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Ch 1~

I gasped, coughing out the water that filled my lungs. I took breaths of musty stale air. I was laying on the muddy bank of a swampy lake, covered in slime and weeds. Mist hung over the lake like flowing white curtains. Dead looking trees with moss hanging from the lifeless branches stretched so high, the sky wasn’t visible through the mess of a canopy. I started to get up, when something caught my foot. I fell back into the mud and felt something wrap around my ankle.

“Hey!” I screeched, clawing at the thing wrapping around my leg. It started pulling me towards the murky water. I tried to find something to grab onto, but my fingers just snared reeds and mud. Suddenly, I was in the water. It was black and unnatural, but I could see something huge. The thing kept pulling me down and I was screaming for a breath. My lungs couldn’t take it and I opened my mouth. But nothing happened. It was like I could still breathe.

I’m dreaming, only dreaming I thought. Now I had the creature to deal with. I grabbed the slimy tentacle and bit it, hard. I heard a tremendous roar and saw a huge thing swimming towards me. It was a bloated fishlike creature, only it was probably the size of a blue whale. It looked like one of those Gulper Eels with its big mess of teeth, evil eyes and long tail. It stopped and stared at me with beady unforgiving eyes. I thought, more like hoped, that it would turn away, but it opened its giant fanged mouth and sped towards me. I let out a bubbly scream, and swam for a kelp forest.

I swam down and down and down, the beast tearing after me the whole time. It was getting tangled in the weeds, but my luck ran out. The kelp forest ended, leaving only a mountain of dead trees as cover. I swam over crawling into the mess of branches. I heard loud snapping and cracking sounds. The beast was trying to follow me in! I swam and pulled branches, moving along fast, but not fast enough. It pulled up behind me, opening its mouth revealing thousands of long spear like teeth. It snapped at me, one of its teeth grazed my calf. I shrieked, grabbing a sharp stick and jabbing it. The monster wailed, and I realized I’d struck it in the eye. It slowed down and I went faster.

Up ahead the tree pile ended, but I saw a large tree sticking up from the ground. That gave me an idea. I kicked over to it, waiting for the beast to come. It burst out of the tree pile, branches showering down. It lashed its head furiously, looking with its one eye for me. It spotted me and without hesitation charged. I poised at the point of the tree, waiting for it to get closer, closer then sprang left.

The current coming off the monster spun me and I smacked against its fleshy side. It wailed and thrashed around, then all was eerily still. I cautiously swam over to it. Just like I’d planned, the tree had impaled it through the mouth. A thick, black liquid oozed out of its mouth and its eye. I kicked over to its other side looking into its white soulless eye.

Images flashed into my mind. 5 monsters, one that was the giant fish, and a face I didn’t recognize. I reached out, intending to take the eye. It was the size of a softball and wasn’t slimy or gushy, but smooth and cold like glass. I kicked to the surface hauling the eye ashore.

I stared into it, and one more image flashed into my head. The man, the man that had killed me.

Ch 2~
I collapsed; I knew I wasn’t dreaming, it was all real. “Who am I? Why am I here?” I cried aloud. “I can’t be dead” I repeated to myself, head resting on the ground. There was a sudden stinging in my leg. I saw that there was a 3 inch scratch from the monster. It wasn’t deep but it stung. I sat up, looking out across the lake.

There was a caw, and I turned around. There was a crow in the tree above me, only it had was different. It had white eyes; four of them. Caw caw, it crowed, motioning for me to follow. It flew above me and I ran under it. I followed it through the forest, but kept looking over my shoulder; there was something weird about this place.

The crow led me to a small clearing covered with a short gray grass-like plant where I could see the sky. It had deep grey clouds, almost like night. Caw caw, it crooned landing on the ground. The crow put the left side of its head on the ground and cooed softly. “Sleep?” I asked it, feeling crazy that I was talking to this freaky bird. It flicked its head and flew up into a tree. I took it as a yes and lay my head down.

The dream was a nightmare, the man with the knife, the rushing water. Hasty caws woke me. Caw caw caw caw the crow called frantically, flitting from tree to tree. “What is it?” I said, but I realized that I was no longer in a clearing. The trees had closed in around me and I could see the roots under the soil. They looked like they were reaching for me. “CAW” the crow shrieked and I realized a root was wrapping around my shoe. I jumped and tore through the forest. Branches were actually swinging out to hit me and roots rose up to grab or trip me.

Once, I did fall. I looked up into a wooden face of a girl, petrified in the wood. I ran and ran, until I came to a clearing with a large rock in the middle. I sat on the rock, tired and adrenaline pumping, but not panting. I learned that I didn’t need to breathe. Which brought me back to all my questions. Who am I? Why am I here? What is this place? Am I dead?

The crow flew down beside me and cooed. How did you get here?” I whispered; touching his onyx feathers. “I’ll call you Ko” I said. Caw caw he crowed, pulling on my shirt. “Wait” I said, pulling the eye out of my pocket. I saw the road ahead. What I saw, was a bone dry land, a Hell filled with pain and misery; and something terrifyingly evil lurking in the shadows.

Ch 3~
This land was bigger than Thirrin could’ve imagined. In fact, it never ended. This land was not barren either. For the most important souls in the land lived far away in the darkest crevices of the mountains. They were three old women. But these were not normal women. They had thick, weathered skin, as though they’d been living even long before the earth had been created. Their thick black hair was so long, it brushed their bare feet. It also seemed to writhe and coil on its own. Their faces were truly terrifying. With the exception of the eldest, Tisiphone, they had one eye socket, which was empty.

They clustered around a cracked antique mirror. Only, it wasn’t their grotesque, twisted reflections portrayed in the glass, it was the girl. “She’s not the one, she can’t be the one!” rasped Alecto, who was the smallest and youngest of them all. “Give me the eye
Tisiphone, I want to see this peasant” she spat.

“Of course she’s the one, she has the eye!” hissed Megaera, the middle of the three sisters. “And whose idea was it to leave The Eye with Epscillion?” Tisiphone inquired with a malice tone, glancing spitefully at her youngest sibling.

Alecto shrunk down. “It was pure luck she defeated Epscillion and took the eye as a prize, she doesn’t even know how to use it” She stuttered and wrung her hands nervously, for the girl did know how to use The Eye. “Don’t fret; our time has not come yet sisters. I think I’ll send her a little welcome gift” Tisiphone whispered. “But how? That blasted crow will warn her of the usual threats this realm has to offer” Megaera insisted angrily.

Tisiphone ignored her sister’s comment and strode over to a bottomless well and glanced over the edge. The reflection in the dark water was the night sky, even though they were hundreds of meters below ground. She traced a line of stars and spoke. “Scorpio. Find the girl. Stop her.”

Ch 4~
We traveled through the forest quickly, well aware of the moving trees. Ko soared above, steering me in the direction of the land in my vision. For a moment I wished to switch places with him, to see more of what this place had in store for me, to know what was coming. I realized that I could and brushed the eye in my pocket but snatched my hand back. Truthfully, I didn’t want to.

As we ran further, I realized the trees were thinning out. The land beneath my bare feet also became harder and the strange grey grass was withered and fragile. There was a caw from overhead, and I knew we were coming close. Then, an image flashed into my mind. I shook my head. Had it been my imagination or a vision from the eye?

All of the sudden, the trees stopped, as if afraid to grow any further into the next territory. The land was the exact same as it was in the vision, bone dry and so flat it looked like a gigantic steam roller had set it strait. Ko dove down and rested on my shoulder. “This is a bad idea, we have no food, no water, and this place goes on for ages” I sighed breathlessly, running a hand through my mud-streaked hair.

There was a sharp prod in the side of my head and a shrill caw. “Ow! Ok, ok! Were going!” I said with an exasperated tone, gently probing the spot where Ko had pecked me. He took off from his perch on my shoulder, drifting on currents until he was high into the sky, which I had noticed was no longer grey like in the forest, but a frighteningly brilliant blue. There was not one sun, but three, smaller than the one by Earth, but they still gave heat; a little too much for my taste. I took a deep breath and stepped into the desert land.

After awhile, maybe not even two hours, the heat was unbearable. I tied my jean jacket on my head, but it helped little. I looked back, nothing. I looked forward, nothing. Good thing I had Ko or id be walking in circles. Speaking of the bird, how had he not dropped from the heat and how could he know where were going? I started to worry a bit, but then saw something ahead. Tents! Were saved! I thought gratefully. I started running, but we weren’t getting any closer. Sadly, I realized it was all a hallucination, a mirage.

Another tiring hour passed, I could barely pick up my feet. The mirages were driving me crazy, as well as the heat and nothingness. I was going to die, insane from the madness of the desert. Faltering, I fell to my knees. Ko crowed from above, trying to get me to keep going. I rolled over in time to see him dive down, dark feathers covering my vision as the world faded away.

Ch 5~

Blackness. That’s all I saw, all I felt, all I heard. Am I dead? No. I can’t be. At least… not again…. I thought into the gloom. But I wasn’t alone. A sound cut through the darkness, getting louder and louder. “Caw, caw, caw.”

“Ko?” I whispered, looking around. But I couldn’t see him. “CAW” I heard, so loud it seemed to be right in my ear.
My eyes snapped open. Instead of being greeted by the harsh desert sun, I was met by shade and stone. The rock under me was cool, wet even, and the air had an earthy smell to it. Above me, the ceiling was filled with cracks that let beams of light stream in. Standing up, I slowly spun in a 360.

“What is this place?” My voice echoed around the cave. There was a soft fluttering sound, and Ko landed softly on my shoulder. “Well, I don’t suppose you know where we are,” I muttered, gently brushing the feathers on the side of his face.

Behind me, there was a sharp crack, amplified by the stone walls. I spun around so fast that I slipped on the wet stone, landing hard on the floor.
“S-sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” The voice came from a boy-a teenager- who stood at the entrance of a tunnel.

He was tall and relatively thin, with black spiked up hair and dark eyes. His skin was also slightly dark, implying that he was Middle Eastern or South Asian. The teenager wore beat up cargo shorts and a ripped up T-shirt that had probably once been white. His hand reached out towards me.

For a moment, I was frozen, not quite able to believe that there was another person standing in front of me. Shaking myself out of shock, I grabbed his hand.

He was stronger than I had expected, being slim and all. We stood in silence for another moment, staring, but the boy quickly broke it. “Nice bird.” He gestured to the crow on my shoulder. “Oh, Ko? He’s… not really mine,” I shrugged.

“My names Jay, what’s yours?” He flashed a friendly smile. “Oh, my names Thirrin, and sorry for staring, I just-”

“Didn’t expect to see another person? Yeah, me too.” He cut in, trying to keep his excitement hidden.

I smiled slightly. “Yeah… and do you-by any chance-know where we are?”
“Well, we’re in a desert, and back that way, there’s a stream… which probably made these tunnels.” Jay pointed his thumb over his shoulder. At the mention of the word ‘stream,’ I realized how dry my mouth was.

“Do you think we could get some water?” My hand lightly touched my throat. Jay nodded.

We wandered through a series of tunnels, twisting and turning in what seemed like random directions. I wondered how Jay knew his way around this labyrinth. He must’ve been here a long time…

“Almost there,” Jay’s voice interrupted my thoughts. Along with our footsteps, I heard a roaring sound. After trekking through a couple more tunnels, we came into a cavern with water crashing down from a hole in the ceiling. The waterfall emptied into a deep pool, which spidered out into many small tunnels.

As I edged closer, the roar of the falls became almost unbearable, but I tolerated it long enough to get a drink. The spray from the white-water had almost soaked through my clothes before I walked back over to Jay. “We can go somewhere quieter!” He shouted over the noise. “Sounds good!” I yelled back.

Jay and I traveled back a few tunnels before finding another cave; this one filled with… stuff. Really, there was no other way to describe it. All sorts of odds and ends were piled into heaps around the room. Sharp sticks, weird scaly animal skins, and other bits of things you might find hidden in an old shed or at a hoarder’s house.

“Yeah… sorry it’s a mess, you know, I wasn’t really expecting any guests,” he laughed a little.

“It’s fine…” I laughed back as Ko flew off of my shoulder and landed on a stone ledge. I glanced to my left, and saw a drawing on the wall. It looked like a map, with X’s and lines and little drawings scribbled about. “What is this?” My fingers gently touched the edge of the drawn square.

“I’ve been… looking for something, actually, that’s how I found you,” Jay shrugged. Despite his nonchalant attitude, he seemed a bit edgy about the subject. Carefully, I pressed on.

“What exactly were you looking for?” I asked quietly. He glanced at me, then pulled down the collar of his shirt, revealing a series of nasty scars that ran from his shoulder to his collarbone, disappearing under the neck of his shirt.

“You’ve been here… seen the horrors it holds… that’s what I’m looking for, what I’m hunting.”

My eyes widened. “There’s more?” I asked quietly.

Jay eyed me suspiciously. “You mean monsters?”

I nodded. “Exactly, I even got something from mine,” I started to reach for
my pocket, but stopped. I shouldn’t tell him about the eye… not until I can trust him. Skipping the pocket, I pulled up my pant leg, revealing the cut that the fish-beast gave me.

“Ouch,” He said. “Well, I think it’s getting dark-” He glanced at a crack in the ceiling, which let in less light than before. “-you can crash in here,” Jay gestured around the room. “Thanks, but where will you go?” I asked. “One of the many other caves” He shrugged simply.

“Right,” I nodded, lying on a section of floor with the least junk. Jay turned and started walking down another tunnel. “If you need me, just yell!” His voice echoed around the cluttered den. Ko flew down next to me, cooing softly. “What do you think, can we trust him?” I whispered so my voice wouldn’t echo. Slowly, I reached my hand into my pocket, brushing the cool glassy eye.

Pictures flashed around in my head, a looming shadow, falling rocks, something glistening and black, and this time, I also heard voices. Not necessarily words, but they were definitly people... someone shouting urgently, almost scared. A sudden loud scream ended the vision, so loud, I thought it wasnt part of the vision. Ko cooed at me softly, placing his head on the ground, his sign language for ‘sleep.’

hey thanks! im posting the next chapter soon either now or in the morning

OMG!!!!! I love it!!!! I want more, give me more!!!!!!!!!
'
Keep up the writing!!!!!!

Thank you for the helpful tips!

Thanks, and i posted chapters 3 and 4 so questions, comments, ideas, criticism?

For all of the people waiting, if there are any, sorry this took so long! Sickness of gaia, family issues, laziness and a lil’ bit of writers block are the main reasons-*cough cough excuses*

I hope I at least partially fixed the choppy sentence problem, and I know I say 'I' too much sad

Plus, sorry if this chapter seemed really… odd, for lack of better words.
Its a sort of a filler... but even though its a filler, its the longest chapter yet!

Anywhoo... I just wanted to get this one done with so I could move on to the next one, which should be a lot more exciting.

**Also, something I’d like to hear are predictions of what you think will happen next, or even ideas of what you want to happen!