Chapter 7: Hangman Tree

Ripley feels disoriented, and uncertain of where he is. He looks down to see white sheets covering him. He’s naked underneath. Looking around he catches his reflection– he is his old self, one that should be dead. Something moves in the room and he turns to see Stella, her golden hair loose and flowing down her form.

“Did you have a bad dream?”

Her voice is like music, he feels like he could cry. There is so much he wants to say but the only sound that escapes his lips is a choked sob.

“Honey, what's wrong? Why are you crying?”

“You died.”

“Nonsense. I’m right here, see?”

She touches his face, and kisses him. She feels warm, real, alive. Ripley fights the screaming voice in his brain telling him that this is not real. He holds her in his arms – he missed that feeling. He wanted to believe that this was real and everything else had been a bad dream. She kisses him again, caressing his chest. He can’t help but respond to the touch he has longed for so long. Stella straddles him, moves the covers out of the way, and takes him. The feeling is almost too much to bear. It’s been almost a lifetime now since he last made love to her. Ripley seeks out her lips with equal hunger and desperation. His mind feels like it’s melting but there is that last shred of something that tells him he’s in danger and it’s fighting against the rest of him. There is no danger, he argues. Stella– the love of his life would never hurt him. With each move she makes his resistance grow weaker. Waves of pleasure drown out all else as he feels it drawing nearer. His body feels so hot almost like it’s burning, so close now. A scent in the air like ash and fire but it’s gone in an instant. He’s thrusting his hips, desperate for release. The small voice inside his head is now a scream. Suddenly he feels a burning pain in his back, one that knocks the breath out of his lungs. He looks at Stella who has stopped moving. The smell of burning returns. The room is suddenly full of smoke.

“Stella?”

She doesn’t respond.

“Stella!”

She lunges forward, hands around his throat as a feminine laughter echoes all around. Ripley is pushed down hitting his head against the bed as her hands continue to choke him.

His eyes shoot open, and from the pain he feels he probably really hit his head against something. Stella is gone, he is back in the cabin only now it’s full of smoke. It’s bright outside but not because it’s day. The forest is on fire. He can still the laughter echo as he jumps to his feet. The mark on his back throbs sending sharp pains through his body – demons are close by. He has no way to fight back – bullets all used up, eyes stinging from the smoke, throat aching. Ripley leaps out the small window. The trees nearby are ablaze, and flames have spread to the roof of the cabin. He has only one option – running away.

Shadows dart out of the fire taking on the form of canine-like creatures. Skulls that resemble dogs or wolves surrounded by a mane of flames. Slim black skeletal bodies with sharp spines on the back. Long tails that resemble a spine and with a human like skull engulfed in flames. They run on all fours, giving chase with ease. Ripley knows he is outnumbered and defenseless. These demons seem much different from the one he faced before. The only thing he can think of, the one thing that might save him is the river. He is disoriented and unsure of which direction to go. Recalling the map doesn’t help much – the cabin was no on the map but the river was North from the ruins of Kharos. Ripley had headed east into the woods after the fight, now he ran to what he hoped was North.

He ran as fast as he could, the demon hounds close behind him. Their tails extended striking at nearby trees and setting fire to dry bushes. Their skeletal maws dripped flame to the ground and occasionally powerful bursts of fie show out. Ripley did his best not to run in a straight line, certain that if the blast of fire hit him he would die. The edge of his coat caught fire from one of the blasts that nearly hit him. Quickly flames began to consume it and he threw it off of himself. Tired but unable to stop running he continued. Perhaps he should have expected this but he didn’t. He had severely miscalculated his own abilities and underestimated the demons. It wasn’t surprising if all of this ended in his death but he was not going to make it easy. Even if coming back from the dead was an option he would fight for this life with all he had. He only had his wits at this moment.

The cliff was steep but he could see the bridge in the distance. It confirmed that he was going in the right direction. Running around the cliff would have taken time but falling could result in an injury that left him unable to move. Regardless he decided to take the risk. Climbing down as much as he could until he saw the demon hounds looking down at him over the edge. Ripley left and used his legs to push off, thus avoiding a torrent of flames send at him. He hit the ground and felt a sharp pain in his shoulder but got up and continued running. The hounds didn’t jump down but ran around the cliff this bought him some time.

He could see the bridge up ahead but the hounds were once more on his tail. One of them sent a blast that just narrowly missed Ripley. He quickly realized the blast was not meant for him – the bridge was now on fire. But he never intends to cross it. He jumped into the river flowing below. Better to drown than let the demons take him. Ripley realized that his injured arm was next to useless so he might actually drown. Swimming with only one hand was pretty difficult and while the current helped carry him forward somewhat the demon hounds ran along the edge of the water and continued their attack.

Ripley feels weak, strength nearly gone. He dodges one attack by diving under the water, tries to keep himself from surfacing, hoping that the hounds will lose him. As he surfaces a surprise attack hits him from the back. It hit the water but now Ripley looked at the other side of the river where three more hounds had appeared. Surrounded from all sides now, no way to escape to the other shore. There was only one other way to go– forward to the waterfall. It was not a huge one but the drop could be deadly in his weakened state. However, the demons would probably not jump after him and that would give the river time to carry him away. With all his remaining strength he swam forward as the current picked up speed around him. Ripley braced himself for the fall and the water forced him down with great force. Everything went dark after.

He didn’t know where he was or if he was even awake. Ripley lay on the shore of a river but it didn’t feel like the same river. The landscape was much different. Compared to the forest this place was barren with hardly anything there. The grass had an unnatural greyish color to it. There were hills covered in it but no forest or trees. A mist floated around obscuring the distance from sight. Ripley expected pain when he got up but there was none. Moving his shoulder didn’t hurt but he was positive it was injured before. His guns were still on his belt but wet and useless. Ripley got up and began walking aimlessly. There was a road so he followed it. Nothing was familiar. How far had the river carried him? Was this even the same world?

Something emerged from the mist. At the side of a crossroad was a huge tree with massive dead branches. Hanging on them was a large number of nooses, some still had skeletal remains in them. Underneath the three he saw a familiar figure on a horse. Ripley ran towards it but the mists obscured it and it seemed to vanish. Ripley looked at the spot where Rider had been. Was it even him?

“This way.” He heard his voice.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Looking around he noticed a cavity in the side of the tree, it seemed to be getting bigger before his very eyes. It got big enough to crawl into but just barely. Briefly, he wondered if this was a trap. Ripley decided that the demons would have killed him while he was unconscious by the river. So he took off his gun belt and began to crawl inside.

He crawled on his hands and knees. The hollow inside the tree couldn’t possibly be this big. He had been crawling for several minutes, still unsure how the Rider even fit here. The ground beneath his hands did not feel like the ground. It was soft, mushy, a little warm and it was pulsing. Suddenly he could see in the dark but then realized it wasn’t dark anymore. All he knew was the Rider had called him to follow and he had followed.

Now the walls and the ground felt and looked more like flesh inside of something alive than what the inside of a tree would. Fear gripped him. But he kept moving. Felt that wet flesh squish and clench as he moved. It became narrower. The walls of the passage touched him now. It was a damp and suffocating warmth. Panic welled up inside Ripley. A feeling that he is not supposed to be here. The fear of becoming stuck. But still he kept going. Not certain if he could turn around in such a narrow space and even if he did, would he be able to go back at all?

The darkness at the other side of the fleshy passage was closer with every step he took. Hands tearing into some kind of membrane. Ripping it as he pulled himself out of the narrow space. Taking a deep breath of cold air after the suffocating heat. He tried to take a step but there was no ground beneath him. Ripley was falling into darkness. Lights would randomly flash. Not bright, dull gray orbs. They were closer each time and he was panicking. He had trusted the Rider, who had helped him so many times. Has the Rider turned on him? Was this all a trap? The spheres of light began to surround him. Merging into one large orb. Ripley realized he wasn’t falling anymore.

He found himself in a crowd. All was grey, the people, the sky, the ground. It was some kind of market. It was hot. The ground was sandy. Not a place Ripley had ever been to. The people didn’t seem to notice him or respond to him. He followed the crowd. People move with baskets of fruit in their hands or on their heads. The crowd came to a stop. It was a wide street and there was a procession moving. There were men and women in chains. They were being whipped by the men in strange clothes. Veils covered their faces only their eyes could be seen. The slaves were naked. They were chained to a large platform that was moving. And atop the platform, on a decorated throne sat a figure. He wore elegant robes of white and a mask that Ripley all too well recognized. Next to him sat a woman in similar clothes wearing a similar mask.

The crowd began moving again. Following the platform. The road was marked by large pillars. The small houses were left behind as they left the city. People sang. Ripley could not understand that language but he gathered it was a celebration of some kind. This was the life the Rider had led before he had become the Black Rider, Ripley understood that much. Large triangle structures emerged in the distance. They were huge and he found himself awed. Three, close together, one more, further away. The area around the Pyramids was circular. Palm trees and even canals with water and fish- a garden in the sandy desert. One of the chained men, younger than the rest moved towards the canal and tried to drink water from it. The guards seized him and proceeded to beat him. The figure on the throne moved, rose up in its towering height and commanded something. The guards let go of the man. The crowd began to move again but the platform remained stationary in the middle of the garden. People moved towards the Pyramids and placed their baskets in front of the entrances where large statues stood.

The scene rapidly changed before his eyes. It was still the same place but it was night. There are people with torches in the garden. Covered in scars and barely dressed they were using ropes to tear down one of the statues. One of a woman with four arms holding the sun up with two and a sword and shield in the other pair. Ripley assumed it was some deity. Armed men soon rode in on large horse like beings that were much thinner and larger. They held weapons in their hands and cut the others down without any mercy. One of the men, Ripley recognized him as the man who tried to drink from the canal; he drew something in the sand, a symbol, and fell to his knees before it as if praying. It almost looked like a talon of a bird. The four fingers that resembled claws were of uneven length. The middle one is the longest of all. The guards cut off the man’s head. As blood touched the strange mark it began to sizzle and bubble before absorbing into the ground.

While he pitied the slaves slightly Ripley did wonder why they were attacking this place and destroying statues of gods. Why? Even after the Rider had spared him, the man still acted against him.

The scene changed again. A dark basement of some kind, full of men looking just like the ones before. Scared from beatings and barely dressed. There is an altar in the room in the same shape as the symbol. A large black talon with four uneven fingers shaped like it should be holding something in its palm. The men all bow to it. And then another man walks in. he wears a makeshift mask. Plain wood. It’s clearly meant to parody the Rider. Behind in chains walks a woman. She doesn’t look like a slave. She is crying and walks reluctantly. On her neck is the symbol of the sun and with her chained hands she tries grasp it in prayer. The man in the mask tears off her dress, leaving her naked. Then the men in the room all move towards her and descend upon her live vultures, raping her.

The door breaks down with a loud crash. The guards come pouring in but it’s too late. The masked man grabs the woman off the floor as the men scramble off her. He slits her throat and tossed her towards the altar. Blood sprayed all over it. The guards kill most of the men before they can escape. They shackle the man in the mask and drag him out into the night.

Another scene. Back at the Garden of the Pyramids. He sees the Rider again. This time he stands alone. The throne next to his is empty. He holds a scroll and reads aloud. The man kneels before the platform. Guards holding him down. He laughs and spits at the Rider's feet. The says something. Ripley only understands one word of it. One word is all that matters.

“Tutha zano, Arayoch!”

The man breaks free of the hold and runs towards the platform. He is holding something that might be a weapon. Archers shoot him down before he can reach the Rider. The man doesn’t fall. He remains standing, with arrows in his back and chest. Bleeding he gives a wheezing laugh and catches up blood. He takes the thing he had been holding. A black talon-shaped object and jams it into his own chest. The sharp fingers rip through skin and he collapses dead.

It’s moments later that a strong wind rises and dark clouds gather. The light of the sun begins to fade – a dark shadow covering it. A solar eclipse has suddenly begun. Ripley watches terrified as he realizes what is happening. Something is rumbling in the ground. The body of the dead man shakes and twitches. The ground beneath him cracks. Something is rising out of it. Sharp and pointy, piercing the flesh once more. People scream and run. The Rider stands there and watches. A Talon rising out of the ground, massive, towering over the Pyramids. The body of the man impaled on the small finger, the lowest of all of them, begins to rise up and off of it. Mangled body twisting and turning itself. Flesh tearing and bones breaking until it becomes something inhuman. It has sprouted wings and a tail. The skull is bare of flesh, but red eyes burn in the sockets. It wraps its wings like a robe around its body and laughs. The wind is strong, tearing trees from the ground. Things drop from the sky. Ripley looks at them, black and shiny like wet rocks but then they move and he realizes they are insects. Flashes of lightning in the sky. The bugs take flight, they are big, large enough to lift up people into the air. The ground is getting soaked from the blood. The screams of the ones that got dropped. The creature flies towards the Rider, a talon aimed to strike. This is the first time he saw the Rider draw a blade. They fight but only briefly. The demon does not kill him but instead leaves him in the garden that has now become a bloodbath. Alone among the countless dead as the demon and his insects take off towards the city.

“I was a king once.” The Rider emerges from the grayness. “My people prospered. I have conquered the surrounding lands. These people used to be nomads. I have welcomed them into my kingdom. Given them homes and all they could want. Yet they repaid my hospitality by stealing, murdering and raping my people. I allowed them to keep their faith, for I did not recognize it for the evil that it was. These primitive savages were the worshipers of Arayoch. For their crimes I had them enslaved. I was merciful when I should have slaughtered every single one of them.” There is a trembling of anger in his voice.

Ripley bows head.

“ I’m sorry. You couldn’t have known.” He says. “Thank you for showing this to me.”

“I trust you.” The Rider says.” You have proven your unwavering determination to fight against the Mad God. “

“Thank you. I will do all I can to destroy this evil.” He swears by those words.

The light around them fades. Ripley finds himself outside the hollow of the trees. The Rider is back on his Nightmare.

“Come. I want to show you something.” He reaches a hand out to pull Ripley on the horse.

The horse gallops. The sky and land begin to merge and soon he finds himself in the familiar desert of white sands. The last time he had been here, he was a soul without a body but now he was alive. The Rider had told him this was a pathway of sorts, one that could lead to many places and Ripley realized that wherever they were going was in another world.