Apprentice

Chapter 7: Silent Hill

(This is a little before Ridge and Tia went to get everyone for the games)

Liam's POV

Creeping silently in the bushes, I sneak through the trees as stealthily as possible. I stop, freezing when I hear the wind ruffle past me, giving away my position. Flanking the shadows of the trees, I press against them as I take in the sights around me.

There are many factories extending over the horizon. A few castles too, and a tall mansion on a hill at the top of it all. I swallow. With factories this big, what the hell were they making? Cautiously, I shoot out of the cover of the trees towards a random building, pressing myself against it. It was a tall, iron block building with a logo of a ginger dwarf on it. Underneath it is the large words, "Honeydew. inc". I can barely see the top of it, and I silently slip inside.

There are no stairs in the building, which confuses me at first. Then I remember Mitch telling me how they used science and stuff, and I was dimly aware of some knowledge of it, including flying rings. Suddenly, I press against a wall before throwing myself under some machines when the door opens, a blonde haired woman striding through. She was very pretty, her hair flowing around like a golden waterfall, a loose brown top on with blue jeggings and brown boots. "Lewis!" she calls out. A man dressed in a red shirt with black jeans and black boots comes flying down, his short brown hair ruffling a little at the speed.

"Hannah" he smiles, holding her close. He was closely followed by a small, ginger dwarf, also hovering. He looked exactly like the dwarf on the logo on the building, and I put two and two together.

As they all hug quietly, a man, flying using nothing, suddenly appears, making them all yell and protest. I can't really hear them from all the way across here, but a girl suddenly appears behind the dwarf, grabbing hold of his arms, tearing him away from the others. I glance back at the man, a sudden lurch in my stomach. Was this the man, with his evil grin and the way he laughed when they asked him something, the same man that blew Jerome up? 

The man called Lewis and his girlfriend disappear, and so does the flying man. The girl stays, speaking to the dwarf in a hushed conversation. He nods, before they both disappear. I glance around at the empty building-this would be a good time to take some stuff. But something about this place gives me the creeps, so I leave. 

I end up at a castle made out of black rock. To my surprise, the flying man is there, and so is the girl. "What the hell, Ridge? The games are over, let them go!" a man shouts, a purple mask covering half of his face. His eyes are different shades of purple twisted into one, and he is an obvious mage with his Klein star. My heart pounds. As far as Sky knew, they only used science. Not magic.

The flying man, called Ridge, hisses and tells him to stop moving. I quickly hide round the corner when he looks around the area. Departing, I run towards the cover of the forest, wanting to get out of this hell hole now. But as I run, I hear voices. Oh god, I think, when will this nightmare end? And, to my astonishment, Ridge is there AGAIN, setting fire to the people in the camp. Stumbling away, I run towards the mansion on top of the hill, desperately trying to get away from the insane maniac that seemed to be burning and torturing his own Island. 

Clambering up the hill desperately, I reach the mansion at last. The freezing air is still, lifeless, silent. There is no wind, which is odd, considering the height of this place. The silence is unnerving, and I find myself kicking a rock on purpose just to get some noise, which I realize all too late was a bad idea. Creeping silently, I open the window, and slip inside.

The room I'm in is a warm, inviting living room. The black carpet complete with a white fluffy sheep rug and white wall paper with one wall black gives it a designer, modern-type look. There is a black, smooth leather couch sat around a shady glass table. A fire crackles quietly in a fireplace to my right, and next to it are rows and rows of bookshelves, some of them containing board games, such as checkers. My eyes are diverted back to the flickering flames, and my heart rate rises when I realize it was lit not too long ago.