Arch of the Lost Ruin

Barriers Breached

I jumped up instantly, finding a new burst of energy coursing through my paws as I bolted in their direction. Tessalyn and Evalyn was on either side of Rynoarc, apparently asking him questions. I let out a happy bark, and I must’ve been wagging my tail like a maniac. Rynoarc caught sight of me and smiled, moving ahead of my mother and godmother, walking a bit faster to greet me. As our noses made contact, I playfully bit his ear, climbing on top of his head, flattening his spike like hair.

“Father, are you all right?” Raevyn padded up, looking up at his pale blue eyes with concern in hers.

“Perfectly fine, darlings.” Rynoarc chuckled as he lowered his head to lick Raevyn’s forehead. I had to hold on in order to not fall off, “I just went out for a walk this morning is all.”

I glanced at Delphyra, and her electric blue eyes softened, and I knew what she had told me about Rynoarc having Alzheimer’s was true. He never took a walk, he stormed out of the camp, leaving Evalyn to cry on the ground for a few hours. I sighed discreetly, hoping Rynoarc wouldn’t notice.

“Where’d you hide the fitter, buddy?” Rynoarc asked, looking up at me.

The fitter… The fitter! He remembered! But… he said he forgot about it… I glanced at Delphyra again, this time with more urgency. She nodded slightly.

“Um… I… forgot.” Wrong. I completely knew where it was. Still under the same bush I had hidden it after Rynoarc’s sudden statement of not having played with the thing.

“Ah.” Rynoarc shook his head a little, “Well, we’ll find another thing in its place, hm?”

“Yeah.” I said, with false encouragement.

The next morning I woke up normally, like any day. But this time I just laid there, with half open eyes, staring at the wall like it has my life story carved on it. I sighed, after looking at it for some years later. I lifted myself up on my paws, surprised to see everyone except Raevyn gone. I got up and searched the camp perimeters, seeing if there was anyone who was guarding the camp at all. It was abandoned.

I sat on my rump, raising a brow unconsciously. It isn’t supposed to be abandoned. Me and Raevyn “weren’t mature enough to guard it” yet, but Delphyra and Mynona could. They aren’t here now. Rynoarc wouldn’t let the camp go undefended… I huffed, feeling my sister’s waking presence.

“Where’s everyone?” She yawned, stretching in the den.

“I don’t know.” I shrugged, mumbling.

“That’s odd.” Raevyn remarked as she sat next to me, looking around for any sign of our family, “...Should we go search for them?”

“But that would mean we have to leave the camp.” I flicked my tail back at the den.

“True…” Raevyn sighed, “But━”

“Elixa! Track down your father, fast!” growled Delphyra, who leapt into camp out of the air, her fur bristling. Was that blood I saw on her mouth?

“Wait, what?” I screeched, jumping out of my skin, looking at Delphyra with terrified eyes.

“Rynoarc killed Tessalyn, Elixa. He killed Tessalyn!” Mynona leaned down to my face, making sure I knew what my father had done.

“Your father’s gone mad; just go track him down!” Delphyra raised her voice, snarling at me now, her electric blue eyes paralyzing me, “Me and Raevyn will take the west and north side of camp. You and Mynona go check the southern and eastern side of camp. Clear?”

I nodded, but a little bit dazed on what was going on.

Delphyra nodded at Raevyn, beckoning for her sister to follow. Raevyn glanced at me for what would be the last time I would ever see her, and disappeared after Delphyra. Mynona touched her tail to me slightly, signaling for me to follow her. I nodded reluctantly and followed as the red haired hybrid led the way under the foliage covered forest.

We were approaching the place we titled simply as the Shore Cliff, because it inclined up, then ended in a dramatic conclusion of extreme height. Then next to the steep drop was the shore to the ocean. I had never been down there because Rynoarc forbid me. I wouldn’t want to fall down and break my bones.

Mynona signaled for me to slow down as we approached the edge. “They could be anywhere. You keep going forward, I’ll search on the right of you. Holler if you hear anything.”

I nodded again as we split apart. I raced toward the edge, careful to stop a few inches away from the actual drop. I looked down and gulped. I wasn’t going to like this very much. The trees that grew on the edge was blocking my view, so I had to move up in order to see the next portion of the shore. The waves were still today, not boisterous like the many months ago when I first saw it.

Then I saw them. Rynoarc’s bloody trail as he closed in on Evalyn, behaving like a rabid animal. Evalyn was backing away, trying to shout words to Rynoarc with mixtures of tears. Rynoarc didn’t even flinch, he just kept closing in while Evalyn backed away. I wanted to do something… But I couldn’t… I was paralyzed in horror and anguish. Rynoarc’s growl was thunderous, I could hear the sound all the way where I was. Rynoarc’s mouth was dripping toxic saliva now, the way we demons did if we wanted to look menacing.

“Rynoarc!” Evalyn’s scream reached my ears, almost scraping it clear off my head.

Suddenly, Rynoarc bolted forward with a burst of speed that was never there before. He ran with his mouth wide open, and when I say wide I meant wide. His jaw seemed a bit off, but nonetheless, in a flash like lightning, Evalyn’s neck was in his jaws.Writhing in agony, Evalyn tried to break free from his grasp, but her size was a major weakness now. Another scream was cut short as Rynoarc stood with Evalyn’s neck in his jaws, completely crushed under his pressure.

Tears formed in my eyes as my vision blurred. I closed my eyes to dispose of the liquid, but they kept coming back as I stared at my father in terror. He stood there for a while, panting, with his pale blue eyes broad in trying to control himself. Then he tightened his grip on my limp mother, and slowly dragged her to the now thundering waves of the ocean, hungry for carcasses.

Rynoarc had Evalyn’s head in his mouth now, with his rump facing the waves as he grunted in struggle to tow my mother. He released his grip on Evalyn for a moment, swiveling his head this way and that, I guess trying to find any other place to dump the body. There seemed to be no other solution except for the thirsty waves. He grunted and picked up Evalyn again, entering the cold and tumultuous surge of the ocean. My father dragged with great effort now, because the waves were fighting him. Once he was chin-deep, he attempted to pick Evalyn up in his jaws and throw her farther into the mass of water. I remembered when Delphyra had said that Alheimer’s affected their behavior and memory. Did Rynoarc even know what water was? Or how to swim in it?

Apparently not. As he was about ready to throw Evalyn, he lost his footing because of another strong current, and was submerged underwater. I watched as he attempted to get balanced again, but another current had drew him out into the depths of the water. There, he had no place to stand, so I watched as his muzzle sank under the water.

A few moments passed, and I was still trying to comprehend the situation. What should I do? Where do I go now? Where are all the others? How are we going to survive? I know Delphyra told me about a Professor… Dufreichtz, I think, but how do we know he’s not going to dissect us for his experiments? More questions were popping up, and my brain couldn’t take it. I felt the birds in the forest scatter as my own shriek echoed the forest.