Faery Island

Creek of Sorrow

Chapter VIII – Creek of Sorrow

“Little Black Submarines” by the Black Keys

Dian 

The ground foliage cracked and shifted beneath their feet. For a bit, they walked on solid ground, no water but the ocean in sight. But Anthony knew his way around, so good it was scary. But not too long they could hear moving water ahead of them and they came to a rocky mound, standing on the top of it looking off the edge to the dark water and land below.

“How are we going to get down there?” Dian asked, looking from Gyrin to Anthony for an answer from either one of them. The fog below was thick, and everything seemed dark. It was indeed, mysterious and strange.

“We’ve got to get down there.” Anthony seemed like he was thinking, searching the land ahead of them. “Seems like the only way is to climb down.”  

Dian sighed, she had done a lot of climbing but she didn’t exactly enjoy it.

“I’ll go first and make sure there isn’t anything down there,” Gyrin said. Before either one of them could argue he threw himself down below the cliff, one hold on a root hanging off the side and his feet working quickly.

He was like a little monkey, or more correct a wildlife faery.

“We’re safe for now!” Gyrin called up, though he wasn’t visible.

“Your turn, Dian,” Anthony said, nudging her towards the cliff encouraging.  

Making sure her pack was on good, she looked down and gently pushed on to a rock hanging from the wall. Testing her weight on it, she began to move downward.

The rocks were gray, but as she traveled down the darker and sharper they got. The humidity also picked up greatly, and sweat formed on her forehead. Something gave a sharp hiss and scuttled away from her. Turning her attention to the creature, just in time she caught the snake spread feathering wings and soar away from her.

She avoided shaking herself from the mutated sight and kept going, making sure to watch where she stepped and grabbed more carefully. She didn’t want to get bit by a snake and the bird flu.

Hands grabbed her around the waist making her shriek and flail as they pulled her away from the rock.  “Let me go!” Her scream was muffled and she kicked against the body, making it gasp.

“Dian! It’s me, be quiet,” Gyrin’s voice tickled her ear and forced her to stop struggling against his hold. He drug her down to the ground below the foggy mist and against the soggy black soil.

The ground shook as something passed by. She could see the tree tops shake, but not the doing off them. Anthony dropped down beside them, he to lying in the dirt, completely still.

“What’s going on?” Dian whispered, afraid whatever sent them in to the mud would hear her.

“There’s a Wyrm,” Anthony whispered back. “He’s curled up in the trees. I don’t think he can’t sense us.”

Dian didn’t know what that was, but it sounded like worm. Why would there be a worm in a tree? She shifted slightly trying to catch a look at it.

She almost skimmed right over it, and when she released that the tree shouldn’t be curly around itself with a reddish tent bark, she had found its yellow, slitted eyes of a snake that’s head was the size of VW Bug.

Its red, rusty wings flapped and the wind picked up, it did it three more times before unwrapping itself from the tree trunk and soaring in to the sky.