The Beginning

Chapter 7

Riley's stomach heaved. "What do you mean, 'bloodiest'?"
"It started as people slowly disappearing after they went to the forbidden forest. The villagers dismissed it as a result of recklessness. They didn't know that Jhaufyther and the rest of the Catwings were behind the scenes, planting horrifying nightmares and making the people go into the forest against their will. Eventually, it got worse and worse. Villagers kept seeing bodies scattered around outside the village, their throats slashed and their eyes gouged out. Naturally horrified, the officials warned them to stay inside in case if there's a killer on the loose. They thought the threat was inside, and they wrongfully executed the people they thought was the criminal."
"How did they execute them?" Sam asked.
Carlos raised his eyebrows. "What type of question is that?"
Sam's face reddened. "There's many ways for people to be executed. I wanted to know what way they used," she said defensively.
"That's weird, Sam," Riley said.
"They bound them to a table using ropes, and used a long stinger that they found outside the village. They cut from head to toe, slowly enough for the victim to scream in pain. Then they would do it again and again until the victim died. The victims would be the first Contaminated, much to Jhaufyther's delight." She flipped to a page illustrating the gory scene.
"Finally, after all the executions, Jhaufyther decided to strike, giving the opportunity for the Catwings to destroy the people. He made a massive storm that raged through the ocean, killing a few hundred people. Then, he changed into his true form."
She flipped to the picture. Riley could see how powerful he actually was. The picture showed him standing as tall as the storm, breathing fire upon the village and letting out fierce roars.

"Jhaufyther can only be described as... strangely beautiful and terrifying at the same time. He is tall as the sky, and when his wings are stretched out, they are as wide as the entire planet, or that's what the people saw it as that size, because the size of his wings are incomprehensible. Hurricanes and storms surround his blue, gray, black, and white body. His eyes can only be described as small thunderstorms, flashing with lightning. His pupils, instead of being black, are instead a brilliant dark gray, the color of the ocean when there's a raging storm. His tail is no longer singular, instead accompanied by thousands of tails waving around dripping venom, massive microbursts of it falling down to earth, dissolving everything in its path. Since he is a Catwing, he walks on all fours, but he stands up on his hind legs every now and then to create a new storm. What makes him so terrifying is that he is completely shrouded in darkness. The only thing that people see from afar are his glowing eyes."
"His sister Clauchice, however, presented her true form differently. If you guys think that things couldn't get any worse, well, you're sadly WRONG. The villagers started becoming more and more scared when they realized that the ground was shaking. By this time, they knew what were earthquakes and what caused them, but they quickly realized this was no ordinary earthquake. For one, this felt much more powerful than a regular earthquake. Lava erupted from the crack, and a low voice called out from below the crack, 'Let's see what will happen to your precious village once we're done with it. I bet it will be fun, capturing you all, right Jhaufyther?'"
The storm giant turned toward the voice and smirked. 'Yes, that is right. I wonder if the humans are feeling like pests at this point. Oh wait! They already are. Of course, they're too small to do damage, but honestly, I got bored. And now, Clauchice, you can rise.'"
"And she did. Her head came out first, covered in dirt, soil, and miniature mountains. Her eyes were as big as the eyes of Jhaufyther's hurricanes. Her wings came out next; just as wide as her brother's, towering over the villagers. She came out in all her terrifying glory, earthquakes completely demolishing the town. She gazed at the humans with satisfaction and hunger, then slammed her tail down into the earth. 'Jhaufyther!' she yelled. He saw the earth tide and knew what to do. Using his tail, he slammed water onto the tide, causing it to collide with the earth tide. Instead of the tide destroying his sister's, they instead started moving in a spiral, gradually turning into the biggest tornado the villagers had ever seen. It destroyed everything in its path, from houses to mansions, taking animals in the wind throughout its course. It moved over to the crack, and Jhaufyther moved toward it, looking down at all the spewing lava. 'Lhrioun, you always wanted to do this. I know you're tired, but I think it's time for you to show these little humans what you truly are.'"
"I mentioned before that Lhrioun is the Under Reality. Well, once he rises, you will hear what happens. Two glowing lava orange eyes glared at the people from the crack, eventually turning into a massive face studded with volcanos. If the people looked closely, they could see all the faces of the doomed that Jhaufyther had killed. He rose out of the earth in a towering mass of writhing cat heads, long tails, and incredibly scorching fire. He let out a loud and long roar, and other Catwings immediately began swarming the village. After their work was done, the Triplets changed back into their regular seventy-foot tall forms and helped his fellow Catwings capture all the people. Jhaufyther kept smacking and crushing humans in his path, laughing horribly as the blood started to flow. There was so much blood that it collected into a flood, eventually sloshing its way into the ocean, where Jhaufyther used his sky powers to make a tornado and deposit it into a small container. The aftermath resulted in the village being completely destroyed, the walls crumbling due to the erosion that was caused by the storms. This book shows the massacre as Catwings simply flying over the village, smiling as they destroyed the villagers. As you just heard, it was much, much worse. The villagers got permanent PTSD, but back then it was known as 'getting your sanity ripped apart by the Catwings.'

Carlos shook his head. "Two things. First: that is the most horrific thing that I have ever heard. Secondly: wow. So, they can not only do all that we know that they do, but they apparently can also change their form. So that was their true forms? Oh my god."

Sam leaned against him. "I know. How did they do that, though? Hearing the story, it sounds like they can control the weather. But, how can they do that?"

Riley felt sick. She already knew that Catwings were deadly, but she never knew that they killed thousands of people in one fell swoop. "Because, somehow, their birth changed the Catwings forever. I think... I think they're the descendants of the very first Catwings to ever exist."

Suddenly, she felt a heavy weight on her head, and she collapsed, her vision blurry. She could see Carlos, Sam, and Raven looking down at her. "Riley, you're going to be fine. Just get some rest! Don't you dare pass out, Riley! Your aunt is giving you an order!" She used her remaining strength to look to her side. She saw Jhaufyther grinning at her, and she watched him swiftly move behind her. Then darkness overtook her, and she blacked out.