The Gathering

Chapter Twenty Four

When I awoke, it was because someone had thrown freezing water on me. I would've jumped about 10 feet in the air from the shock of it, but when I tried, I noticed my arms and legs were bound inside formations of rock connected to the wall.

"Hello Vande. Told you I'd be back. I've spoken to my master and I'm not to hurt you with my torture tools" Angelo said sadly, motioning to his rack of assorted tools on the wall. "I am, however, allowed to break your spirit in other ways"

"You're not getting anything out of me, if that's what you're trying to do" I said.

I don't know what they want Angelo to find out, that they couldn't by themselves, but they're not getting it.

"HA! As if they need me to torture you to find out information. They already know everything about you and your little group, I'm just here to break your spirit so you won't go any further with your foolish ideas" Angelo said.

"Don't let him do it, Vande, be strong. Be positive. Be brave" I muttered under my breath.

"Just for kicks, Kodiak also gave me this to help with the torture" Angelo said, holding up a clear bottle with a dark liquid inside. "Now that you know what's going to happen, it's time to go away again so I can prepare"

At this, the bone rose again and struck me, but I was powerless and could do nothing.

"Wakey wakey" Angelo said, throwing water on me again. "So after careful consideration... I've decided to first show you how your little friend Danny is doing down in the underworld.

Angelo then opened a fissure in the ground, with water in the bottom of the hole. I could see what was happening in the reflection of the water.

Danny stood before the thee judges of fate. They were about the only gods that stayed, but they were too busy tending to the rapid, constant deaths that they were no help to anyone.

I had tuned in just for the final vote by Minos. "You have led an honorable life, but as per our agreement, you will serve in The Fields Of Punishment to atone for your friends future wrongdoings" Minos said.

What. No. That can't be. "DANNY NO!!!" I screamed, even though I knew he couldn't hear me.

Angelo laughed, and then covered his mouth in fake embarrassment. "I'm sorry, was that not funny?" He said.

"Your friend there is helping you out, even though all you ever did was get him killed"

"Shut up. You have no idea what you're talking about" I spat, and then suddenly went unconscious again.

When I awoke I was alone but there was another hole with an image in it. Matalel and I were facing off and everyone was surrounding us fighting, but still giving us room to fight. I kept up for several of his attacks, but it was obvious that I wouldn't win. Suddenly, Matalel knocked away both of my daggers, dropped his scythe and walked over to me.

A boy came up behind me and binded my hands behind me as Matalel approached. He whispered something into my ear and then held both hands to my face... And violently twisted my neck, killing me instantly.

As Matalel had gripped me, though, I noticed something I didn't before: He had six fingers on his left hand.

The images kept coming though, and it showed each of my friends getting executed by Matalel. They had given up after I was killed.

I heard a mad laugh from behind me and realized Angelo must have been there the whole time, even though I couldn't see him.

As the ground came together again I was knocked unconscious.

The next several times I was awoken went about the same. Angelo showed me Chris and Adrian perishing at the hands of the Hecate children, Doug taking over the Athenians and killing Hanna, Noah and his group he assembled being killed by Jayden, and the rest of my group being tortured by Damon.

One day though, it was different, I awoke with Damon inside my cage, trying to cut me loose. "Don't move. Once you're free, we need to hurry" He whispered.

"What are you doing? Why are you helping me, I thought you all worked for Matalel now" I said confusedly.

"Well when we first met I was, but things have changed. I can finally see who the real bad guys are here" He explained.

When he succeeded in cutting through the bonds that kept my hands to the ceiling they immediately fell limp. My hands and arms would be useless for now, so hopefully Damon knows what he's doing.

"Okay follow me. Mandy is getting your friends and meeting us outside the graveyard" Damon instructed.

We walked back through the hall with all the paintings and I got a true feeling for how bad this camp had been hit. At Damon's though, we stopped. He reached behind and grabbed a key.

First we went to the weapons room to retrieve what was ours. Next, we bolted for the next staircase. Damon brought out his scythe as we crept up the stairs.

Each step was like I was reliving the torture I had just gone through. Step after careful step. Up one step. Danny being sentenced to the fields of punishment. Up another. Matalel's rough strong hands gripping my head and killing me. Up another. James is dead. Up another. Ava is dead. Up another. Lindsay is dead. Up another. Riley is dead. Up another. Kat is dead.

As we got to this top I was physically and mentally drained. I stood, trying to recover some sort of mental process.

"You ready?" Damon questioned. 
In response I shouldered open the door, ready to face any sort of mighty foe, no matter how I felt right now. 
By shouldering the door open, I had knocked one guard unconscious, but that left the other guard ready for us. My daggers locked with his blade high above our heads leaving his midsection open, which was soon run through by Damon's scythe. Lifeless, his body fell limp to the ground. I took pity on him though and set him on fire using my dagger so that he couldn't become a zombie, and soon all that was left was a charred husk of a body.

"Cmon. The boathouse is over this way" Damon said, taking off out of the graveyard. Surprisingly, the boathouse was in great condition, painted a deep blue color that itself struck fear in my very being.

Damon unlocked the doors and slid them open. Together, we hoisted one onto our shoulders and carried it out onto the waters edge. Carefully, we set it down on the rocky shore, waiting for Mandy to come with everyone else.

This waiting was maddening and I soon found myself pacing, even though each rock pierced my bare feet drawing blood with every step. "I'm going in there. They can't be put through the same thing I was" I said, storming off back to the graveyard.

"I'm sorry, but that can't happen. Going back now, when they're all about to wake up would only make things worse" Damon said.

Gods dam it. I wanted to help, but I couldn't. So I resumed my pacing. It didn't matter to me the pricks with every step, it was nothing to the past few days and actually quite a relief to know I could feel such a tedious pain.

Finally, just as the sun rose over the horizon, the door was thrown open and they all poured out, running like madmen.

"Damon! Go! They're right behind us!" Mandy yelled, and so we set off with everyone else jumping in as we floated off.