Winds Of The Apocalypse (36 page)

"Casey…Jon…" He whispered as his siblings closed the distance between them.

"Morgan!" Casey was the first to reach him. She leaned to him and hugged Morgan tightly, helping his soul up into a sitting position; it was kind of weird with his
body lying right next to them.

"My body…" Morgan shuddered as if he h
ad read Casey’s mind. “Is it…?”

"It's fine!" Casey assured him, smiling brightly. "Utopia put you in the same state as Jon is. You can still come back.” She chirped happily as Morgan smiled back at Casey and then Casey remembered why they were in such a hurry
to get back in to the bed room.

”Look.” Casey said
as he showed the box to Morgan.

“What is that?” Morgan asked
, taking the box into his hands and examining it with the same curiosity as Casey did.

"Morgan, listen, it's a long story.” Jon came to sit on the other side of him, he too, making an effort to ignore the body and s
peak to Morgan’s soul directly.

“But we need you
to try and open this box. Ok?"

"Why?” Morgan questioned.

“It can bring you back.” Casey told him. “Please Morgan?"

Morgan groaned and reached his weak hand
s to the silver lid of the box.

He wasn't expecting anything of it but the moment he touched it, the lid just snapped open, revealing a broken bluish transparent crystal with an ancient yellow p
apyrus scroll lying next to it.

“Huh…Does anyone else think this looks like a cliché seine from an ancient martial arts movie?” Colin murmured, a smile tugging at the cor
ner of his mouth as he said it.

“Shut up Colin.” Casey growled as she took the box away from Morgan’s weak arms and set the silver box down on the bed. She took the scroll and carefully unwrapped it, rea
ding allowed the second riddle.

"The dirty ground is where I lei, this
rotten corpse is here to stay."

"What does that mean?" C
olin asked.

“Whoever wrote these things was seriously
whacked.” Toby shook his head.

“Yes, ok, can someone please explain to me what is going on here?” Morgan asked. “Later.” Casey made a face. "Well, this is just disgusting!" She stated, looking at the pretty wr
iting bearing the morbid words.

"What is?" Colin asked, confused. “Did you figure it out already?” Casey look
ed at him as if he was a moron.

“Yes, I did.” She stated. "Can't you see it?
It talks about a fucking grave!

"The second shard is next to a bloody corpse!" Colin gagged. ”Who the hell was gro
ss enough to think about that?”

"What grave?!
There are no graves here!" Morgan looked at the others; still only half understanding what was going on around him.

“You are telling us that we are going to go dig up a corpse?” Colin walked up to
the window. “I need to breath.”

“But there are no
graves here!” Morgan insisted.

"There is one." May said a little too loudly and Colin turned to her sharpl
y, his face a little too green.

"There are graves he
re?!"

May shrugged. "Just one…”

“Fuck!” Colin whisked. ”Did you hear that?! Just one! As if one is ok!”

“Who is buried there?” Toby asked, a little more calm then his astonished friend but he too did not like the idea that there were dead corpses in the grounds surrounding them, apart from the chamber of the children and Casey’s brother of course.

”Well…” May said with a little more confidence. “It’s the previous owner of the estate. Before he died he made it his final wish to be buried here, on this property. He was the only one to die a natural death, free from the monsters."

Casey looked at he
r friends with a devilish grin.

"Right… Good for him.
So… Who is up to go check out the corpse?" She smiled.

“My god!”
Colin exclaimed. “You sound like you are actually going to enjoy that!” “Maybe I will.” Casey stated, looking back at the others. “So? Anyone going with?”

She asked timidly, bringing her enthusiasm levels to as low as she could contain them. Then, when no one volunteered for the gruesome corpse hunt and Morgan stated that his is enough for him to deal with Casey frowned an
d stuck her tongue out at them.

"Chickens!”
She declared. “You don’t want to go?! You are ok with fighting monsters that can rip you to shreds but you are afraid of one little corpse that can't do anything to you?! Ok! Fine! I'll go myself, you big baby's. God, it's just a dead guy! He won't bite you!"

“Are you sure about that?” Colin growled. "We've seen s
ome fucked up shit this summer.

"You can't be sure of anything anymor
e."

"I'll go with you." May
said in a strained low voice, half hopping that Casey wouldn't hear her.

“Over
your dead body!” Casey snapped.

“Please…I can help you.”

"I don't want you." Casey didn't even look at her when she spoke those words and then she got up and turned to the door, ready to leave.

"But you need me!" May rasped out in an almost whisper. "My family used to work for him; I know where the grave is." Casey growled
, she hated to be contradicted.

"All right, come on.” She agreed, still not turning back to look at her. “But know that this is not a social trip May! It’s just business and for the record, I still hate your guts and would love to see them
hanging of a tree. Now c'mon."

May sniffed and slowly got up from the floor she was sitting on and then she walked out after Casey leaving the others to finally explai
n the whole ordeal to her twin.

May led Casey alm
ost to the end of the property.

Away from the lake that spread by the front gate and through the thick
un kept tall grass that spread for miles to another concrete structure that stood amongst the overgrown trees. It looked similar to the winter seller but was a little bigger with a huge metal door on the front of it and a bunch of ancient symbols decorating its sides.

"He is in there.” May said, pointing at the structu
re that stood in front of them.

“No shit.” Casey growled. "Stay here." She ordered to the annoying girl as she stepped up to the crypt and pulled the heavy door open, coughing at the sudden musky air that emerged from it and then, glancing back for a mome
nt Casey stepped into the tomb.

Chapter seventeen: The chamber of lost souls

“Ehh…Gross…” Casey mumbled as a stray normal cockroach ran from one wall to another, leaving behind it a little cloud of dusk.

“
Bleh…” Casey swept at the cobwebs that decorated the entrance to the mausoleum as she quickly stepped up to the stone sarcophagus that stood in the place of honor in the middle of the dark room.

Casey glanced at the lid; an engraving of a young bearded man was carved into the stone.
‘Probably the image of the last land owner when he was still alive.’ Casey thought to herself and then she leaned over the stone lid, pushing it off with visible difficulty, almost falling into the tomb as the stone suddenly slid open, and her eyes wide as she came face to face with the corpse.

“Oh my god…”Casey gagged as she pushed herself away from the decayin
g skin and visible white bones.

“Dude…You stink…” Casey mumbled as she reached into the tomb with disgust and, removing the ripped up clothes that the corpse was wearing grabbed the little silver box that lei
inside the dead mans' rib cage.

“Yes…” Casey breathed out, tur
ned and hurried to the doorway.

”
Aagh!” Casey screamed in horror at the sight of the many cockroaches that seemed to have gathered to block her path out.

The door slammed in her face and she
was thrown into semi darkness.

“What the hell…?” Casey turned back, just to see them filing
up the dead man’s sarcophagus.

”May!” Casey screamed.
“May! Help me!” For a moment she thought that May had lead her into a trap and left her alone, burring her in this mount of cockroaches but then a burst of light shone from under the doorway and the metal door was suddenly pushed open.

Casey looked up astonished to see May, carrying a big stick as the later began whacking the cockroaches that blocked the doorway, clearing th
e path for Casey to go through.

”C’mon!”
May screamed, grabbing at Casey’s arm and pulling her back outside, slamming the metal door shot the second she was safely out of the cockroach filled sepulcher.

“Oh…” Casey crouched to her knees, taking in the fresh air with relieve. “Thank you…” she said to May, not ra
ising her eyes from the ground.

“Do you have it?” May asked.

“Yes.” Casey straightened up. “Yes, I got it." She raised her eyebrow at May.

"What was that light?" She asked and May gulped, involuntarily raising her hand to grab the amulet she had hung on her neck. Casey didn’t even n
otice it before she touched it.

"What's that?" Casey pointed and
May, startled took a step back.

"It's…" May looked down at the amulet. "It's protect
ion, from them." She confessed.

"Who gav
e it to you?" Casey questioned.

"They did
." May answered. Casey smirked.

"They gave you something that can be used ag
ainst them? Why?" May shrugged.

"They didn’t exactly want for me to have it. They didn’t really h
ave a choice, I summoned them."

Casey c
rossed her arms over her chest.

"Explain."

May sigh again. She turned and gestured for Casey to follow her. The other girl huffed but didn't say anything; she waited for May to tell her tale.

"Five years ago," May began as they climbed the path tha
t led them back to the mansion.

"After the great fire and the death of the previous owner my dad took me up here to help him pack up the last owners belonging and distribute them according to the charities he specified
in his will." May bit her lip.

"He let me roam free and this place looked like a castle," She laughed. "Eventually I got a little lost and ended up in the dead man's bedroom where I found strange markings on the floor." She looked down as if remembering the path she took, as if she was reliving it right there, through the ey
es of her eleven year old body.

"They led me to a side corner, and there under the floor I found writings in old English and Italian. It t
ook me years to decipher them."

May bit her nails nervously.
"They talked about beings with vast power, creatures from another world that had given the dead man's family their fortune." She looked at Casey guiltily; waiting for her to say something but Casey just stared at her in silence so May swallowed and continued.

"My dad had just lost his job again. For years he was the care taker of this place but after the government purchased this place he wasn't needed anymore. It was a tough time and I, not really believing the writings about the creat
ures decided to give it a try."

Her eyes glazed over as her thoughts took her back to that night by the lake wh
ere she summoned the creatures.

"The writings said that I have to use the marks I found o
n the dead man's bedroom floor.

By that time, the renovations were already complete and they were erased but I remembered them perfectly. My room was too small to draw them all so I came out here." She looked down the hill at the lake. "I drew them in the sand. I had just met Morgan that day for the first time, saw him with you." She laughed bitterly. "At first I didn't know you we
re twins… Oh how I envied you…"

May shook her head, she was so stupid. She remembered the moment she finished drawing the marks in the sand, the water rose from the lake, swirling around her ankles, the wind picked up and rain began to fall and through the mist that came down on the water she heard a terrifying voice ordering her to state her
cravings and swear her loyalty.

"I was so scared; I couldn’t believe that it was real. And then the air cleared, and the water erased the marks as if they were never there and in front of me stood Utopia. She gave me the amulet to protect me, to be able to remain in their presents without it hurting me. I w
as a fool." She admitted sadly.

Casey stared at her for a mome
nt longer and then she smirked.

"No arguments there." She muttered and then she turned away from the lake, heading back to her brother
s.