Chapter 12: He Who Consumes

Chapter 12: He Who Consumes

Somewhere in an old, abandoned town. Zeth and Sasha lie on the ground, unconscious. Everything about the town is rundown. Buildings are full of cracks, covered in moss, missing entire chunks, or some combination of all three of those. The roads and walkways are in similarly poor condition. The only thing illuminating the town in the dark of night is the bright light of the full moon. It at least looks like no one has lived here in a long time.

Zeth and Sasha wake up. The dirt beneath them is crawling with bugs.

Squinting his eyes as he sits up, Zeth asks, “Where are we?”

Sasha rubs her eyes as she sits up. “I wish I knew.”

“Damn bastard!” Zeth growls. “Teleporting us to the middle of nowhere because he is too scared to fight!”

“All we can do now is figure out where we are and find a way to get back,” Sasha says.

“I guess you are right,” Zeth replies before looking down at his right arm. There are ants crawling around on it. He opens his eyes wide and uses his left hand to brush them off. “Ants! Get off!”

Sasha giggles. “Are you afraid of bugs?”

“N-no!” Zeth quickly answers back, almost fumbling his response. “I just don’t like the feeling of them crawling on me.”

Sasha giggles again. “I don’t mind it. A lot of people find bugs and certain animals creepy, but I like all of them.”

Zeth raises an eyebrow. “You’re probably the first girl I’ve met who doesn’t hate gross things like bugs.”

“I know what you mean. I’ve never minded them. I even find them cute in a way.”

“Can’t say I’ve heard anyone describe them as cute before, well, except maybe for butterflies.”

“Anyway, we should take a look around. You might get more bugs on you if we wait longer,” Sasha says as she giggles.

Zeth chuckles as he stands up. “Yeah, I wouldn’t want that.”

Zeth grabs Sasha’s hand to help her stand up. They face the closest building to them and head in that direction.

“So, I’m kind of curious. Since you’re not creeped out by any animal or bug, what is your favorite?” Zeth asks.

“Dogs and wolves,” Sasha replies. “Especially vicious ones.”

Zeth widens his eyes. “Vicious? Why?”

Sasha stops walking. She narrows her eyes, appearing somewhat confused. “I… don’t actually know why I said that.”

“You don’t?”

“I really don’t… Maybe it was a slip of the tongue.”

“If you say so. For now, let’s check inside this building.”

They open the door and walk inside. To their surprise, they see a man lying on the floor. Only the moon’s light shining through the window illuminates him.

“Oh crap,” Zeth says. “Did we just intrude in this person’s house? Hey, sorry about this.”

There’s no response from the person.

“Maybe he is asleep,” Sasha suggests.

“We weren’t quiet coming in. He would have woken up,” Zeth replies.

They walk closer to him, slowly, foot by foot. Leaning over, they see a hint of something red on his arm sticking out.

“Are you okay?” Zeth asks, slightly nervous.

He bends down, reaching for the man’s shoulder. With a slight tug of the man’s shoulder, he rolls over, revealing the horrifying truth. The man is covered in blood on the front side of his body.

“Oh no!” Sasha gasps.

“Who could have done this?” Zeth wonders. “It looks like he died in severe pain.”

He takes a closer look, examining the blood.

“The blood is still fresh. Whoever or whatever did it is still around,” he notes.

“That’s horrifying!” Sasha exclaims.

“Looking at these buildings from the outside, this whole town came off to me as abandoned, but it looks like at least a few people still live here,” Zeth says, his nerves increasing.

Suddenly, the sound of a piece of wood floor creaking comes from the second floor of the building, easily loud enough for them to hear. It grabs their attention. They dart their eyes upward, staring at the ceiling with mouths agape.

“What was that?” Sasha asks, her eyes trembling with nerves.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Zeth states, “But we should probably check it out. We can’t let a probable murderer roam free.”

Sasha gulps as they head to the staircase leading to the second floor. They slowly but surely walk up the stairs, not knowing what to expect when they reach the top. At the top, the only option is to turn left toward a door slightly ajar. Reaching for the handle slowly, Zeth fights his increasing nerves to finally open the door. Inside, they see a strange person and another dead body. The living person’s crimson-colored hair is short and spiky. He’s dressed rather casually for a probable murderer, wearing just a gray shirt and black shorts. He stands at 5 feet, 10 inches tall.

The strange person turns around, quickly noticing them. His mostly neutral expression turns to sadistic smiling. He has found his prey.

Unknown Individual – Crimson.

Crimson doesn’t say a word. There is only one way to describe his reaction: maniacal laughter. “Hahahahahahaha!!!”

As Crimson laughs, strange magical marks appear around Zeth and Sasha on the floor, walls, and ceiling. Those marks start glowing.

The marks trigger Zeth’s fight-or-flight instincts. “Oh shit! Get down to the bottom floor!”

They turn around and jump down the staircase like their lives depend on it. As they reach the bottom floor, the top of the stairs blows up. They run outside, but Crimson jumps out of the second-floor window to approach them. They stare at each other. Zeth’s and Sasha’s eyes tremble. Nerves turn to fear. Something about this strange person just isn’t right.

“Are you insane!?” Zeth yells.

Crimson finally speaks, and does so by shouting, “Consumption! I have finally found you, Zeth! Or more conveniently, you have found me!”

The word ‘Consumption’ triggers a frightening flashback in Zeth to his nightmare of the tall, dark-haired woman saying ‘consumption,’ who then launched at him. The flashback leaves him in complete shock.

“Who are you, and what do you want with Zeth!?” Sasha demands, gaining enough courage to defend her new friend.

Zeth shakes his head rapidly for a moment to snap himself out of his shock. “Yeah, I have never even seen you before!”

“My name is Crimson. I don’t know the details, but I do know that I must consume you!” Crimson confirms.

Zeth narrows one eye and clenches his teeth in disgust. “You want to eat me? Gross.”

Crimson begins breathing heavily, almost like a hungry, uncontrollable beast. “No, not eat you. More like absorb your soul and mind into my own. My Destruction Magic will help make sure of that.”

“You are freaky!” Zeth exclaims. “If you want a fight, I will give you a fight!”

Still breathing like a beast, Crimson responds. “I was so frustrated when I destroyed that Hawk Clan prison trying to find you, and you were not there! The voice in my head was not pleased!”

Zeth’s eyes widen in surprise. “You were the one who destroyed it?”

Crimson hisses in his response. “Yessss! The destruction pleased me! But the voice in my head was not pleased!”

He raises his hands up to his face, and they start shaking. His eyes tremble with a mix of excitement, anger, and confusion. “All the time, I can hear the voice in my head! It always tells me, ‘Consume Zeth!’ ‘Consume Zeth!’ ‘Consume Zeth!’ The voice in my head got even louder as I was destroying that prison! I’ve never even met you before now, but the voice in my head won’t quiet down until I consume you!”

Zeth clenches his fists. “You really are a major freak! Too bad for you, destroying the prison allowed me to escape, but we can fight here! I’m going to kick your ass!”

Who is this mysterious Crimson, and why does he want to consume Zeth’s mind and soul?

Chapter 12 END

To Be Continued in Chapter 13: Emily vs Tar