Silver had just run into the pyramid after the orange blur. The camp stopped what they were doing to watch with bated breath as Silver kneeled in pain at the claws of the new arrival. They were all asking the same questions even if they didn’t say it: What if Silver comes out first?
Mindplay suspected that the other person who went into the pyramid was on the side of Shadow Fang. Seeing Silver in pain made Mindplay worry if he would be fine alone.
His fears were dashed when the first fire broke out. Raya’s doing, no doubt. Every able-body did what they could to extinguish the fire, only for another one to start. More fires would pop up, pushing Mindplay to hurry and download information from the computers. Thanks to Raya and BD’s distractions, Mindplay could plug in a disposable flash drive with a program that would send him the computer's content.
Mindplay left the computer to look for Beth. As he searched, he tried to figure out her plan and why he now realized she had alternative motives. Ultimately, he figured out where he could find her and at least the surface reason for helping his team.
Mindplay went to the nearest chemistry tent, where he found Beth stuffing a bag with vials and papers listed under the Silver Challenger Project. She was alerted to his presence after he took out his gun and removed the safety.
“Mindplay, what’s wrong?” asked Beth.
“For starters, I don’t see how taking test equipment is helping Raya,” said Mindplay.
“I was looking for a way to do that when I stumbled on this stuff. I figured giving it to you guys would help in some way.”
“That’s nice of you, but you were after this from the beginning.”
Beth looked confused by Mindplay’s claim, and to anyone else, it was convincing. “I don’t understand.”
”Your Amazons have been looking for a way to replicate Silver’s powers but have failed to do it yourself. Once ‘The Tamer’ got into the mix, that goal seemed achievable, but it wasn’t what you wanted. Shadow Fang offered your group the closest solution, but it meant you had to submit to him, and your leader had no intention of breaking her contract with the vampire. That’s why she didn’t want to help us. However, you chose to use us to get rid of Shadow Fang and get your hands on the thing that could make you more like Silver.”
“What are you getting at? These are things I’ve told the group already.”
“Except the part where you wanted to take over the Amazons.“
The claim shook Beth. “Where is this coming from?”
“Easy,” said Mindplay with a cocky smile. “You didn’t get any fancy powers like your sister. As effective as Shadow Fang’s drug was, its production was still limited, leading to only a few Amazons getting to try its effects. That was part of the reason you guys still made deals with ‘The Tamer.’ If you could somehow find a way to give everyone the power of the drug and make it even better than what the other dealers have made, you would instantly rise to the ranks of leader.”
“What makes you think being the leader of the Amazons is something I want?” asked Beth.
“It doesn’t have to be, but rather a side effect of succeeding where the past leader failed. You would have access to more power than the other leader, which would stir up fear and competition from someone who isn’t a part of the group. The only thing I’m missing is how you plan on mass-producing the drug. You must have discovered something or found someone who would work for you. Am I right?”
Beth composed herself. Her face gave nothing away. However, Mindplay was getting a sense that he was in danger. He raised his gun to her, but she didn’t flinch.
“Calm down, Mindplay,” said Beth in the same friendly tone she used. Mindplay knew better than to let his guard down. “I just think everything you’ve said is funny. You say all of this like you have proof, and even then, what does it matter if it was true.”
“It matters because you didn’t tell us the whole truth. My PI instincts tell me you’re planning something sinister.”
“And if I was, could you stop me?”
“I know that if you hurt me, Silver wouldn’t like it.”
Silver was Mindplay’s trump card and why he was confident in facing Beth. He hoped the gun could kill Beth, but she was still the better fighter. If anything, they were at a standstill.
That was until Mindplay sensed panic amongst Shadow Fang’s forces outside. Mindplay didn’t have time to process what they were afraid of because something was coming for the tent. Mindplay jumped sideways in time to avoid giant animals stampeding through the tent and tearing it apart. Though Mindplay got hurt, he could dig himself out of the tent remains to see Beth riding on one of the animals off into the forest. She must have set something up before he caught up to her, and he was frustrated that he didn’t catch it in time.
Now outside, Mindplay could see there were more fires. People were taking everything they could as they started abandoning the campsite. Mindplay rushed to retrieve his flash drive, shooting anyone in his way. Unfortunately, the computer and the flash drive were gone. While not the worst outcome, it would have been better if he got the drive back than let it be in the hands of the enemy.
Mindplay had to think of a solution later. At that moment, he saw Raya fly into a tree by the orange blur. The orange blur collapsed onto the ground and was picked up by a woman coming out of the ground. Mindplay took his chance to shoot the woman and Shadow Fang while they were distracted, but Shadow Fang's black arm blocked the bullets.
The vampire turned to see where the shots came from, but something unexpected happened. One of Shadow Fang’s eyes glowed red, and Mindplay started to hear a voice.
It sounded old, pompous, and divine in a way. Keep out!
Mindplay’s heart raced as he silenced the world around him. He never thought he would run into something that could scare him like that again. What did Shadow Fang have that could do that?
Shadow Fang was just as stunned, allowing Mindplay to shoot again. Though his aim was worse now that the world was quiet, he could hit Shadow Fang in the chest just as he and the other two began to sink into the ground. Raya wasn’t far behind as she threw knives at the woman that landed in her head.
Unfortunately, the trio disappeared into the ground, to Raya’s dismay. BD showed up not long after landing on Raya’s shoulder.
The camp was almost empty.
--------
A part of me was jealous of how Chase could pick up a random magic item and just know how to use it. I still managed to find my own way out by climbing the walls to get to the opening I made. I tried to go as fast as possible, hoping to find Shadow Fang before he inevitably left the area. I didn’t expect to see the whole camp void of people aside from Raya, Mindplay, and BD.
BD was already on my shoulder when I was halfway down the pyramid.
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“Thank goodness you’re okay,” she purred, rubbing her head against mine.
“I don’t know if I am,” I said.
From my elevation, I tried to find the rest of the group. Mindplay was sitting by himself under a tent, Beth was nowhere to be seen, and Raya stood beside a cage. She was looking up at me with concern. BD explained that Mindplay was okay if only tired, Beth hadn’t rallied back to the group, and Raya was standing beside a caged Jurya.
I didn’t say anything, somehow making BD’s body shiver in silence. Once I was down the stairs, I could hear Jurya begging Raya to let her out of the cage. The dryad violently shook the cage, but her body was too light. Raya never took her eyes off me while I focused on Jurya.
The timid forest spirit scurried to the furthest edge of the cage once I reached the cell.
“If nothing else, Shadow Fang kept his word,” I said maliciously.
“Silver, you have to believe me when I say I didn’t mean to-,” Jurya was cut off by a loud clang of a metal bar getting hit by the palm of my hand. I managed to bend it, which only made the dryad more afraid. Raya didn’t flinch.
“You’re past the point of begging for forgiveness. I’m going to make you own up to your crimes.”
“Silver,” said Raya calmly.
“No! I won’t let anyone stop me from seeking vengeance.”
Raya paused as if to let my outburst sink in. She replied again calmly, “Do you want to go after Shadow Fang or kill her?”
“...What?”
“Since she has worked with Shadow Fang, she knows his plans.” Jurya tried to deny the claim, but a sharp glance from me and Raya kept her mouth shut. “You can kill her if that will bring you peace, but then we lose the one chance to get ahead of Shadow Fang.”
“He couldn’t have gone far. We can go after him-”
“And he will be more ready than before. The Order has been chasing his tail for years without any information about his goals or targets. Clearly, that has failed. I’m not telling you what to do. I’m helping you make an informed decision. So I ask again: Do you want to go after Shadow Fang or kill her?”
I might have been biased to think Jurya didn’t have any information. The truth was we wouldn’t know if she died now. Did I even want to kill her?
She needs to pay for what she did.
Do you remember what she did?
“You know,” I said, speaking to Raya, “I don’t even know why I’m upset with Jurya. I’ll have flashes of memories that give me an idea but never the full picture.”
Is my hatred real?
Yes, but is it worth having?
Raya patiently waited for my answer as my thoughts mixed with BD’s. Some of me didn’t want to give up hating Jurya, but Raya wasn’t asking me to. I turned to Raya. I wasn’t confident with my decision, but it seemed wise.
“I want to take down Shadow Fang.”
“Well, on that note, I have some updates,” Mindplay was walking up to us, looking better than before. “To start off, Raya, you owe me $150.”
“For what?!” Raya demanded.
“You think I bought the earbuds from Radio Shack? They were custom-made. Also, I tried to find some information from one of the computers in the camp. Nothing.”
“Seems you made the right decision, Silver,” BD commented. I pressed my finger on her head in retaliation.
Mindplay continued. “Beth is gone.”
“Gone?” I felt like my blood was drained out of me. “What happened?”
Mindplay explained that Beth was after the compound used to give the Amazons their animal powers. He believed she would make her own and use it as a power play to become the leader. That was the theory.
“Do you want to go after her?” asked Raya.
“Honestly, yes. Mostly because she’s connected to someone called ‘The Tamer,’ or as I know him, as Reptilian. He’s a mafia boss, and no one can take him down. My hope was Beth could be my chance to attempt a takedown, but it would take up too much time.”
“Then let’s start extracting information from the dryad,” Jurya flinched at Raya’s suggestion.
“Not now. She’s too scared.”
“We can’t wait here for her to relax. It will raise her chances of escaping. If we drag her with us, we run into the same problem.”
“Let’s take her back to Skyland,” suggested BD.
“Can we do that?” I asked.
Raya asked, “What’s Skyland?”
“It’s where the monsters mostly live,” explained Mindplay. Raya had a look of confusion and surprise. “BD and I talked about it a while back.”
“Wait, wait. So the land of the monsters, the place the Order of the Eye has spent centuries looking for, is where you want to take the dryad?”
“Getting there will be quick. Once we pass the portal, Jurya should have fewer chances to run.”
After the talk about making intelligent decisions despite what we want, Raya couldn’t say we can’t go to Skyland. I understood her hesitation.
“Just stick with me, and you’ll be fine,” I told Raya. She said nothing but looked at me, making me wonder if it eased her nerves.
Raya said, “I don’t fully understand you, but I’m not passing this up.”
Mindplay perked up. “Well, as long as we are all in agreement. How do we get to this Skyland place?”
--------
Shadow Fang held the scroll gently between his fingers. Sitting at his desk, he calculated how much he had to sacrifice to get this one thing.
Dina managed to get himself and the leatherback out of danger, but the strike to her head proved fatal. Ghouls of her kind could be resummoned by using one or more of the previous ghoul’s body parts, such as the brain that held the memories of the ghoul. However, the brain was damaged, forcing Shadow Fang to take the heart that had the personality. Dina’s heart was resting on Shadow Fang’s desk, but he wondered if reviving her was worth it. The scientist didn’t know if bringing her back with only her heart would allow her to use her abilities to bend earth and bones. If she could, it wouldn’t be the same expertise level.
The leatherback was now encased in lava rock. His body temperature drastically increased when he was put into the infirmary, and molten liquid covered him. The liquid quickly cooled and hardened, leading him to be trapped inside. The scientist somehow confirmed he was alive but would need more time to understand what was happening to the leatherback.
Unfortunately, Chase’s current state somehow led his girlfriend to come to Shadow Fang's office alongside two other leatherbacks and complain about the situation. At least, Shadow Fang assumed that was what she was saying. He was dealing with a headache that made his ears ring. He lost so much just to get the scroll, all because the voice in his head was too impatient. If he was in complete control, things would have gone better.
Perhaps, but how would you feel if it was you stuck in this forsaken prison for millennia. NOW GET ON WITH IT!
Looking up at the three leatherbacks, Shadow Fang paralyzed all of them in fear so they wouldn’t run away. He ran to one of the leatherbacks like they were an oasis, exposed one of their necks, and drained the body of blood. In the leatherback’s paralyzed state, he couldn’t scream in pain. The breath of life left his mouth as quickly as the color on his face turned gray.
Once Shadow Fang could hear adequately, he dropped the corpse onto the ground with a hallowed thump.
The paralysis of the remaining leatherbacks wore off, but fear of watching their friend get drained kept them in place.
“That hit the spot,” said Shadow Fang with a satisfied sigh. To Beth, he continued, “I couldn’t hear you for most of that. Can you start over?”
“Why did you do that?” asked Beth, her voice trembling.
“Fresh blood clears my head better than post-bleed.”
Beth growled at the vampire. “When Chase wakes up-”
“If he wakes up. Don’t give yourself false hope.”
“WHEN he wakes up, he will not stand for this!” Shadow Fang laughed at her claim only to laugh harder, seeing the frustration on her face. “You gave him the power to stand against Silver. If Chase can fight him, he can kill you.”
“Don’t kid yourself!” The leatherback was too cocky. Through Shadow Fang’s rath, the light started to dim, causing his eyes to shine their natural brown. “I am Shadow Fang! Do you think I got this name just to sound edgy? I earned my spot!
‘Chase can kill Silver.’ HA! Do you think that’s hard? My reservations for killing Silver do not concern my current strength.”
The lights returned to their original brightness. After years of listening to the Red Dragon, terrorizing these leatherbacks put a cruel smile on his face.
“But let's say Chase wakes up,” said Shadow Fang, “and he’s strong enough to kill me even with all I have. Then what?”
“We leave,” said Chase’s girlfriend, struggling to get the words out. Fear was like a vice on her tongue, yet she still persisted in antagonizing Shadow Fang.
“I like you,” said Shadow Fang with a smile. “But if you think Chase will just leave, you’re in for a rude awakening. I know his kind. However, we are still assuming he’ll wake up at all.”
The little leatherback didn’t have much left in her. She dragged both her friends out of Shadow Fang's office without another glance at him.
Though Shadow Fang was satisfied with his performance, the fact remained that he needed a way to fight Silver without Chase or Dina. Maybe he should be hoping Chase wakes up after all.