And that would be the end to chapter one.
Here's the next.
PERILOUS JOURNEY
The journey to Boontown
"It'll be at least a three-day hike to this...Boontown area. We has to get through the Sleg Swamps, and take a quick rest in the Chixapox fields on the other side," Stranger investigated through his mind.
The Western Mudos was like a map drawn on the back of his hand; he knew every knook and cranny there was around the Mongo River Valley, well...pretty much all the Mongo Valley.
The climate around the field they have walked through for almost an hour was warm, in particular, with a bone-chilling wind brushing across them.
The sun still kept its face behind the thick sheet of clouds, parting from shedding beams of light.
Fog became a bit of an annoyance, as they got closer to the mountainous boarder of the Mongo Valley.
That meant that the humidity mixing with the cool air was creating fog. And the only moist air around was the Sleg Swamps.
Stranger scratched his head confusingly.
"Odd...I thought the Sleg Swamps was located over the barrier...not on it,"
"Maybe it's grown over the years over the mountains," Umi suggested.
Stranger made a slight agreeing grumble, continuing forth, and stepping on the foothils of the boarder.
Water began to mass in large, muddy, dark puddles in marsh grasses growing long, veiling the water from the foggy floor.
Fog became very spontanious, shrouding their essence under its wing.
The marshlands were the red carpet to the Sleg Swamps, and only the beginning of their troubles.
Trees sprouted out of the muddy ground, limping over from the harsh humidity that created them in to sagging drapes.
The fog began to rise to the tops of the trees that were beginning to create a canopy.
After a long hike, almost four hours, they arrived in to the Sleg Swamps.
The color of the atmosphere turned a deep dark green. Trees held high, while some bowed down to the arrival's feet.
Stranger carefully moved through the swamp, gazing around and above for anything that would sound or look like a Sleg.
Umi, however, didn't like the fact of being in a dark swamp, obviously that would be inhabited with Slegs. But with Stranger, she felt more safe.
Her alarm rose when she heard the cracks of dry branches from an unknown mass standing upon it.
She quivered in fear, keeping an arm tight around Stranger's.
Then, a quick red flash swiped in her mind, a painful heat bursting afterwards.
She gasped, her arm dropping from Stranger, and a hand holding her pounding head.
Stranger spun around.
"You ok? What's wrong?" he asked conernly.
Umi's eyes were wide with shock, heaving hard breaths of intense pain.
She saw the eyes, just for a brief second...ruby-red, a hellish red, dazzling evily in to her eyes, blocking her vision as well.
A hot flash, maybe. But so painful. And the hallucinations.
"No...nothing," she blinked wearily up to him, becoming perkier to not let out a sense of irrational fear of something.
Stranger grunted in doubt, his lip curling down, and lifted her off the ground by her legs and head, keeping a tight arm under her head.
"I think the heat's gettin' ter yer head. I'll carry you fer a while,"
He started forward again, looking ahead with stern eyes.
Umi was now alert of what she saw, eyes open and full.
A biting pain tore her mind again, and the hot flash slashed through again, the eyes glaring deeper at her.
And this time, she got a good look at them.
"Ahh!" she screamed, her head snapping on to Stranger's bicep.
He stopped abruptly, eyes locked on her filled with concern.
"What's goin' on with you, Umi?" his voice firm.
She hissed back to her chest, her eyes locked shut.
Something was causing her pain...psychologically.
"It hurts..." she cried.
Stranger frowned, a look of helplessness staring forward in to the dank dark swamp.
"Maybe...you should rest fer a while. There's definitely somethin' wrong with yeh,"
Umi swallowed in a deep breath, becoming calm and collective.
"No, no...I'm fine..."
She hissed loudly, another red flash tearing at her mind.
"Umi, you need to tell me what's wrong," his voice became strong and deep.
Umi didn't reply, but stare down with fearful eyes.
A voice came along with the last flash, a venemous, snake-like growl that sank deep.
It said;
Death to you...
Something was out there, waiting for them.
She looked back up to Stranger, her eyes settling back calmly.
"There's nothing wrong with me, buddy. Just a...headache..." she lied.
But Stranger only gave a concerned sigh, looking straight ahead again, then back down.
He could tell something was disturbing her, not by the way she was acting, but by the way she kept silent.
"I don't think so," he said.
"Let's rest. We've had a long day, and so have you..."
"But-but, we need to get through here, and-"
"Shh...I'm more concerned of you and yer behavior, young lady," he said gently.
He sat on a dry patch of grass, resting his spine upon a trunk of a tree.
"Rest, lil' one. I'm right 'ere,"
She sighed gently, resting the back of her head on his chest.
A creature was contacting her telepathically, giving her threatening messages and nothing but pain.
And she bet it would jeopardize the journey, and delay them from making it out from the Sleg Swamps.
But all she could think of is to get some rest, and hope to god that her traumatizing headache would stop pounding thorugh her skull, as she slowly drifted to sleep.
The visions of the Steef tribe flooded in her conscious again. This time, a bit more different.
Youngling Steef were frolicing through the prairie, playing hide-and-seek in the tall brush.
She imagined herself there, playing joyfully with the younglings at their game.
They laughed, as each shot out to each other and dog-piled on one another.
And as Umi headed towards the playing bunch, the sky quickly turned from a bright blue, to a malicious black that shrouded the play ground in to a field of nightmare and distress.
Fires sparked on the swaying grass, and black figures with bright red eyes, holding torches and guns, ran after the fleeing children.
Horrific scenes of defending parents failing to protect their own flashed on by her.
Baby Steef were captured and killed in front of their spouses, and thrown in to a pond of gasoline and oil set a fire, and burning the corpses, dead or alive.
Gunshots cracked loudly, killing the defending male Steef one at a time.
The black-coated figures ran by with a whirr of mechanical pants, brushng their torches among the grass, and painting a fire that connected in to a large orb.
Helpless females were brought down by the tackling invaders, holding their heads down in to the ground.
"My odd..."
Umi could scarcely breathe, as she was torn from her dream self, and floated above, watching the horrific treachery continue.
She caught a glimps of a fierce roar tearing apart through the attackers.
Stranger, and his mate.
He whipped away the invaders coming in close, backing away with his female fearfully staying behind him.
She caught a creature behind them, and tackled the female down.
And as Stranger spun around, the attackers took their chance, and took him down as well.
He watched, as his mate was gunned down before his eyes.
She could hear the creatures laugh evily at their deed.
Stranger let out a furious bellow, erupting from the piling creatures, and ripping them apart from his back.
He fought to the female, with as much brute force as he could put in one outlaw.
She felt herself fling down on the ground as well, her hair being pulled with force.
"I got the human!" it said in a straining voice.
Green tentacles pushed against her neck, as the creature spoke in a droning tone.
"Ah, get off'a me!" she griped, then looked ahead.
"Stranger!" she cried.
His head turned to her for a brief moment, a slight sneer appearing on his face, then he spun around, and fought through the creatures again.
Her eyes widened, tears glossing and rolling down her cheeks.
More of the creatures piled up on her, the weight becoming painful.
She could hear a faint call of her name.
Her head snapped to it.
Another male Steef, about as tall as Stranger, but its mane shorter and lighter, shouted over the ruckus of the creatures shouting and yelling.
It began to rampage through the creatures, tearing closer to her.
Umi only watched with tear-stricken eyes, as her only father didn't turn back to save her.
The male kept calling her name, but she didn't take her eyes off the back of Stranger.
Until one of the creatures came up to her face.
It held down a rifle in its shiny black-gloved hands, glaring at her through hellish red-orange eyes.
It pressed its gun point to her forehead, its eyes narrowing more maliciously.
The creatures upon her chuckled at her demise, nodding their narrow heads at the creature pressing its barrel to her.
She heard the cock of the rifle's trigger-
"HOLY SHIT!" she screamed loudly, her body lunging forward off Stranger's chest.
She panted of fear, her heart racing.
Stranger jolted awake, his arm gripping at her arm.
"Umi!" he roared.
She felt herself become dizzy, hyperventalation beginning to affect her brain.
"What in odd's name is wrong?"
Her breathing calmed down, but her eyes were wide of fear.
Tears apathetically filled her eyes, and rolled down her cheeks.
Stranger's frustration built, the grip on her arm becoming tighter.
She began to shake her head disbelieving.
"They're getting worse..."
Now his grip lightened up.
"What? What's gettin' worse?"
"My dreams..." she said, going pale.
Stranger bit his lip hardly, the taste of blood touching his tongue.
"It was the Steef tribe again," her voice perked of more life.
Her face scrunched distressed, cringing down between her legs.
He gently lifted her face back up with two hands, staring deeply in to her eyes. He wiped the tears streaking down her face with his thumb, and smiled gently to her.
"Nothin's gonna hurt you, Umi. I won't let it,"
She slowly looked up to him, with bloodshot eyes, and the truth on the tip of her tongue.
"Somethin's after me...it's out there," she said a bit urgently.
His face melted down, lifting her up with one arm, and tightly hugging her defensively.
"Whatever it is..."
His bow unlocked before him.
"it ain't touchin' you,"
He stepped forward, going deeper in to the mouth of the Sleg Swamps.
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