Days 13 and 14! I hope you all had a great weekend! Enjoy!
Writetober Day 13
Ash
“Get up.”
The world was black.
“You must get up.”
The voice was kind in Kyle’s mind. His senses slowly came to him, the overbearing scent of smoldering destruction hitting him first. The suffocating rubble and dirt was the only thing Kyle could feel around him. Michelle immediately came to his mind, he was holding her before Vordmir unleashed death on the village, but now he was only holding what used to be the tavern.
“Michelle…” The words were swallowed by the ash and dirt as they left Kyle’s mouth.
Kyle began to struggle as he forced himself to move under the weight of Krinklebag. Panic began to rise within Kyle as he realized he didn’t know which way was up or down. Frantically, he began breathing harder, and thrashing faster, tiring himself out. Ash filled his lungs as he gasped for the little air that was underneath the burnt village. Tom and Michelle flashed in his mind, their laugh and smiles. His mother caring for him and supporting him all through life, the memories drowned out the death that surrounded him.
“Focus…” The familiar voice rang in Kyle’s ears.
Fighting all temptation to give in to the memories, Kyle spit the dirt out of his mouth and focused on escaping.
“The spit!” Kyle exclaimed to himself through muffled words.
With little time left to breathe, Kyle focused on where his spit moved. Being blind was always a fear of Kyle’s, but he had to suppress the fear and concentrate on escape. Excitement intensified within Kyle as his spit rolled to his chin, salvation was above his head. With his last bit of air, Kyle clawed up with his life.
Tom and Michelle were disoriented and defeated. Confusion and pain were riddled on Tom’s face as he tried to find something of comfort among the charred remains of Krinkledag. Michelle screamed her husband’s name beneath tears and soot. Numb to the blood and open wounds scattered across her body, Michelle tore through piles of rubble searching for Kyle.
“Michelle, I don’t think…”
“Don’t finish that sentence! He’s alive.” The certainty was radiating from her body.
As if willing it into existence, Michelle watched as Kyle’s blackened and bloody hand thrust up from the ash.
“Kyle!” Michelle roared as she scratched around the hand, revealing a barely living man.
“A…a voice…” Kyle’s words were faint as he gasped for air.
“Vordmir!” Horror stained Tom’s face.
“No, it was different, it woke me up.” Kyle’s muscles shook in revolt as he tried to embrace Michelle.
“Let’s go home, we need to leave this place. That asshole will come back, we barely made it.” Tom pleaded.
Michelle and Kyle stared at each other, their own conversation played out through their eyes.
“No.” Michelle faced Tom. “We have to find the enchanter, we have stop this from happening to others.”
“Kyle, come on, we need to leave.” Tom looked past Michelle.
“She’s right. I can’t ask you to stay, but I can tell you I need you. Besides, Vordmir isn’t worse than your boss.” Kyle painfully grinned through a blood caked face.
“I hate both of you.”
The three friends stood on the outskirts of what used to be Krinkledag, giving it one last moment before they trudged north to find the enchanter.
“I’ll make this right, to all of you.” Kyle closed his eyes for a moment. “I am sorry.”
Kyle, Tom and Michelle forced their bodies north, away from the ash covered waste that was Krinkledag.
Writetober Day 14
Overgrown
“Kyle, when we found you, you said you heard a voice.” Michelle was still rubbing dirt and blood off her body.
“Yea, it was warm, it felt powerful.”
“So, there is another Vordmir?” Tom chirped up.
“No, it reminded me of the first time I put on the ring. Something said ‘Welcome’ when I put it on the first time, it felt right, just like when I was buried.” Kyle played with the ring on his finger.
“Maybe it’s your grandpa. He could have figured out how to do what Vordmir does?” Michelle stated as she focused on the large roots covering the ground.
“Welton might know, too bad we don’t have a map to find this guy.” Tom pointed out the obvious. “I mean, how are we supposed to find a hermit in a shack in the middle of this overgrown jungle. And how the hell did we go from snow and ice to the damn tropical rainforest of giant plants!” Tom let the aggravation flow out of him.
As the anger leapt from Tom, the jungle seemed to respond. The massive leaves that blotted out the sky shook in defiance, there was a hum in the air.
“There’s no wind…” Michelle terrifyingly pointed out.
Tom plunged to the ground as Michelle made her observation. Before anyone could react, his thrashing body was dragged into the thick of the jungle. Kyle and Michelle bolted in the direction of Tom’s screams for help, but they weren’t fast enough.
“Tom! Keep talking!” Kyle hurdled over vines and roots that shot out to slow the chasers.
“Fuck this place!” Tom’s words cut through the foliage as he continued to be dragged.
His profanities continued as Michelle and Kyle closed in on the origin. Their jaws dropped as they cleared the last brush dividing them and their friend. Tom was stuck, hanging from his feet above a massive plant. The thick vines stretched from its base and wrapped around Tom like tentacles. The longer Kyle looked, the more he noticed the vines and roots covering the ground all stemmed from the massive fly trap before them. An excited hum emitted from the plant, matching the one they heard earlier, it was hungry.
“Get me out of this damn thing!” Tom punched at the iron hard vine that constricted his body.
Michelle acted first. She scanned the ground for a stone and grabbed the one she found suitable. The rock sailed through the air and thudded against the overgrown plant, wrong move. One of the hundred tendrils that laid on the ground lashed out and wrapped Michelle faster than her brain could register. Kyle stood, staring as his wife and best friend dangled above the open jaws of the monstrous plant.
Kyle was frozen, paralyzed by fear. He knew he had to do something but couldn’t. He killed the villagers and now his lack of action will kill two people he loved. Tom and Michelle’s screams drowned out in Kyle’s mind as he lost himself in guilt.
“Use the ring you fool!” The voice cut through Kyle.
“Wha-” Kyle’s response was cut short.
“A wielder that doesn’t know how to use the ring, pathetic.” An old man emerged from behind Kyle. “Shadastra!” The man shouted the word as he smashed his staff into the ground.
Waves of blue energy rippled from the impact point, as the first ripples hit the giant fly trap, it screeched in pain. The monstrous plant released Tom and Michelle, allowing them to fall to the ground, painfully. The earth shook as the plant uprooted and began lumbering away from the four people.
“Anything broken?” Kyle ran to Tom and Michelle.
“Does my pride count?” Tom lightened the mood.
“I’m sorry I froze, I almost got you guys killed.”
Michelle’s hand touched Kyle’s face, calming him. “We are alive, none of this is your fault. We chose to follow you here.” No matter what, Michelle always made things make sense for Kyle.
“Then you’re eve more idiots than him!” The old man shouted, destroying the moment.
“Thanks for saving us, but just who the hell are you.” Tom started toward the hermit.
The old man reacted faster than anyone expected, his staff collided with Tom’s gut, dropping him to his knees. “I am a legend boy, show some respect.”
“Are you Welton? We are looking for the enchanter.” Kyle helped his friend stand as he asked the stranger.
“Aye, and you three have rings I haven’t seen in years. Both parties have questions, so unless you want to be eaten by that thing, follow me and we can get some answers.” Welton finished his sentence with a few choice grumbles as he led off, deeper into the jungle.
Kyle, Michelle and Tom followed the unhappy man, they didn’t share anymore words, just confusion.
Kris Writes Worlds 