Shadow Bands

III. Shadow Bands

  Tall grass swayed gently in the meadows like a golden sea. The autumn sun neared its peak in the sky and the clouds were ever so present. A sweet smell of apples was carried through with the wind, making its way through a secluded orchard field where a boy tossed apples in the air within the shadow of the arches made by trees. Before they could crash down on him they would slow down when his hand was raised, but they were never sustained which the boy was trying to do. Every apple that dropped to the ground was a new frustration for him.

A twig snapped allowing him to break focus. He looked at his surroundings to find no one. Perhaps it was a snapping branch from a dead apple tree. He continued his practices but with caution of his surroundings.

"Neat trick!" A voice said. An apple fell on his head. "How do you do it?"

The boy turned to find a girl with red hair bundled in the back with piercing green eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

The girl began to observe him, lifting his arm and walking around him.

"You're not human," the boy jumped back. "I'm not against it, nor do I hate you if that's what you're thinking."

The boy began to run but looked back only to find her standing completely still. He kept running until he felt as if she could no longer see him, turning where he thought would throw off his trail and eventually he found himself running through tall grass. A path through the grass was barely paved by his last visits.

All the shrubbery began to grow thicker the further he went. Eventually he reached a stone wall. He took another look behind him to make sure he wasn't followed but again he couldn't see anyone. He began to walk along the stone and eventually found a crack in the wall. It was large enough for a person to go through if they squeezed through. He angled his shoulders to begin going through the crack. 

He followed where the water flowed into a ravine and he watched as the water fell over a cliff. There was a cave entrance across the stream bank, the water was shallow enough to cross. With every step he could feel the current try and take him so he made sure that all his steps had weight. He found his way to the mouth of the cave, feeling a familiar air breeze through. He placed his hand on the right side of the cave and traced the damp rock as he walked further into the darkness. The air became hotter as the cave became desiccated. A red glow began to refract from the cave walls. His pace began to pick up as he began to see where he was going. As the exit of the cave came into sight, he could see Nasherux. He took a deep breath upon exiting the cave and looked at his surroundings. There were some shrubbery but most of it was dead. But that was all he could see before a manor. Some of the Overworld's greenery tried to invade beyond its home only to find immediate death in the Underworld. This red wasteland was a great representation of the Underworld, only the strongest survives and the weak get left behind for dead.

He slowly slid down the slope and felt the gravel give way until he reached the bottom. Some voices could be heard approaching his location. Traversing the loose gravel carefully he found a hollowed tree and snaked himself through a small bush. He could see a trail further away, the problem was crossing the open space.

Hearing the snarl of a hellhound he began to panic.

His feet began to jitter as he gathered his courage and ran into the opening. The hellhounds began to bark and the brush between them began to rustle. The boy looked back but felt his feet hit something hard which he found strange as the opening was clear with no rock or root in sight. He braced for impact and felt himself slide a few feet.

"You should never do that!" A familiar female voice shouted as a barrage of kicks began to land on his body as he balled himself and covered his head.

The barking hellhounds appeared out of the bushes with its handler holding the leash. Peaking through the crack he provided himself through his arms, he could see the hellhound's saliva spilling out of its mouth and then the man who held the beast.