The only thing Paul could see was darkness.
He could feel a grainy rocky floor under him, but that is as much as he knows of his surroundings. He could feel Asia’s feebly arms wrap around his and his father’s calming breathes nearby.
He could see a dimly lit lantern, slowly lighting up the tunnel. The keeper of the lantern, he dreaded to see for the air got very cold. As the lantern got close, he could see that they were in an ancient jail cell.
“Hope you enjoyed your stay,”the keeper rasped.
“Using the executing cell. Pretty cliche don’t you think?”his dad spat back sarcastically.
Then a horrible molten hand . . . no claw, reached out and brushed his father’s shoulder. He slowly fell to the ground, immense pain shown on his face.
Asia screamed and gripped Paul’s arm tighter.
What just happened? Paul thought, frozen in fear.
“I prefer you to keep your mouth quiet,” the keeper rasped.
Then Paul and Asia could see the figure turn towards their direction, though they couldn’t see his face since the hood of its cloak shadowed its eyes.
“I could do the same for your children,” he continued.
“Who are you?” Mr.Haddock panted.
The man lifted the lantern towards his face. Paul wished that he didn’t do that at all. It looked like the man’s skin was melted and then cooled liked used wax. He had only one lone yellow eye and a void socket. There was no mouth but another void hole on his face that would give anyone the creeps.
“I am the Skeleton,” he rasped.
Mr.Haddock looked shocked.
Then, the Skeleton let out a laugh, well, as close as he could get to a laugh.
“I never died. Demons never die. They can be killed though.”
“What do you want?”
“What I alway wanted. Starstuff.” then he knelt close to Mr.Haddock’s face, “Where is it?”
Mr.Haddock looked at him straight in the eyes, well, eye.
“I don’t know.”
The Skeleton growled and swiped his hand across Mr.Haddock’s arm, leaving him crying in pain.
“You will tell me soon enough. Or every single one of your children will die, just like your wife. Though what a tragedy of how she died, pity,” he rasped in Mr.Haddock’s ears.
Mr.Haddock’s eyes widened as he remembered that vivid memory. A memory that wasn’t that long ago. So vivid, it felt like yesterday.
-----------------------------------------------
“Kie!”Dreki yelled, in the swarm of Vikings.
There was another raid from the Traitorous, but this one was more war then raid.
Dreki lost his wife and children in the sea of fighting Vikings.
Soon enough, he found his two of his children, Paul and Asia. He grabbed then and ran for cover in one of the nearby houses. He clutched them tightly for a moment.
“Never leave my sight again,”he scolded.
He left his children in the safe haven, going back out to find his wife and their youngest children, Ender and Estelle.
