Cloud wakes up to the world being flipped upside down, only getting a true understanding of his circumstances once he realises that his arms are hanging below his head.
He relies on his instincts to escape from the Jeep, using the arm of his jacket to brush away the shattered pieces of glass on the roof of the vehicle before freeing himself of his seatbelt.
Gravity immediately drags him down to earth, the skin on his back sizzling from his earlier injuries before Cloud pushes through the agonising sensation, more worried about inhaling the smoke coming from the burning car than the tiny cuts on his palm from crawling over gravel and splintered shards of glass.
Cloud thinks back on what just happened, remembering the feeling of something large and heavy barging into them repeatedly before feeling the wheels leave the ground.
Whatever it was is large and fast and Cloud doubts that it would have given up after tracking them this far out from Silver Oak.
Staggering away from the vehicle, Cloud feels the sudden fanning of hot air tunnelling down the narrow road as a billow of smoke rises from the rapidly growing forest fire.
Covering his face with one hand, Cloud squints through parted fingers to make out the impossible silhouette of the creature responsible for forcing the wind in his direction.
When it slows the flapping of its powerful wings, Cloud gradually lowers his hand, but even under better conditions the creature's entire body remains hidden in shadow and smoke as if its mere presence forces the dark to thicken around itself.
He feels its gaze upon him before he spots the pair of acid green orbs buried deep within its skull. They reflect no light and each blink is very few and far between.
Cloud’s heart aches as he forgets to breathe, frozen in place by the arrival of this apex being.
His eyes flinch over to the Jeep when he sees movement, now realising that both of his parents are still trapped.
He can hear Amy screaming instructions at him but the words don’t translate, only the strained urgency in her voice as she tries to free herself and a stirring Jonathan out of the wreckage.
The throat of the beast glows amber as it prepares itself to spit fire, its thundering roar reminding Cloud of a fighter jet as it unhinges its jaw.
Meanwhile, Cloud struggles to keep his eyes open from the intense ringing in his ears and the thumping headache caused by the day's revelations beginning to catch up to him.
Cloud’s irises glow the faintest hue of red as the hex placed upon him starts tugging at his consciousness in order to activate in self defence but for the first time ever, Cloud fights against its pull.
He knows he’ll probably be fine, waking up in a field perhaps, but what about his parents? If he forgets, if he doesn’t remember any of this, then tomorrow he’d wake up with their deaths on his hands.
“I can’t remember. I-I have to remember.” his words come out slurred but he can feel the sudden surge of energy rushing through his body.
It feels like a hundred volts of lightning being forced through a conductor with nowhere to go.
Cloud directs it all into his voice, channelling every last bit of energy he has left as the beast unleashes its breath in a concentrated jetstream of death, the flicking flames so hot that they turn white and the earth cracks beneath their feet.
He roars back, his voice barely audible over the supersonic chaos, as he parts the flames with his outstretched palms glowing just as Helel’s had.
Glaring up at the blinding light, his knees threaten to buckle beneath him until he finds his footing which puts a lot of strain on his arms, causing them to violently tremble beneath the pressure.
Beads of sweat tumble towards Cloud's chin as he prizes the fire apart with tears of effort streaming across his face, the amber glow emanating from his palms beginning to flicker as he nears the end of his wick.
However, Cloud is able to hold on long enough for the beast hiding in shadow to halt its attack after seemingly having run out of breath.
Blood trickles from Cloud’s nose as his irises lose their red hue and glow a striking amber.
The next breath he takes rattles inside of his aching lungs before he slumps to his knees, drained of his rage and left feeling hollow, wanting desperately to throw up on an empty stomach.
Cloud is just grateful that he hasn’t passed out, feeling even better when he realises that he was able to save the Jeffersons from that attack.
Just then a spark fizzles inside of him as he hears an approaching motorcycle and heavy footsteps charging at full speed in their direction.
Once he twists his head, he immediately recognises the sprinting Hellhound being followed by the shirtless man on a stolen bike.
But that feeling of hope goes away once the ground is suddenly swept away from him as, what Cloud is forced to assume is a fire breathing dragon, scoops him up with its webbed feet and takes off into the air.
He squeezes his eyes shut and holds on for dear life, only opening them once hearing the dragon shoot another blast of fire, merely catching a glimpse of the fiery green portal in the air before being dragged through it.
On the ground, Helel eventually makes it to the wreckage, extinguishing the fires with a single wave of his hand before ordering Hunter to aid the Jeffersons to escape their vehicle whilst he studies the lingering remnants of the portal before the tear in space starts repairing itself.
“How are you here?” Amy inquires, storming up to Helel with a tiny gash on her forehead. “How did you know-”
“I didn’t know!” he snaps back, disliking her accusatory tone. “Your town is full of nonhuman entities, I’m sure you’re aware.”
“So what?”
“So I wasn’t sure of what I was sensing as they were able to mask their power long enough to get past me. Long enough to take him.” Helel clenches his jaw, his anger doubling knowing that someone out there was able to outmanoeuvre him. “I’ll get him back.”
Amy stares into Helel’s eyes, unaffected by the intimidating effect they usually have on people. “Where did they take my son Helel?”
“If I were to guess…I’d say Eden's Landing. That's where I'd take him.”
Amy observes Helel closely, deducing there is more behind his statuesque glare than he is sharing. “You know who this is, don’t you?”
“I’m sure you’ve heard of Mortelix, the green Dragon.”
“Whispers, never good, but what would he want with Cloud?”
“Knowing him it could be anything. He deals in the commodity of power in all its forms but I can’t see what his play could be here.”
Jonathan joins the pair after retrieving what is left of his arsenal, calmly loading the shotgun in his hands. “None of that matters. He took our son, tried to kill my wife and destroyed my ride.”
Helel raises a brow, his eyes flicking to the bag of weapons at his feet. “Your point Jefferson? Or is it Van Helsing tonight?”
“We’re going to hunt down an Overlord with or without your help.”
“You’ll only slow us down.”
“We’re going.” Amy replies, taking the helmet off Helel’s hands and strutting towards the motorcycle without any further discussion.
YOU ARE READING
The Initials | Nanowrimo 2023
Fantasy[Book 1 in the Displaced Angels Series] "You took the life of my best friend, made her life a living hell...so I took your building and everything inside, and turned it into ash." °°° Being abducted the first time was already crazy enough, but twice...
