Blue's Journey

The Battlefield

The chapter opens with Zarah and her friends, Blue, Kane, and Stellar, arriving at the Shackles.

Zarah: "Hopefully this place isn't filled with flesh monsters."

Blue: "I hope so too. This place feels a bit...I don't know. Something smells like smoke."

The kids enter the town and make it to the inner area.

Kane: "Well, this is a surprise."

The Battlefield takes inside the inner part of The Shackles. It is littered with miliary supplies everywhere and crashed cars are shown inside the buildings. Children who are chained can be seen sometimes running in the background. Some of them, who are unlucky, get shot by The Solders or blown up by landmines. There is also a foggy desert like mist, that entangles the town. There is also barbed wire acting like telephone wires that wrap around the buildings. There are also deadly traps like motion sensor bombs, gas bombs, gunshots to the head, and landmines hidden underground.

Stellar: "Ugh! I can't see anything in this fog!"

Kane: "Stellar, stay by me."

Stellar: "I can't see anything!"

Stellar sees a humanoid decaying hand reach for her. Stellar falls back and looks for Kane. She can't find him as she gets scooped up and she screams loudly.

Kane: "Stellar?! Where are you?!"

Blue: "Kane, what's going on?! I cannot see you!"

Kane: "I... I think I see a..."

Kane is unable to say much more as he is snatched up by a giant hand and is slammed inside a cage. Zarah looks around for Blue but sees up ahead is his silhouette.

Zarah: "Blue, I see you! Hold still!"

Zarah rushes to Blue, only to be flown back by a landmine. Zarah crashes to the ground, bleeding. Blue is heard screaming along with a loud bang.

Zarah: "Ow..."

Zarah crawls to Blue and sees him trapped inside a cage. The cage is then dragged away by an unseen military monster. Zarah fully stands up and runs after the monster. Zarah runs down The Shackles' streets. After a while, she then sees an army of monstrous soldiers. The Soldiers have a huge monstrous humanoid appearance. They wear green military themed clothing. They all carry around bombs that they use to ignite. They also wear black gloves, black pants, and green shoes. Their faces are all stretched to show a wide smiling grin. Their eyes are either pure white, smaller than their sockets, or are just unable to move.

Zarah: "What are these things...?!"

Zarah then sees them forcing children to move giant boulders using ropes. The children eventually give up due to them being too heavy. The Solders proceed to grab the children, shove them into cages, and throw them inside a horse carriage, which are being pulled by 2 deformed, monster like horses, and takes them away.

Zarah: "That must be where the others are..."

Zarah tried to sneak around them by going through an ally way, but it met with discarded bear traps. Zarah nearly dodges all of them, as she gets her foot caught in the last one. Zarah holds back her screams and carefully forces it off.

Zarah: "Don't scream...don't scream...don't scream..."

Zarah limps around on one leg and watches as The Solders march across the streets whipping and shooting at children who fail to serve the town. Zarah lets out a whimper. Zarah starts to hyper ventilate in fear a little.

Zarah: "I can't do this..."

Zarah backs away from the army of solders. When backing away, she bumps into another monster. She looks up to see The General. The General wears a blue military outfit with black jeans and shoes. His hands are massive with long claws, and he carries a rocket launcher. His face is distorted to show a horrified angry expression all the time. His eyes are a milky white color. His teeth are massive with blood marks on them. He also wears a military cap.

Zarah: "H-hi...?"

The General stares down at Zarah, growing angrier by her presence. He points directly at her, drawing the attention of the other Solders in the background. The General reaches for Zarah, but she runs away into a nearby shop. The General busts in and looks around for Zarah, who is hiding. The General pulls out his rocket launcher and blows up half the shop, causing Zarah to be flung out of the shop and back into the streets. Zarah coughs blood and quickly crawls away.

Zarah: "Why...does this town...have a military service THIS big?!"

Zarah coughs more blood and sees an army of Solders chasing her. Zarah quickly crawls away and hides inside a dumpster. Zarah climbs out and crawls to a nearby bus stop. She gets on a broken-down bus and lays on the ground, heavily injured.

Zarah: "No! Blue saved me back at The Carnage! I'm not going down so easily! You hear that?! This isn't over, military force!"

The side of the bus was blown up by The General. The bus slams into a building. Zarah is flown into a nearby building. She sees a girl the size of a teenager approaching her. This person was The Protector. The Protector is the size of an average teenager. Her skin is a slightly lighter tone of peach. She wears a dark magenta long-sleeved shirt with purple stripes with a purple skirt. Her hair is golden and long, which covers her eyes. She has blue mary jane shoes with yellow socks with green stripes on. Zarah stands up, covered in blood with her fists ready.

Zarah: "I... won't..."

The Protector: "Shh shh, my names The Protector. I'm here to help you."

The Protector heals Zarah completely using her magic. Zarah's body glows a yellow color and her wounds, cuts, and injuries are healed all together.

Zarah: "Oh? Oh! Thank you! My names Zarah."

The Protector: "I'm just passing through here. I'm trying to get to the Queen's Castle."

Zarah: "What?"

The Protector: "Listen, I can't chat forever. Just escape while you still can."

The Protector uses her magic to create an exit through the wall for Zarah.

Zarah: "Aren't you coming to?"

The Protector: "Yeah, just leave without me. I can manage myself. I hope you can to."

Zarah watches as The Protector disappears through her magic and a bit of smoke. Zarah exits the building and walks for a while until she comes across a gas grenade.

Zarah: "What is that thing...?!"

Zarah backs away, before it explodes. She is hit and sadly passes out. Zarah's unconscious body falls over. The General approaches her with a cage.

Zarah: "This...isn't...over..."

Zarah is slammed inside a cage by The General and dragged to The Queen's Castle. Zarah's cage is put on a hook, and it is transported on a moving conveyor belt from the outside to the inside. The conveyer belt is meant to transfer captured children into The Dungeon to await their fate in the hands of The Executioner. Zarah wakes up, still inside the cage.

Zarah: "Where...where am I? Wherever I am, I know what I must do."

Zarah moves the cage around before the hook snapes, plunging her into the darkness. Zarah screams as she falls, and it fades to black. While falling, tentacle wires can be seen slithering around the walls, drooping oil.