The Book Of Secrets Long Begotten

XI

"Well this is weird." Jake said to himself as he called out Leo and Swamp's names. He walked back towards the house. He walked inside and saw Swamp lying on the ground. Jake rushed over to him and checked on him to see if he was alive or dead. Jake reached for Swamp's arm to see if he could hear a pulse to which there wasn't. Jake dropped the arm and quickly got up. He moved away from the body. His hand covered his "O" shaped mouth.

"Oh my God....he's dead." Jake said to himself in shock. He edged himself close to the body but felt it was hard to do so. "No no no, this can't be happening." Suddenly, there was a noise coming from the closet. It sounded like a rucket. Jake grabbed a knife from the table and held it out in front of him like a sword, a very small sword. He edged towards the closet and opened it to see Leo inside tied up. Tears were covering his face. Jake untied him immediately.

"It was Lord Zygor. He came here looking for you. Swamp put up a good fight but not good enough. Lord Zygor killed him, Jake. Killed him. My only brother!" Leo said in a crying fit. Jake comforted him. Jake then got up and looked at the corpse. There seemed to be a liquid on his lips. Jake got a little bit of it on his fingers and moved his fingers around, feeling the substance. It was too viscous to be saliva. It was a drink of some sorts. A poison.

"Poison. Did Swamp drink anything during or before the fight?" Jake asked Leo. Leo shrugged.

"I don't know, Lord Zygor used one of his powers to tie me up and bind me in the pantry." Leo replied. Jake nodded.

"Well, perhaps there wasn't much of a fight from Swamp considering he was possibly drugged by Lord Zygor in order for him to have the advantage." Jake said and then he looked over at Leo warningly. "Lord Zygor is going to cheat his way to winning the battle."

"What about your date? Do you know if she is at home and safe?" Leo asked. Jake got up quickly and ran to find her. He hoped that she was ok and not hurt or dead.

He made it to The Secret Forest and ran towards the giant tree. He ran inside and saw a figure lying on the ground. It was Rebekah. He ran towards her body to realize she was motionless. She was dead. He looked up and saw that the stairway rail at the top was broken. She had fallen to her death. Tears streamed down his eyes as he sat next to her dead body.

He took a look at her face and saw how young she was, how beautiful she was, how much of her life was wasted and tainted with death, and how her lips had a liquid on them. Jake, curiously, swabbed a sample on his finger and moved his thumb around in the liquid to realize it was the same liquid as what was on Swamp's lips. She too was poisoned. By Lord Zygor as well? Or by someone else? He wasn't for sure. He suddenly felt like he wasn't alone in the room. A voice spoke out in the silence.

"Romanticide is what they call it. Romeo and Juliet were the first couple in literary history to have ever experienced romanticide in its glory and reign. Love truly is the silent killer." The voice said. It was a voice Jake was unfamiliar with. He looked around and saw that it wasn't Lord Zygor. It was a figure the size of a dwarf who had the appearance of a cat. The cat was dressed in a western villain attire. The cat had a gun tucked away in its holster and everything, probably for show.

"Who are you?" Jake asked. The cat smiled as it walked forward to him.

"Mr. Collins, oh how I have heard so many things about you." The cat said grinning.

"I said who are you." Jake said intimidatingly. The cat smiled and chuckled at the response.

"That will remain a mystery, my friend. Until we meet again." The cat said. The cat walked away. Jake tried to run towards the car but the cat used a telekinetic power to throw him back against the wall. The cat exited the tree building. Jake got up and grunted.

Jake walked up the stairs and towards the giant leaf him and Rebekah had stayed last night. He took a seat on the leaf and let memories flood back to him as he sat and cried. He stayed there for about thirty minutes or so until Leo found him and sat down beside him.

"I haven't been here in forever." Leo said. "It sure does bring a lot of memories."

"Good ones or bad?" Jake asked, feeling a little better to have company. He was no longer crying at this point.

"Both. I had a girlfriend named Stacy. She was a Huppet like me. Me and Stacy had grown up together. We knew each other since we were kids. This was one of the places we used to hang out. It was our haven and our solitude. Safety. We ended up becoming a couple. Close to the end, she got very sick. So sick that there really was nothing anyone could do. She told me that if she ever died before me, that I would take her here for one final time. So I did. She died watching the neon colors in the sky. She died in my arms. So, I know what you feel, Jake. I know the type of grieving you have. I completely understand it." Leo said. Jake nodded.

"What type of illness does Princess Nevaldine have?" Jake asked.

"I'm not so sure. I believe it's the darkness. It is toxic to her. As it is for some other folks. Those in the castle locked her away in a room where she could die away from the public. Slowly and painfully. I believe that if you destroy Lord Zygor, you'll destroy the darkness. You'll destroy the evil that is in him and save not just Princess Nevaldine from her illness but the entire realm and your earth from destruction." Leo said. Jake nodded. They sat there on the big leaf in silence until Jake got up and told Leo that he was ready. Ready to take on Lord Zygor. He had sat there in silence and heard Swamp's voice in his head speak to him through a memory.

"You love her, don't you? Then you will fight for her, do this for her, even die for her."

"Lord Zygor is gonna wish he was never born." Jake said. Leo smiled and nodded.

"Are you sure about that?" Leo asked. Jake looked at Leo and nodded.

"I am. I have a reason to be angry with him. I have a reason to fight and destroy him and save Princess Nevaldine and all of us from destruction. I have a reason to survive...and I am going to make that bastard pay." Jake said and the two left the giant leaf for once and for all.