Aymee Parker B2 - The Cursed Mark

Chapter 39 : Rescue mission

Hepz's POV

All the flames in the forest suddenly went out in a last breath, like the soul leaving the body of a deceased. There was no longer any vibration in the air, everything was motionless, even time.

Hepzibah jumped and the ants backed away. No matter how hard the Hufflepuff concentrated and repeated the formula over and over again, nothing happened. There was a kind of emptiness in the air. There was no more magic.

It was pitch black, so Hepzibah couldn't see a thing. Her heart pounded in her chest and she had to hold herself back from screaming. A shiver ran up her spine and she swiftly turned around. There was such a void all around that she had no trouble feeling someone pass by her. Hepzibah thought for a moment that it was a ghost, but ghosts gave the impression of an icy shower as they passed through things, whereas there, a person had clearly brushed past her.

Hepzibah didn't know how to describe the noise that followed. It was a cry of animal suffering. A sort of sizzling squeal that pierced the ears. Hepzibah covered hers, but she couldn't close her eyes. She was still desperately looking for a landmark in the dark and she jumped when she found one. Two lights, eyes. They glowed purplish and looked like gas lamps through the fog. A deep voice, a breath from hell rose.

"Leave."

It was as if someone had turned on the light. Everything came back suddenly: the air, the magic, the noise and even the flames. Hepzibah was blinded and had to blink several times to adjust to the new light. Aymee was passed out on the ground in front of her as Annelise giggled even more as she hugged the tree in the back. Hepzibah looked around for the monsters and gasped when she found them. The giant ants had gone two-dimensional : crushed to the ground like the miserable insects they were. It was as if a giant fly swatter had squashed them, but it only lasted a second. The next, the crushed corpses flowed into the earth like sand in an hourglass.

Hepzibah swallowed her saliva askew trying to take stock of the situation: their savior was knocked out, the prefect had lost her mind and this part of the forest was burning to dust.

Yeah. No problemo, Hepzibah thought as she felt her heart race.

Hepzibah shook Aymee in an attempt to wake her, but it was useless. Hepzibah also noticed Aymee had hurt her ankle, but she had no idea what she was supposed to do about it. In the end, she decided to cast a levitation spell on her. With one hand, Hepzibah held Annelise and with the other, she made Aymee fly with the tip of her wand. She hurried off.

If the pro-fighter tells you to get the hell out, you get the hell out, Hepzibah thought, dodging roots.

And she quickly understood why: banging noises quickly replaced the silence. The noise was rising, louder and louder, closer and closer. Hepzibah accelerated as best she could, but it wasn't easy with crazy-mad Annelise as deadweight.

Quickly, the assault ants surrounded them. They must have been aware of the fate of the other four, as they kept a good ten meters in between them.

They must think that we can still crush them... thought Hepzibah, gritting her teeth. They will quickly realize it's false.

Hepzibah bent her knees, ready to jump to avoid an acid spray. Out of nowhere, the ants were writhing in all directions. Some were rolling on the ground, others were crashing into trees and there were even some who were burying their heads in the ground.

Hepzibah opened her eyes wide and unscrewed her head looking around for what could cause such agitation in these filthy creatures. The poor bugs suffered so much they retreated, disappearing and scattering in the forest to return to their lair.