they picked up the sound of footsteps behind them. Only one person that could be. Aerandria turned her head, but all she saw was Ashur and trees.
She tripped, and when she tried to stand she found that she couldn't. Her ankle hurt too much.
Ashur doubled back and helped her up. He put her arm around his neck and helped her cross the forest. She had refused to allow him to pick her up.
They were 8 feet from salvation, just about to emerge from the forests edge when they heard something. The snapping of twigs as Zander closed in on them. Aerandria and Ashur turned around to see him standing there.
He had the gun cocked, and aimed at Aerandria.
Aerandria was afraid and confused, How could her brother do this to her? Ashur stood there calculating, forming plans to get aerandria out of danger. To get her somewhere safe. They needed her, everyone needed her.
Zander shot the gun.
Someone jumped in front of them. It hit the ground, and another shot was heard.
Aerandria looked down to find the bullet hole, for surely she had been shot. There was no wound, she was not hurt.
Zander was hurt though, for Juliano had shot him. At Aerandria's feet... lay a body. Ashur rolled it over to reveal her mother.
Since her father had died, Aerandria's mother had never been a good mother. She couldn't help but think, So now she chooses to be my mother? All the times I needed her and nothing. Did she even think of what would happen to us now that she was gone?
It all became too much for her and she fainted.
She could feel herself being lifted, carried, but she couldn’t bring herself to open her eyes. Couldn’t bring herself to answer the voice that called her. She couldn't face her reality. Instead her mind reverted to a simpler time. A time when nothing in her life was so complicated, when she could just relax and enjoy being herself.
She remembered earlier in the day, she was sitting at the kitchen table across from Zander. He was holding half a glass of water. He had asked her whether it was half empty, or half full? At the time she had no idea how to answer, she still didn't know how to answer. She had just shook her head and walked away.
That was the last time she saw him, the last time she saw him happy and smiling anyways. That would be a question, a memory, a moment that will haunt her for the rest of her life. There was no turning back now. In one night she had lost half her family, her home, and any sense of security she could ever hope to achieve. Everything was changing, and changing fast. What was she gonna do? What could she do?

(Turn the page to find out)

**~** PART 2 **~**

*~* CHAPTER 1 *~*

Panic started settling in as the seal under Aerandria's hand began to pulsate. The wall grew brighter and brighter, lighting up the area.
Aerandria turned in a slow circle, inspecting the area. She saw piles of dead bodies. They were scattered around in painful positions. Everywhere. They surrounded the pond in heaps, and were sprinkled here and there. One distinct trait, they were all turned away from her. They seemed to be trying to escape this cave, and what ever powers it held. Something inside her screamed run, it told her to get out.
Before she could escape, the ground shook. She fell to her knees, and was face to face with her reflection in the pond. The new found light showed it to be a large red pool. Curiosity taking control, she dipped her finger in and tasted it. Hoping it was ketchup. It wasn't, it was blood. A huge pool of blood.
She freed an ear splitting shriek that had been buried in the back of her throat, and backed up as fast as she could on all fours. Anything to get away from it. Something wet fell on her head and she backed up even more until her foot submerged. The liquid continued to drip down her scalp, it spilled onto her face and continued on its journey. She looked up and saw the bodies of many men hanging from the ceiling, the blood draining from their bodies. She went in to shock, she could not scream anymore. Blood flowed onto her. Aerandria stood and stared up, both feet in the pool, unable to look away. Transfixed on the bodies that hung like streamers at a birthday party.
Something or someone grabbed her, breaking her out of the trance. She turned, hoping it was a miner who had survived and was going to help her out. Hoping for someone from above, come to take her home. Come to take her back to the familiar warmth of the sun, back into the light. It wasn't. It was two unnaturally long, pale arms extending out of the cave. The cave that was no longer sealed. The cave that still pulsed and beckoned. Growls, hissing, buzzing, and barks could all be heard. She was surrounded, enveloped in it. There wasn't much she could do, so with an unexpected calm she took note of the things she could see and hear.
The caves outer shell gleamed, yet the interior remained pitch black, its inhabitants hidden from view. She tried to imagine what it could contain. Another set of hands swiftly stretched out and clutched her. She lost her calm, and fear took over her as the hands began pulling her into the cave.
Aerandria couldn't fight back, she was powerless. Closer and closer to the entrance. The hands slowly pulling her in. She couldn't take it anymore, she drew strength from somewhere deep inside herself, and fought. She dug her feet deep in the ground, and pushed against the hands. She began slowly and steadily walking forward. She was determined. Making her way to the stairs, she felt overjoyed.
She lifted her foot to initiate the climb when the ground was stolen from under her. She fell forward and hit her head hard. A third set of hands had grabbed her. They were stronger than the others, stronger than she, and had more determination. Grabbing her ankles, it dragged her. More hands shot out and wrapped around her, her arms secured to her sides. She was moving so fast, she couldn't hold onto anything. Then suddenly, the ground once again disappeared. She had entered the cave, the opening of it rose as she fell. Her drop never ending, taking her further and further from any sanctuary, from any light.

*~* CHAPTER 2 *~*

Aerandria awoke very alarmed. There was something heavy on her. Clamped around her torso. Cold hands squeezing the sides of her face. Remembering her previous predicament, she thought the cave dwellers were on her. She thought they were devouring her. She began flailing about, eyes still closed. Afraid to open them. Afraid of what she might see.
If the outside of the cave was so frightening, she could just imagine the inside. It had to be grotesque. So she kept her eyes closed as she fought. The creature holding on to her for dear life. Its weight was shortening her air supply.
"Ouchie!" the creature cried out. Aerandria would recognize that squeaky little voice anywhere, Cyruson. "Aeri stop. You're hurting me."
She stopped fighting immediatly and opened her eyes. Sitting on top of her, staring down with huge brown eyes was Cyruson. His cute little face covered in scratches. Many tear tracks staining his face.
"Did I make those scratches on your face Cy?" she asked, calming down.
"No"
"Have you been crying?"
"No" the evidence was plain on his face, but he didn't want to remind her.
"Then who made those scratches? Did you tell Zander the other kids were picking on you again?" She asked a bit worried. All the other kids at the kindergarten were always picking on him. Calling him names, stealing his toys, hitting him, pushing him in the mud. Just because he was different. Because he was smarter, and faster than all the others. He shouldn't have to deal with that, his teacher shouldn't be turning a blind eye to such cruelty.
They picked on him because of his home life. Their mother worked, but then again so did Aerandria and Zander. The huge difference was, their mother used her pay to buy drugs and alcohol, to go to bars and be man handled by guys who would use her for a one night stand. Aerandria and Zander used their pay to pay the bills, to make sure they had a roof over their heads.
Their father had died when Aerandria was 3, and Zander was 8. Cyruson wasn't even alive then, he was the product of a one night stand. Although his father had probably forgotten about it, he never would be able to. His fellow classmates made sure of that.
"Aeri? Aeri are you listening?" Cyruson asked as he squished her cheeks together.
"Sorry Cy, what were you saying?" It was hard to talk with him squishing her cheeks, the words came out meshed together. Aerandria wondered if Cyruson could understand her.
"I was asking if you were awake now."
"What do you mean?" He could be so confusing sometimes.
Before she could get an answer, or ask anymore questions Cyruson flew out the door. He was probably going to get Zander. She looked around her room wondering what motel she was in. When her mother would bring her male friends from the clubs and bars home, Zander would always take them to a motel. 'To ride out the storm' as he would say. Funny thing is, she didn't remember making the trip here, she didn't remember waking up to the blasting music, or strange men in her room. How strange.
Usually Zander would pick better motels than this as well. There were cracks and holes in the walls. A layer of grime over everything, and roaches everywhere. Everything was broken, the TV, the air conditioning, the bed, everything. There were beer cans and plates of green brown slop that was once food, littered all over the floor. It smelled horrible, like month old vomit. The bed was rock hard and had springs poking through the yellow urine tainted mattress. This place was filthy. Zander must have had to get them out of the house as soon as possible.
The door creaked open and Cyruson ran back inside. He dodged the foul debris and jumped into her waiting arms. She sunk lower into the mattress with his sudden weight and something squeaked. The sound distinct through the groaning of the beds springs. What was that?
"How you feeling?" Asked a stranger as he walked into the room. He was tall, had a strong build and a slightly better than average face. He had hazel eyes and brown hair that hung in his eyes. His smile was breath taking.
"Who are you?" she asked inspecting him through narrowed eyes.
"After all we've been through you still have to ask me that? I thought we had something special." He replied squirming under her analysis.
"What are you talking about? Where's Zander? Are you a friend of his?"
"You really don't remember do you?" Asked another guy with blond hair and brown eyes. He was as tall if not taller than his predecessor, and had pretty much the same build.
"And who are you?" she asked this new guy. She felt as though she should know the answer to this, but ignored it. They looked so familiar, but who were they? Recognition pulled on the edges of her memory, but she just couldn't place them.
"Me Ashur, you Aerandria."
"Thank you Tarzan, but I believe I know who I am." She replied with a roll of her eyes, "Ashur huh? That's a bit of a strange name."
"Your one to talk" he said, challenging her to deny his claim.
"Aeri doesn’t remember?" Cyruson said, effectively ending their little conversation.
"Remember what? Did something happen?" She couldn't remember the night before at all. She couldn't even remember her dream, although it still made her shiver. How strange this day was turning out to be.
The three males exchanged a worried look before settling their gaze on her once again. It was a long while before anyone spoke. It's hard to tell someone their brother went homicidal and tried to kill everyone. How do you tell someone her mother died saving her life? How were they going to inform her that in one night she had lost everything? Someone had to tell her, but none of them had the heart to break hers.
"Well if no one will answer me, I'm going to take a shower before finding my brother. He doesn’t keep anything from me."
'You and Zander were pretty close, weren't you?" asked Ashur.
"Yes. What do you mean were?"
All the males exchanged wary glances before Ashur finally answered, “We actually just got this room like an hour ago, and none of us have used the shower. Tell us if its any good."
"We haven't even gone in the bathroom yet." Cyruson said as he ushered his sister through the bathroom door.
Aerandria opened her mouth to speak, but Cyruson simply closed the door on her. She would shower first, and get her answers later.

*~* CHAPTER 3 *~*

Aerandria quickly turned toward the tub and turned on the shower. While the water warmed she assessed the bathroom. It was just as bad as the room she had just exited. Little dots ran all over the walls in intricate patterns. Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be roaches and other little vermin. There was no escape.
One of the little critters fell down her shirt, so she stripped off all her clothes. Standing there in her birthday suit and breathing heavily, she kicked her clothing away. After taking a few deep breaths to calm down she turned towards the mirror to survey herself. She would always wake up with bruises the morning after one of her mom's parties.
She tried to look in the mirror, to inspect her reflection, but that was nearly impossible. The mirror was cracked in a way that resembled someone punching it dead center. It had green mold growing out of its cracks and the rest of it was covered in brown sludge. Its filth cause Aerandria’s heartbeat to quicken a bit as she thought of all the diseases it could be harboring. Deep breathes were doing nothing for her now, so she turned on the sink to splash water in her face.
The water that emerged from the pipes was brown and anything but clean. Her day could not get any worse. She turned off the water and looked into the shower, making sure the water streaming down was clear.
Without stopping to check out the cracks in the tub, or the shower temperature she climbed in and closed the sliding door. She looked down and saw that the tub was full of cockroaches and water. Many were climbing on top of their now dead companions trying to get to safety, while others attempted to swim out.
Aerandria let out a sigh and thought once again, "How could this get any worse?". Her shower then turned cold and the water turned from a translucent color to an icky brown similar to what flowed into the sink.
Aerandria simply sighed and turned off the water, cutting short her shower. Staying in this hell hole any longer was just a waste of time and she should have known from the beginning she wouldn't be able to bathe. If nothing else in this room worked, what made her think the shower would?
She turned to leave the stall, and froze in place. There was a huge rat on the handle.
It was absolutely hideous.
It was missing patches of fur in many places, proof that it was battle hardened.
It had an extremely long tail that it swung back and forth. It's teeth were jagged and sharp, perfect for biting into her flesh.
Aerandria screamed and backed up as much as she could.
"Aeri what's wrong???" Someone screamed through the locked door.
She said nothing, and only continued squishing herself to the wall.
The rat jumped at her, teeth bared. It was hungry, and she looked like breakfast.
Aerandria dodged by a hair and swiftly flew out the shower stall, almost tripping over the tub lip. She shut the glass door behind her, just as the rat leaped again. It left a semi clean streak on the glass as it slid down into the water, its face wiping away the mildew.
Someone broke down the door, and the splintered wood flew everywhere. One of the planks hit the shower door and it shattered, glass landing in the pond of roaches.
Ashur stepped into the room, and Aerandria ran into his arms. He held her close while Juliano searched the room looking for an intruder. He saw the tub, and the corners of his mouth tilted up in a small smile. Any woman would scream if she saw a tub full of roaches, and a shower head spew filth. He figured that she was in no danger, and opened what was left of the shower stall and turned off the water.
Before he could close the door, the fighter rat attacked him. It landed on his face and bit his nose. Aerandria screamed again and Ashur turned her away, shielding her with his body. Juliana yelled a few oaths, and tried to fight back.
The rat bit him again and scratched at him. It held on so tight he couldn't get it off.
He stumbled out of the room, pulling at the rat. Juliano spun so much it made him dizzy, and he started losing his strength.
Just when he thought it would never let go, he was hit hard in the face. He stumbled back and tripped over a chair. he fell to the floor hard.
Cyruson had smacked him with a lamp trying to get rid of the rat. He hit him so hard the lamp shattered.
The rat lay on top of Juliano and Cyruson thought it was still alive. He grabbed a flashlight and started beating it, trying to free his new friend.
He accidentally hit Juliano more than he hit the rat, and Juliano lost consciousness for a bit. Cyruson was so scared he beat the rat bloody, until the flashlight slipped from his hand. He backed away shaking and crying. Juliano, who was now awake, brushed off the stunned rat and stood.
He kicked it out the open door and began shuffling around for a first aid kit. Not immediatly finding one, he unleashed a string of profanities. Juliano was in bad shape, and only getting worse by the minute. He would eventually need to go to a hospital, if not for the extensive damage to his face, then for a rabies shot.
Juliano walked in front of the bathroom door and asked Aerandria if she was alright.
"Yes, are you?" she said worriedly.
"Of course... Why wouldn't I be?"
"Is that a trick question?"
"No?...Well, if its ok with you two... I'd rather like to leave this place as soon as possible. There might be more of your little friends hanging around, and im not sure I could take another play date." He said as he continued his search for a first aid kit.
Aerandria stepped out of Ashur’s embrace, and thanked him for his bravery. Instead of replying, Ashur looked her over a few times, a smile quickly spreading across his face. Aerandria stood there confused, she looked down at herself, completely covered in brown slime and naked.
She would need to find a decent shower and soon. The slime smelled absolutely horrid, and looked to be turning her skin an eerie tan color. She thought that must be what Ashur was staring at, and he was smiling cause he found it amusing.
A phone rang somewhere in the room, and Juliano began searching for it instead.
Aerandria frowned at herself, thinking of how to get rid of this blemish, when it finally hit her. She was naked.
She blushed scarlet and slapped Ashur across the face for looking and not saying anything. Aerandria tried to cover her self with her hands, but it was too late. He had already gotten a good look at everything.
"How dare you!" She yelled, outraged.
"Im a guy! How can you expect me not to look?!" He said cradling his stinging cheek. "Besides, its your fault for not wearing clothes!... Not that im complaining."
Juliano walked back to the bathroom, "Just what are you guys doing in here?"
"Nothing" Ashur and Aerandria answered at the same time.
"Really? Cause the owner is on the phone... He wants to talk to the guy assaulting the hot naked girl.... I'm guessing that's you Ash?"
Ashur smiled and answered, "What can I say? she just can't keep her hands off my sexy body... In fact, I think she screamed and freaked out just to get me in the tub with her."
Aerandria, "Oh! you wish!"
"Why else would you attack poor little ole me?"
Aerandria pulled up short for a moment, "I didn't attack you, you attacked me! I'm the naked one here, which clearly makes me the victim!"
"Ashur! Phone. Now." Juliano quickly interrupted before Ashur could answer.
"Yes sir!" Ashur said as he stood at attention. He saluted Juliano before slipping past him to get the phone, his usual smile on his face.
Juliano and Aerandria stood there awkwardly. There was nothing really he could say to make things any better, but he tried none the less, "So you and Ash huh?"
"We just met. I don’t move that fast, in fact... I don’t think any respectable woman would move that fast. Sorry but not only is he not my type, but he’s my brothers friend and that’s just not something I mess with." she answered.
"You really don’t remember do you?"
"Remember what? Why does everyone keep saying that? Is this about last night? Where's Zander?"
"Zander is dead."
"That’s not funny. You have one sick sense of humor, and I don’t appreciate it. When i find Zander, he and i are going to have a serious talk about the people he hangs out with."
"Aerandria im serious. He died last night after trying to kill you."
"Stop it! just stop it! Zander is fine, and he’s gonna walk in that door any minute now."
"He wont." Juliano said sympathetically, "Im really sorry about all this, but the sooner you get yourself together, the sooner we can end all this. If we don’t, you might lose someone else. Cyruson could be next."
Aerandria slid to the floor, finally giving up. Tears flooded down her face and she asked, "What’s going on? Why is this happening?"

*~* CHAPTER 4 *~*

Ashur hung up the phone and walked back to the bathroom with a very bewildered look on his face.
"What was that about?" Juliano asked casually.
"He said, and I quote, 'We will have none of that here'."
"None of what?" Juliano asked.
"Im guessing the whole sexy on sexy. Was probably talking about when Aeri was rubbing her body all over me, trying to seduce me into who knows what."
"I was not!" Aerandria said walking over. She had wrapped herself in her blood stained clothing, hiding the goods from view.
"Sounds like he doesn’t believe in physical fun before marriage..."
"That’s not the part that has me thinking... How does he know what’s happening in here?"
The phone began ringing again. This time Cyruson answered and spoke to the owner of the hotel. He said pretty much nothing, and the call was over within minutes. He hung up and ran over to the bathroom.
"The man on the phone said its his job to know what’s happening in his rooms." Cyruson said holding on to Juliano’s legs.
Everyone exchanged worried glances, before looking around the entire room for cameras and speakers.
The phone rang again. Everyone just turned and stared at it. After the second ring, they all slowly made their way over to it.
This time, Juliano hit the speaker button.
"I hope your not planning to leave this room in such a mess." Said a burly voice. The owner of the motel sounded like The terminator without a speech impediment. A man you did not want to mess with, for fear of what he would surely do to you.
"It was like this when we got here." Answered Ashur
"It most certainly was not. And if you think your going to get away with this your dead wrong." the owner replied.
Instead of answering, or thinking about it anymore, Everyone grabbed what little things they had and began walking to the door. Before they could step out of it though, it slammed shut and a slab of wood could be heard sliding into place behind the door.
"Im calling the cops!" The owner said before hanging up the phone.
A dial tone sounded through the soundless room. No one spoke, in fact they were having trouble breathing.
Cyruson began crying and Juliano immediatly picked him up. He rocked him back and forth, trying to calm him. Ashur began cursing and kicking at the door. It didn't budge.
Aerandria took her things and headed to the bathroom.
"This is not the time for a soak in the tub Aeri." Ashur said, humor gone completely from his voice.
"One: Im not getting in that tub ever again. Two: the water is filthy, no one should get in there unless their in the mood to tint their skin. And three: There’s a window in their, and its already been broken, I plan to see if we can squeeze out of it." She answered angrily, how could he think she was so stupid as to take a bath in such a situation?
Juliano followed her into the bathroom after shaking his head at Ashur. After a few seconds Ashur soon followed as well.
They all stood in front of the bathroom window. Ashur and Juliano were too big to fit through it, Cyruson could, but they were afraid to send him because of the drop. Plus he was too small to move the slab. Aerandria would have to go.
Cyruson quickly ran out of the room.
Juliano yelled after him, "Come back in here! If someone comes in through that door, or you get attacked by a rat it might hurt you before we get there. stay in here with us!"
Cyruson ignored him for the most part and grabbed the pillows off the bed. He also grabbed the sheet as well before running back into the bathroom.
Juliano questioned, "What’s that for?"
"The glass on the floor. Aeri’s gonna fall head first... I don’t want her to get ouchies and die." He answered wide eyed.
They spread the sheets, then folded them in layers. they threw them out the window in a way that was sure to cover the glass. Next they threw out the pillows, they should help with impact and add extra protection. Now it was time to push Aerandria through.
Juliano and Ashur hoisted her up, and she wiggled through. Cyruson laughed at her silly display while clinging to Juliano’s leg. Suddenly her legs quickly slid out of Juliano and Ashur’s hands, a loud thud was heard as she hit the ground. Most of the shattered glass embedding its way into the sheets and pillows never got to her. Unfortunately the big pieces, that someone had seemingly propped up, sliced at her. She stood with a few scrapes on her face and gashes on her arms, she would need stitches. Just great she thought.
She ran around to the room's door. It looked nothing like the apartments she had just exited. It was clean, and the number shined, it glistened in the sun. The door looked as though it was a portal to something wondrous. This was the last time she would judge anything by its cover.
Aerandria tugged at the hunk, but it wouldn’t shift. She was too weak, she didn’t know what to do. She began pacing.
"Kick it." Ashur said through the door.
Aerandria moved so that she stood in front of the door. She clenched and unclenched her fists repeatedly, rolled her shoulders, did a little jig and then kicked it right in the middle.
The door didn’t even dent. It was there to stay, and nothing she could do could get it to leave its place. Aerandria heard hysterical laughter from the other side of it.
"I meant kick the board." Ashur choked out
"I did! its not moving!"
"I meant kick one of its sides, and not head on. Get sideways with the door, kick the board so that it slides."
"I knew that." Aerandria said blushing.
"Of course you did." He said choking on his laughter again.
Aerandria got into position next to the door, she took a few deep breaths and kicked the board. It groaned as it began sliding.
"What was that?" Asked Juliano through the door.
"The board. I'm kicking it out." Aerandria replied.
She continued kicking it, and it shuddered along before finally falling to the ground. Once it hit, the door flew open and Ashur sauntered out smiling. He stopped short when he saw all the cuts and blood.
"Nice job Aerandria." Juliano praised, "Looks like your gonna need some stitches too."
Cyruson let go of Juliano and hugged his sister’s legs. She bent down so she could give him a proper hug. When she made contact though, she jumped and an oath flew out of her mouth. Her injuries seemed to become blades cutting into her. Instead of a hug, she settled for holding his tiny little hand.
"You ok hon?" Ashur asked
"I’m fine... doesn’t even hurt." Aerandria said slightly looking away.
"You’re lying." Ashur said inspecting her face.
"I am not!... besides, how would you know?"
"We’ve been watching you guys for over 7 months now, of course I can tell." Ashur said in a matter of fact way.
"That and the fact that you suck at lying." Juliano added.
"7 months?!? Zander and my mom have been dead that long?!? Are you serious?"
"Are you saying you remember?" All three of the males asked.
"I’m not saying that I don’t remember." Aerandria answered.
"Zander and your mother have only been dead for about 3 weeks." Juliano answered off handedly.
"But Ashur said you guys have been watching us for 7 months..."
"I bet your feeling really honored that my life revolves around you huh?" Ashur said suggestively eyeing Aerandria.
Sirens echoed down the streets. They got louder and louder by the second, they were approaching fast.
Juliano picked up half their things, motioned for Ashur to grab the other half and began walking through the maze of cars in the parking lot. Ashur silently followed behind him with his load, trusting Aerandria to bring up the rear. They silently and inconspicuously made their way back to Ashur’s car, where Juliano and Ashur packed the stuff away. Ashur opened the back door for Aerandria and Cyruson, but they weren’t there. He looked around but didn’t see them, he didn’t see any sign that they had followed them there.
"Get in!" Juliano ordered.
Ashur jumped in the car, and soon Juliano was speeding back the way they had come. He focused on everything in front of the car while Ashur looked through the side windows.
Aerandria ran as fast as she could with Cyruson stumbling along beside her. She had to keep stopping to help him up, unlike Juliano she couldn’t run while holding him.
They were just about to slide out of the last row of cars and run for an alley when a black car skidded to a halt in front of them. Ashur jumped out of the passenger’s side, and aerandria began pulling Cyruson back. He was so confused, everyone but Aerandria was. Ashur reached for her, but she slapped his hands away.
A cop car turned the corner, lights flashing and siren singing.
Juliano jumped out the car grabbed Cyruson and threw him into the passenger’s seat. Ashur was able to grab and pick up Aerandria. He threw her into the backseat and slid in next to her.
Juliano threw the car into reverse and drove the car away from the police. When he had the chance he turned the car and sped down the street towards the highway.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Ashur shouted at Aerandria.
"You tell me you’ve been watching me for 7 months and you expect me to be honored!? That’s creepy, it’s called stalking! There’s nothing romantic about it!" Aerandria screamed.
"We had to! It’s our mission." Ashur said to her.
"Mission? Are you saying it’s your mission in life to freak me out?!"
"No"
"Then what are you saying?!?"
Ashur had no intention of telling her anything and she knew it. She opened her door, they were going 80 miles an hour, and leaned into it as though she was about to jump out.
"You better start talking." she said.

*~* Chapter 5 *~*

"We're part of a secret organization designed to stop the apocalypse you started." Juliano said as he swerved between cars, trying to get rid of their pursuers.
Silence filled the entire car. Aerandria looked between Ashur and Juliano repeatedly. Ashur looked down, refusing to make eye contact.
"Is an apocalypse bad?" Cyruson asked.
"Very." Juliano answered him.
"I didn’t start anything, and there’s no organization." Aerandria said shaking her head, not believing.
Ashur handed her a specially authorized card for a place called Timoria.
"Our organization is very real, and you did start this."
"When? And How?" Aerandria said flipping the card over and over, inspecting it.
"When you were three. You broke an ancient seal and released the demons of the underworld."
"I did not! What is this? A movie? Candid camera?" Aerandria said angrily.
"You did. Well you didn’t free them all; their leader is still trapped inside. That’s actually why we can’t hand you over to the police. And this is no joke, there’s nothing even remotely amusing about this."
"You want me to free this leader?"
"The government has been infiltrated. The demons will use their power to force you into freeing her. Everyone knows it’s all corrupt."
"How do you know it’s a her?" Aerandria asked.
"The embodiment of evil? Of course its a her!" He said animatedly, then added, “I’ll tell you everything if you close the door and put on your seat belt."
Aerandria deliberated for a few moments. Juliano hit a bump and she almost flew out the car. She quickly shut the door and put on her seatbelt. She turned and looked at him pointedly. He said nothing for 10 minutes.
"The demons killed your dad."
Aerandria sharply inhaled a breath of air. He couldn’t be serious. "My father died in a car accident."
Ashur replied, "No. Well in a way he did... You see, you got scared and ran, back to the outside world. The demons followed you, because they need you... Your mother, and your father tried to get you all out of there... They even stole a car."
Juliano added, "Everyone in the neighborhood climbed into the back of that pick up truck..."
"As I was saying... Your mother drove, you and Zander where in the cab with her. Your father sat in the bed with everyone else. The demons swooped in and grabbed them one by one."
"And my dad?" Aerandria inquired.
"Your father was thrown from the pick up truck, and landed on a suburban where he was eaten."
"Eaten?" Cyruson repeated.
Aerandria started crying, the tears slightly spilled over at first, before becoming a waterfall. Her nose ran, snot running down her lips. "You’re so beautiful,” Ashur said pulling her into his arms. He rested his chin on her head and held her as she cried.
"No I’m not,” she mumbled against his chest as she finally gave into her tears.
"Wow! Love really does make you blind!" Cyruson said in awe.
Juliano laughed as he made a sharp left.
"Why are you still driving like this?! We lost the cops like 15 minutes ago!" Ashur said as he slid around in his seat. He quickly put his setbelt on, making it awkward and uncomfortable to hold Aerandria. She didnt let go of him though.
"Look in the rearview. We've seen that same black sedan over 7 times in the past 3 days."
"Is that bad?" Cyruson asked
"Yes it is. It means we have a tail." answered Ashur.
"Really! I want a tail too!" Cyruson replied excitedly.
Juliano chuckled. "Not that kind of tail Cy."
"Can’t we lose them?" Ashur said staring out the back window at the car.
"What do you think I’ve been trying to do?"
"What did they do to Zander?" Aerandria whispered when the car was quiet again.
"Huh?" For a moment, Ashur forgot who Zander was.
"Zander, what did they do to him?"
"They drugged him. Then they coerced him to do their bidding."
"I think they went a little overboard though cause he tried to kill you." Juliano interjected.
"Ok" She mumbled as she collapsed into tears again.
"Go down Madison, make a left and go across the bridge."
The entire car went silent, muffled sobs the only thing being heard. Ashur rubbed Aerandria’s back in soothing circles, trying to console her. Cyruson swiveled his head between the car behind them, and the road in front of them. When Juliano turned down a one way, and the other cars were swiveling towards them, Cyruson started squealing and jumping in his seat. He just didnt understand the severity of the situation.
"So fast!" Cyruson said with glee.

*~* This book is not yet finished, and will be going under severe construction very soon. *~*

Impressum

Widmung:
This book is dedicated to the people that inspire me. Sadly there are too many to mention, and I love them all dearly.

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