I packed up my new bag that Chade had made me. It was solid black, and it morphed to fit my needs. I stuffed in a sleeping mat, a canister of water, containers, soap, clean clothes, and some rope. I was dressed in black hiking boots, red pants and a white tank top. I had my usual bow in my hair. I picked up my stuffed bat, thinking. I squeezed it and placed it gently in my bag. I couldn't leave it behind. I zipped up my bag and slung it over my shoulder. Chade was waiting for me by the portal. He gave me a grim nod. I wrapped my arms around him, clinging to him as we jumped in.
Everything went dark, and it felt like I was being flattened. Then I was stretched and rolled, being reformed over and over again. I finally reverted back to my own form, only to be tortured gain. I felt like I was being burned alive and frozen in an ice block at the same time. Sweat poured down my face as I spiraled. I realized I wasn't holding onto Chade anymore. I grasped the air desperately, but nothing was there.
"Chade!" I screamed at the darkness.
I was so afraid. I began to think this would be a never-ending nightmare, a final trick from the pages. Suddenly there was a flash of light. I closed my eyes, blinded. I landed with a thud on something. I cracked my eyes open and saw I was in a barren wasteland of nothing but shades of gray, white, and black.
The earth was dusty beneath me. At least, I think it was earth. I shakily got to my feet and looked around. Tumbleweeds floated across the open space. Mountais rose in the distance with black and white creatures crawling all over. I jumped as a hand landed on my shoulder. I heard a chuckle behind me, and relief flooded through me. I turned and hugged Chade, burying my face in his shirt.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
I hadn't realized I was shaking. I nodded and pulled away from his embrace. He studied the land around us, slowly nodding.
"I recognize this. We have to go that way," he said, pointing towards the mountains.
We began our journey in that direction. Tumbleweeds rolled across our path. Tiny creatures skittered away as our feet crunched on the ground. I stayed close to Chade, not wanting to lose him. The trip here was scary enough. I clung to his arm when a strange creature snapped at us. It was attached to a rock, but it had a maw like a bear trap. With a flick of his wrist Chade drew a red sword. He swiped it at any monsters that tried to bite us. I raised an eyebrow.
"Since when can you do that?" I asked.
"This is my homeland. I have more power here," he explained.
I nodded and continued walking. Wind blew across my face, howling against the rough rocks. Everything here was grim and creepy. Fear was weird. It effected me since I had Chade. We stopped at the edge of what seems like a crater. I wondered what it was from, but that disappeared as monsters began to creep out of cracks in the earth. Chade was already halfway down the side.
I started to follow him. I was nervous. The monsters were coming out faster now. I reached for my knife just as the first one met the sharp end of Chade's sword. I drew out my knife and gripped the handle tightly. A monster came up to me. It had four legs that moved like a spider's. It had an elongated torso, and it was pure black. It had two long arms and a third shorter one. It had a mouth twisted into a frown, filled with bright white fangs. I swung at it and caught it across the middle.
It dissipated into a cloud of shadow. It was sucked into the ground as more came. I swung my knife around, hitting whatever I could. I would catch glances of Chade, swinging his sword with accuracy and grace. I gritted my teeth as my knife clanged against the blade a monster wielded. I removed my knife and stabbed the monster through the gut. I whipped around when I felt a whoosh of air behind me. Chade was standing there, his sword impaling a creature. It screeched as it disappeared.
"Cover your eyes!" he shouted at me.
I quickly shielded my eyes. I felt a wave of energy rush over me. When I looked around the monsters were all dissolving. Chade snapped his fingers, dismissing his weapon.
"Thank you," I said.
"No problem. C'mon, let's get moving," he replied.
We strolled to the other side of the crater. No other creatures came out, but I kept my guard up. Chade climbed up and out of the crater. It was higher up on this side. He knelt and reached a hand down. I grabbed it and let him help me up. The land changed before my eyes. It was dizzying. Mountains zoomed up and out, then settled farther away. Rivers of a green liquid appeared. Bright yellow fumes erupted from cracks in the ground. Red smoke coiled into the air from purple geysers. The colors ravaged my eyes from seeing only black and white.
I stumbled, but Chade caught me. I looked up and saw flying creatures in the air. Blue mushrooms sprung up around the rivers. They had white and orange spots. Pink skeletons of long extinct creatures wandered around. I squeezed my eyes shut and willed for it all to go away. But when I opened my eyes it was still there. I clutched to him tightly.
"What's going on?" I asked weakly.
"She's close," he murmured.
I was about to ask who when a loud screech interrupted me. I looked up and saw a whole flock of skeletons. They were bones of pterodactyls. I pulled out my knife again. They began a nosedive directly at us. Chade summoned his sword again and swung at the first one. It was bigger than the rest. It dodged and flew up. I hit a smaller one, but it was bones. A knife wouldn't work here. I got a crazy idea. Fear was replaced by energy and adrenaline.
I leaped up and caught the wing of one. I yanked on it with all of my force and broke it off. The thing clawed before hitting the dirt. The bones fell apart and crumbled. I smiled and turned. I searched the sky for another one. I spotted another victim. I leapt and caught the neck of this one. It thrashed in the air wildly before I pulled the skull off. I landed on my feet. I tossed the skull at another flying menace to distract it.
Chade caught on to what I was Doug l he out up his blade and used his tentacles of darkness to grab them. I was grinning like a mad person. Suddenly, I was being lifted into the air. Claws dug into my shoulders. I began to kick my legs and scream, but it was useless. I tried to grab the legs and break them off, but moving my arms hurt too much. I screamed for Chade, but I knew it was too late. No one could save me now.
The large pterodactyl life tend me higher and screeched. I scrunched my eyes shut. I knew it. I've known it all along. Ever since Flavus appeared from the pages, ever since I began to pack. I was going to die.
