A Blood Red Top Hat

Chapter Twenty-Six: Deal With The Devil

I ran.

I pull all of my worries and fear behind me like the sand that I fling into the air each step I took, the world fades upon me as the sand below me disappear, and replaces with a hard solid ground, and the greens and the blues fades like the river runs down the fjord. I shatter through the twist and turns, the broken stones and the hardened clay that were upon my route.

I fell nothing, I don't wanted to feel anything. The Clan is in danger and that's all I wanted to know, Leaping is no where to be found other than the rest of the team, now I just needed to warn the Clan about our new found danger. At one corner of my eye, I could see the black headed male right behind me as we shuffle through the warm color dirt and stones of Coral Canyon, the same dusty smell reached my nostrils again, which is indeed fairly relaxing smell, but the air is not...Dry.

It does not appear to be the same like I once inhaled the air of Coral Canyons. The air around me is denser and more foggy, my heart sunk and my running comes to a stop. Someone is here. Skorm.

He is here, there's no way Coral Canyons is naturally that wet. Which thousands of possibilities come up in my head, maybe Skorm could control water, or even summon storms. In which lead to more vision, the Clan could be dead by now, and I am here wasting my time.

I shook of that eerie feeling and run into the fog, the world around us seems like black and white, the fog seems to drain all happiness, and life possibly. I breath through my mouth and gasp for air, the world is getting denser and less and less oxygen. Maybe Skorm create fog? Questions, questions and question running through my head, slamming it's way around.

I choked on the fog, my legs are numb and without any oxygen, I may pass out right here. I halted, maybe Wretched could help.

I turn and turn, even though there is small dims and lights, but there's no quite shape within the fog.

I held onto one side of a huge clay block to get a huge breath of air, but...there's barely any. Fear starts to form in my heart.

It's okay Spirit. It's okay.

I repeat the phrase in my head over and over again. But I needed a solution to this problem.

Okay, fog...is a low flying cloud.

Up.

I needed to go up, above the cloud so called fog, I lift one leg up, to a small platform, and my other leg did the same, my fingers clenched onto the small breaks and gaps of the rock, and so I climb.

The fear in my heart is still tingling it's way through, what if I fall, what if the fog is higher than I expected to be?

It's okay Spirit. It's okay.

I keep on repeating the phrase. My legs is slowly feeling quite numb, and my fingers are slowly trembling from fear. I climb and climb.

Until I feel a small tingling sensation within my chest, the tingling sensation soon turned into relaxing aura. My could feel a light weight feeling in my chest, air.

I gasp out, took so many mouths full of air, I could breath again, the refreshing feeling and the strength delivered into each part of my muscle makes my climbing much more effective.

Soon my hand felt a much more larger and solid ground, I pull myself up. I am on a large platform, the top of the clay mountain, I smiled.

I wanna scream out the feeling of finally having a change to breathe. I wanna laugh my heart out, but I still have many burdens on my back, I needed to find The Clan.

I took off again, on the high platforms and away from the fog.

After jumping from one place and another, I could begin to hear the familiar water falling sound, battering on the rocks and sand.

I fasten my foot steps and move faster as the wind and sound carry me there.

The white shadow under me still grows and crawls on the brown floor, there looks like the fog won't be disappearing soon. "Leaping? Infinity?" I called out above the clouds.

Laughter.

Laughter rings in my head, "Spirit, finally." A shadow moved in the white fog, I focus onto the movement of the mysterious shadow.

Skorm.

No doubt, "Skorm." I spitted back, "Well, you see, in my shoes I needed to kill you." He smiled. "But there's something else."

I swallowed, I wish this could never happen, I just wish I could go back to my normal life and not get killed by those we once look up to, those we used to call 'Youtubers' or so called 'The Protector of Jamaa'.

"So let's make a deal." Skorm smirks, "tonight, meet me at crystal sands, and we shall have a duel."

"What!?" This time my voice shakes and trembles, "You shall duel one of my...favourite subjects." He said, looking up, with a devil in his eye.

"If you win, you are free to go and so are your whole Clan of people." His stared for a while and added in "if I win, you'll be dead and so are your whole clan."

"So we now have a deal."

"And if you don't wanted to agree to those terms, well boohoo I might just to kill you right now."

My eyes became blury, I am crying. My turns stream down my face but soon I wipe it off so I don't embarrass myself in front of my enemy.

I took a huge break, all most cracking my voice.

"Deal."

He smiled, the fog slowly shrunk and move towards him, forming a ball and then...

It fell to the ground. And disappeared, with Skorm.

I swallowed hard, I have made a decision, and I have no idea what to to do.

I curl into a ball.

And I cried.

"Spirit?" I turned to the voice.  "Wretched." My voice sound broken and shattered.

"You just made a wonderful deal, we now have a one hundred percent of winning."

This time my whole body stopped. We are winning?

"How?" I asked.

"I'll tell you everything." Wretched smilled and bend down to my height.

The afternoon pasted, closer to the duel. Buf I no longer have fear in my eyes, I have strength, determination. And the wonders of the warriors within my soul.

As we approach the blacked out shores once again.