The brisk, stagnant air of a winter evening gently caresses the bare branches of the immense trees of a heavily forested piedmont. The resident wintering birds barely make a sound as they huddle in their nests in the hollowed tree trunks. The sun shines its last glimmer of the day on the rolling rounded hills as it creeps behind the horizon. Two malnourished adolescent boys sit on the ground leaned against a pedestal shaped dead tree in a clearing next to a pristine blue pond.
"Beautiful ain't it, Ed?", an olive skin toned boy with dark hair yawns as he stretches his lanky arms above his head. The other boy, a pale blonde, seems not to notice his friend's question.
"Ed?", the first boy impatiently repeats dropping his arms to his side.
"What?", Edul finally responds.
"The sky and the clouds. Ain't it beautiful?", the dark haired boy inquires again pointing to the sky then cutting his eyes back over to his friend.
"Yeah it's nice, Dee.", Edul answers rapidly in a dismissive tone. "The sun is going down. We should get back to building ten before they notice we're gone. Togo and Shred will be by in an hour for 'lights out'.", Edul continued in a panicked tone. He quickly gathered his small wooden fishing spears before standing. "C'mon.", Edul says nudging his friend with his slimey dirt covered bare foot. Darrius had become acutely aware of the fear contained in Edul's words.
"Okay. Okay. I'm going.", Darrius replies. He springs to his feet and grabs his fishing gear as well. A black rubber snorkel, a few thin wooden spears and a heavy gray cloth bag are snatched up from the gritty pond bank and the boys quickly head toward a white gravel trail nearby. Darrius didn't have the same fear of Togo and Shred or of the Dvenin that Edul did. He didn't seem to fear much of anything as a matter of fact. But Darrius also hadn't seen the 'Punishment Quarters' that Edul had known for the entire Agval season last year. Edul wouldn't go into details about the place but he explicitly stated that he'd never go back and he meant to keep that promise. Darrius' mind was elsewhere. He was happy to pace himself and daydream his way back to the quarter house while Edul furiously marched ahead carrying the light as darkness sets in. The snapping of a distant twig in the treeline was enough to stop Edul's march dead in its tracks.
"Dee, stop moving.", Edul whispered as he slunk down into a near crawling position on the chalky gravel below. The short broad brush next to the trail was just enough to break line of sight with anything in the treeline if he lay on his belly on the ground.
"Crap! What's wrong?!", Darrius wails excitedly waking from his daydream.
"Ssshhh. Get down.", Edul whispers as he stretches out to lay flat on the gravel.
"What is it?", Darrius whispered his reply as he too stretched out on the gravel.
"It's a Skulker. I thought I saw something behind a tree back at the pond, now I heard a twig snap and saw the same thing again. Its been watching us. We have to get back to building ten now.", Edul explained.
"A Skulker?", Darrius repeats terror in his eyes and voice. There were indeed things Darrius feared and this was one of them. A fourteen feet long, nearly thousand pound feline descendant with six inch incisors that would leave even most grown men shaking in their boots.
"H-how b-big?", Darrius gulped the tremble from his vocal cords.
"I don't know, Dee. I didn't get a good look. We're gonna have to crawl for it.", Edul whispered then furiously crawled toward the quarter house just as furiously as he had marched. Darrius tried to keep pace with Edul but had become lost in the maze of thorny tendrils in the underbrush. Another twig snaps but loudly this time, Darrius could nearly feel creature's breath on his skin. Darrius' breathing quickened, sweat began to stick to his skin and his pace through the maze of undergrowth become more rapid and erratic with every passing second. Rustling sounds and movement in the brush caused Darrius pause and catch his breath momentarily. He lay on his belly face to face with an abandoned venomous Vericoz snake den under the base of a dead tree that was being reclaimed by mosses and vines. Through ragged gasps of the viscose air Darrius noticed the beauty of nature that night. A haze of heavy white dew drops linger in the still night air. The brilliant shine of Feryok's pale peach moonlight lended a sheen of gold to dull brown branches and vines. He was in a enchanted land of gold forests and pink seas for a second before he snapped back to reality. The movements of the Skulker had become slower and further away it seemed. Darrius, now rested, reaches his slender right arm down into the pocket of his tattered stained pants.
"Now, I'm gonna try this thing.", Darrius said excitedly retrieving a jagged translucent emerald colored crystal from his pocket. The deafening clap of a sonic boom rings out from Darrius' hiding place as the boy lets out a shrill blood curdling roar that vibrates the dew drops in the air causing them to coalesce and fall like rain. A breeze begins to sway shrubs and toss dead leaves about. Darrius jumps to his feet and the bush blasts apart into flaming twigs and leaves that light up a large radius terrain for all to see. The boy's shoulder length dark wavy hair seems to be suspended in liquid each and every strand gently flowing without the forces of gravity or friction. His shine a bright green in the dark the way a cat's do. His gaze locks directly on the amber and black stripes of the giant feline through the veil of night surrounding him. The Skulker pounces from its hiding spot ten feet away and lunges for Darrius. Edul pokes his head from the undergrowth in time to see his friend hurl multiple blazing orbs manifested from his hands toward the beastly cat. The spectacle lit up the forested hillside background like a fireworks display. At that moment for the first time he could remember, Edul felt the same feelings of wonderment that Darrius was so accustomed to.
"Get him, Dee.", Edul quietly cheered his friend as the flashing bolts of fire crept out of visible range. The dual floodlights mounted to the edges of the eaves of 'Slave Quarters Building Ten' inexplicably sprang to life flooding the brushy field around the building with a blinding light. The distinctive tick-tock sound of the motion sensors greet Edul's petrified ears. The fear of the repercussions of what Darrius and Edul had done caused instant panic in Edul. Without thought he falls back from his seated position into a laying position accidentally slapping the back of his cranium against an intrusive rock rendering him unconscious. Darrius feels as if he's floating as he chases the great beast through the forest and pelts it with fireballs that appear in his hands with a thought. Darrius felt invincible. These were thing Edul had not told Darrius about using the emerald crystal. Though, fireball after fireball, Darrius couldn't physically catch the beast no matter how fast he ran. He imagined touching the Skulker's back feet with his hand and suddenly the beast stopped running dead in its tracks. Darrius stopped directly behind it a fireball the size of a small truck in one hand and the cat's giant hind paw in the other. The beautiful amber fur of the Skulker didn't smell quite as beautiful as it looked Darrius thought as he vigilantly watched the creature's remains burn.
© Macabre Entendre