Guardians: Dark Stars

Chapter 13: Where the Forest Consumes

The woman was silent dead weight in his arms. Marianne had barely found enough time to doubt the two strangers before her when he had insisted they all escape the mansion as fast as possible. She tried not to think about the carnage that passed in front of her tired, olive green eyes. The woman who had saved her would not survived if she broke down now. Even if she did break down, she realized she had no one to fall on. As much as it scared her to admit it, Marianne had a feeling she would be on her own for now. Until she found her beloved Auntie, the amazing woman whom had introduced her to rebirth, Marianne had that gut-wrenching feeling that she was alone. Somehow, in all she had seen in the past few hours alone, that epiphany was the worst of all evils. 

"Where are we going," she approached quietly.

He didn't reply at first. He seemed concentrated on holding her up as if he had never had a more glorious crusade. It was the way he gingerly carried her along the abandoned roadway that gave it away. No one was around. The morning sun was climbing the sky steadily, coloring the landscape a brilliant gold. Though, usually, birds would be fluttering about-only the sweet caress of the wind made it's presence known through the chilly street. Marianne almost felt as if she didn't exist in this lonely little world of their's. 

She felt like an intruding spectator. From what she could clearly see, he cared about the woman. His eyes, worriedly checking and re-checking she was still breathing, spoke more than he ever could. Perhaps even more than he ever would. 

"Excuse me," she asked awkwardly. 

"You heard that Shadow spawn," he growled angrily, "idiot decided it would be a great idea to give her miasma straight from the tap. We have to get her help."

"Miasma and Shadow," she repeated dazedly, "what are you talking about?"

"I know a bit about the things that attacked your family tonight," he forced a smirk, "they're technically Ghouls: monsters created by Shadows. Of course, there are so few Shadow left these days that you might consider them the new line of Shadows. Whatever one's opinion on the worthlessly controversial protest, you can basically think of them as enhanced humans. They're stronger, faster, tougher and more dangerous than any sword master."

"Oh," she faltered a bit.

Marianne wasn't quite sure what to say. A growing pinch annoyed her stomach. From what that Shadow, or Ghoul, or thing had said before he left the library, she could gather that they were still after her for whatever reason:

"I'll be back for you another day, Marianne Wurzberg"

Just recalling his dark threat, looming in the very back of her mind, sent shivers up her spine. That being said, what did they want with her and with all the others she had heard being spirited away? Had they killed them all? Was Auntie even still alive? Or were they after something they all had that others did not? Some died, others were taken-she couldn't make sense of it. Fear sprouted in her aching heart. She didn't know what was happening and she wished she could just go home and never find out. 

"And then there's Miasma," he continued with a pressed grin, "it's their essence: a poison synthesized in their bodies. They naturally excrete it into the air through pheromones but the concentrate is strongest in their blood. From as far as I've been able to gather, they actually create Ghouls by injecting them with more purified Shadow blood."

"That's what that Shadow did to her," she stated nervously, "does that mean she's going to become a Ghoul?"

"No," he laughed heart-broken, "not everyone can withstand the poison. Those who cannot assimilate and become Ghouls will die painful deaths."

An unasked question violated the atmosphere. Marianne glanced at the huddled up ball shivering against his chest. She wanted to ask the fateful question: which category did the warrior fall into? Then again, she didn't really want to know. Every fiber in her being wanted to wake up from this nightmare. Her every thought was being assaulted with desires to go back to her own life, far from Shadows destroying her life and darkness claiming those around her.