The Spectres

[Damo.]

 

Chapter 11

 

It's been three days since I woke. I'm almost recovered. I've been walking around the fort aimlessly for the past few hours, just getting used to this place.

I'm still not entirely comfortable with this strange land, the green sky, the black grass. I haven't spoken to any of the people here apart from Carilius.

I get some strange looks from the Palatini I pass in the hallways. I can hear them whispering when they think I'm out of earshot. It's quite unusual.

 

I'm sitting on the bed in the room Carilius moved me to the day after I woke. I take a sip from my glass of water and lie down, staring at the ceiling.

Running through the things that happened since I came to that damned house. When the creature took Clare. There was something strangely familiar about that creature, and I'm only thinking about it now.

Maybe it's nothing, just that paranoid feeling in the house itself, but there was something about him that I can't put my finger on.

 

I start to wonder what happened to the Paladin that saved my life. Carilius said his name was Garthus. I haven't seen him since the wolfmen attacked.

I think about Clare. After the events of the past few days, finding her seems like a second priority.

Carilius said that I had to learn to become a Paladin to have any hope of finding her. I groan at the thought of it. The last few days have been incredibly strange.

Now I have to become a Paladin, even though I don't fully understand what that means yet.

 

I drift off into an uneasy sleep in these strange surroundings...

 

To Be Continued...

 

Sorry for the short chapter/late update. The next one will be longer and on time.

[Oblivionz]

Not a lot of action in this chapter, but even the tiniest bit of this story makes me glad.

This is going in an awesome direction.

[Damo.]

 

Chapter 12

 

It's early in the morning. Probably around 3am. It's been hard to keep track of time as it works differently in this place.

I was having a terrible nightmare. In it, some kind of large bat-like creature was following me down a dark tunnel.

I ran as fast as I could, but I couldn't escape from it.

After a long chase, it caught me and picked me up with it's claws. As it was about to feast on my flesh, it stared at me with luminous red eyes, and I woke.

The eyes felt familiar. I feel like I'm seeing them everywhere now, but I don't know where I saw them in the first place.

 

I'm sitting on my bed, drinking a glass of water. I'm still shaken from the nightmare. As I take a sip from the glass, I think I hear a shout in the distance.

Stopping to listen, and hearing nothing, I dismiss it as just my imagination. After I get back under the covers, I hear another scream, this time louder.

 

"Hello?," I call out uneasily.

 

There is only silence.

 

"Anyone there?"

 

I think I can hear the faintest of whispers, like back in the manor.

I stay silent for a while, trying to make out what, if anything, I'm hearing. I can't hear anything anymore, but I'm still not convinced I'm safe.

 

"Who's there?!," I shout loudly.

 

I hear something like a brick dropping to the ground. It's coming from behind me. I get out of the bed and pick up an ornamental sword hanging on the wall.

 

"What do you want?!"

 

I hear another scream, this time even closer, followed by another brick sound. I grip the sword tightly. I'm scared. I'm starting to get the paranoid feeling I got back in the manor.

 

"Stay away from me!"

 

The feeling keeps getting worse, and I know that whatever is making the sound is getting closer. I think it's coming from behind me.

I turn around and take a wild swipe of the sword, but having no knowledge of such weapons, I almost drop it as I turn.

The feeling intensifies. I feel it closing in on me.

 

"Help!"

 

As the feeling gets even worse, I see a pair of glowing red eyes fade into view from the darkness. I let out a scream, and take a few swipes in the direction of the creature, nearly falling over in the process.

The creature keeps getting closer and closer, until it's barely 5 feet away from me. I focus my grip on the sword, and prepare to fight.

 

To Be Continued...

[Damo.]

 

Chapter 13

 

The creature stops about three feet away from me. It is a large bat-shaped creature, just like the one from my nightmare.

I raise the sword as high as I can, close my eyes and strike down forcefully at the creature.

To my surprise and confusion, when I open my eyes, the creature is gone. I look around, but it is nowhere to be seen.

I can still sense a presence in the room, but I can see nothing besides the dark red colour of the night sky coming through the window.

Did I imagine the whole thing? Has all that has happened really diminished my mental state that much?

After a minute of looking around and finding nothing, I decide to leave the room in search of the strange creature.

 

Holding the sword in my right hand, I slowly open the arch-shaped wooden door to the spacious hall with my left.

The hall is gigantic. I feel like a fruit fly in a tarantula's web. I know the creature could be hiding anywhere. I clutch the sword tightly with both my hands, until I hear a loud wail.

 

"Daaaaavid? Oh, Daaaaaaavid?!"

 

I stand still, frozen with fear.

 

"Where are you? Show yourself!"

 

Silence.

 

"Where are you?! What do you want from me?"

 

There is still no reply. I'm still frozen to the spot, until I hear a woman scream:

 

"Help! Help me David!"

 

I rush up the hall to where the scream came from, sword in hand.

 

"David! Help!"

 

It seems to be coming from the top room on the left. I sprint towards the door and kick it ferociously. The old door breaks off it's hinges and collapses to the floor.

When I enter the room, I'm shocked at what I see.

 

The room is rather old. The walls are worn looking and badly kept. In the centre, there is a man holding a knife to a woman's throat.

The woman is Clare.

 

The man... is me.

 

To Be Continued...

[Oblivionz]

Whoa, that was f*cking intense. And a nice twist at the end of that.

Awesome, nice dude.

 

P.S, no need to PM me about this chapter.

[Damo.]

Whoa, that was f*cking intense. And a nice twist at the end of that.

Awesome, nice dude.

 

P.S, no need to PM me about this chapter.

Ah well, too late.

 

Anyway, I have something good planned for the twist. Should be good if executed properly.

[Oblivionz]

This topic needs a bump, especially since it's a great story.

[Vercetti21]

Wow. You know, I haven't been following this story, but I did read the first one or two chapters a few weeks ago and, to be honest, was not very impressed. Now I've just read over your last chapter and I call honestly say you've improved tremendously. The tone was dark, the details added suspense, and the emotion was there. Keep it up, man.

[Damo.]

NOTE: Grey writing describes the thoughts of David's double.

 

 

Chapter 14

 

He's standing in the doorway, staring at me like an idiot, holding an old, blunt antique sword in his hand. This should be fun.

He's still standing there, stiff as a poker, gazing at me like I'm in a f*cking zoo. He obviously has no idea what's going on.

The girl makes a feeble attempt to break free, which I quickly end by tightening my grip to the point where she can hardly breathe.

 

"Ah, look, it's my twin!" I say with false surprise.

 

The idiot is still standing there like a Neanderthal with an almost constipated grimace on his face, trying vainly to make sense of the situation.

The girl tries to scream but stops when I cut a small gash on the side of her neck with my blade. Blood begins to pour out of the small cut and she knows that I mean business.

I laugh loudly as the small drops of blood seep onto my hand.

 

He's angry now, I can see it in his eyes. He raises the sword, but I know he won't have the guts to attack me. I open up the girls cut with my knife until it goes about halfway across her neck.

I feel her losing consciousness as I let her fall to the ground, blood pouring like a waterfall from her neck.

 

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaargh!"

 

David screams and slashes wildly at me, catching me off balance and slicing my jaw open. I fall to the floor and struggle to regain my feet.

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

I'm dumbfounded. I have no idea what's going on. How can this be? Why is Clare here?

I focus on my double. He gazes back at me with a dark grin on his face. He looks like a warped, pale version of me. His eyes are red, with yellow pupils and dark circles around them.

His skin is almost completely white. A dirty off-white. His attire is similar to mine, only darker.

Clare struggles to break free from his grasp, but he only tightens it until she can barely breathe.

 

"Ah look, it's my twin!" he says in an evil, twisted version of my own voice.

 

I stand rooted to the spot, unsure of what to do. I look at Clare. She's trying to say something, but her scream is cut short by my evil twin as he slices a small cut into her neck.

The cut starts pumping blood. he laughs loudly. A cold, malevolent, twisted laugh.

Bastard. I tighten my grip on the sword and we lock eyes.

He can tell that I'm angry. He cuts Clare across most of her neck and throws her to the ground.

Enough. Time for action,

 

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaargh!"

 

I scream as I slash at him madly with the sword, cutting part of his jaw and knocking him to the ground.

He doesn't take long to recover, though, and springs to his feet before stabbing me hard into the stomach with his knife.

I stagger back, lose my footing and hit the ground hard.

He walks over to me and ferociously kicks me into the side of the head, making me dizzy, before clicking his fingers and vanishing into a red mist.

 

To Be Continued..

[Damo.]

 

Chapter 15

 

I have no idea what's happening. The room is filled with red mist. I'm finding it hard to breathe. Blood is draining from my stomach and I'm feeling dizzy.

Clare is slumped on the floor across the room. Her throat is cut and I know she doesn't have long left to live.

I take my hand off my stomach and reach up, trying to grab through the mist onto something, anything, that can help me up.

It's futile. I need to get across to Clare. As the blood continues to pour from my gut, I struggle to turn my body over.

 

I turn over slowly, awkwardly and painfully until my badly wounded stomach faces the ground.

Once I'm in this position, I put my hands in front of my body and try to crawl across to Clare. My vision is starting to get even blurrier, and my body slower.

Putting one hand in front of the other, I make a last-ditched attempt to reach my dying girlfriend before it's too late.

I finally manage to move my body. A small distance, but progress nonetheless.

 

I can hear Clare trying desperately to shout something at me, but all she can do is cough and wheeze.

 

As my vision is fading and everything is becoming blurrier, I can feel myself losing even more blood.

I continue to crawl, although I've made little progress. To my slight relief, the mist is starting to fade. Now I can see Clare's blurry silhouette across the room.

As fast as I can, I attempt to drag my wounded body, inch by wicked inch, to the other side of the room, and the dying Clare.

 

My vision is almost completely black, I don't think I can afford to lose any more blood from my stomach and I can barely breathe. I'm running on fumes now.

I must get to Clare. I need to see her. Just one last time...

 

I'm about halfway across the room now, though I fear it's too late. Even if it is, I need to get to her.

Strange. The pain in my stomach seems to have lessened, like I've gone numb to it. My vision doesn't bother me anymore, as long as I can see my goal.

I'm finding it easier to crawl now and the breathing problems seem to be have subsided.

I can crawl almost with ease now.

 

I'm almost there. I can see Clare about a metre away from me.

With my last few ounces of strength, I manage to get into a crouching position, and after a few more horrible steps, I lean against the wall beside her, and hold her in my arms.

The pain is coming back, the numbness I felt has faded, I come to the realisation that what felt like hours was minutes, but I don't care.

All that matters is that I have her.

 

"D.. Dav.. id," she manages a small whisper.

"I'm sorry, Clare. I'm sorry..." I whisper back, tears flooding my eyes.

 

Her beautiful lips manage a small smile and I can feel the last ounce of life fade from her.

 

To Be Continued...

[Oblivionz]

Wow, didn't see any of these last two chapters being posted.

 

It's getting intense now.

[Damo.]

 

Chapter 16

 

I'm not sure how long it's been since she died. Days? Weeks? A month? Time seems meaningless in this place. I don't leave my quarters.

I stay in my room alone and I don't talk to anyone. I haven't uttered a single word since I told Carilius what happened. I don't want to live anymore.

I don't deserve it. It was my fault. I stood there and let him kill her. And what was he? Carilius didn't say much, just that he'd "look into it."

Not very inspiring.

 

I'm lying in my bed. It appears to be fairly early. Maybe 6:30. I've been awake for about an hour, but I'm still not aware of my surroundings.

Waking up is hard. I sit up a small bit and rub my eyes. Feeling blinding pain in my stomach, I clutch it and lie back down.

Forgot what Carilius told me about the wounds: they’re permanent. He said that they would become less intense after a while, but I’m scarred for life.

 

There’s an echo of footsteps in the hall and I can hear someone approaching the room. The old door clicks open and I can see a dark silhouette of a man enter.

After focusing on him for a while, I realise that it’s Garthus, the Paladin who brought me here.

 

"Carilius sent me to see if you were alright. How are you holding up?" he asks with a genuine look of concern on his face.

"I'm- I'm fine... It's just-," I manage to stammer.

"Carilius told me. He said you were taking it very hard. I am truly sorry for your loss." He turns around and gazes out the window at the clear, green sky.

"You should not blame yourself. I experienced something quite similar in my first few months here. Do you know how I dealt with it?"

"How?"

"I trained. I never gave up. I stopped blaming myself and focused on the real enemy. I filled my days with grueling blade exercises and my nights with study of all forms of magic.

I made myself strong enough and skilled enough to take on my enemy, and when the time was right, I exacted my revenge."

 

I stay silent, not quite sure what to make of this. He looks at me thoughtfully.

 

"Carilius and I have considered training you as a Paladin."

"A Paladin? Me?"

"It is the only way you will get your revenge."

"I'm not sure I'm strong enough to become one of you. Not in this state anyway."

"There are techniques that can stop your scars, both physical and mental, from paining you. Look, David, I know what you are going through. I thought the same before my training.

You do not have to do it if you do not want to, but I can tell you from my own experience that it is the only way you will ever get revenge. I will warn you that it is a difficult and exhausting path, but in the end, you will reap the benefits.

Do you want to become a Paladin, David?"

 

He extends his hand to me. I look up at him for a few seconds, thinking of the implications this might have. I manage to clear my mind of all but one thought: revenge.

 

"Yes."

 

To Be Continued...

[Oblivionz]

WHOO!

 

I've been waiting. I figured this is what would happen, too.

It's pretty obvious, but it's getting good. <3

[Damo.]

 

Chapter 17

 

It's been a few months since I began my training as a Paladin. The memories of Clare's death still haunt my dreams, and strange things continue to happen around the fort, but I've learned to accept it.

I dedicate every hour of every day to training, both physical and mental. Revenge drives me, gives me purpose. I know that when I face my double, I'll be ready.

I've placed all my trust in Carilius and my instructors. They've thought me much. I've become much more powerful than I was before. I learned things that I wouldn't have believed possible three months ago.

 

I hear a Finik, one of the strange pterodactyl-like creatures of this land, sing and I know it's time to finish training and prepare for bed. I leave the courtyard where I had been practicing and proceed down the hall towards my room.

I can hear more voices following me as I walk. More unintelligible whispers. Carilius explained to me that this is the Spectres trying to unnerve me. They invade my mind and whisper in dark languages in an attempt to drive me insane.

I've learned to control it to the point where it isn't as loud but I have yet to learn to silence it entirely. For now, I'll do my best to ignore it and go to sleep.

 

I close my curtains on the dark wine-red night sky and lock my door. I have a final look around my room before placing my sword on the cabinet and going to bed.

I feel a sharp pain in my head. The whispers have increased in pitch to a high, deafening scream. It feels like someone ripped my head open.

I can barely think with it, let alone sleep. It's too much. My head is about to explode. It's excruciating!

I jump out of the bed and scream at the top of my lungs.

 

The horrible pain stops for a few seconds and I can make out what the screams are saying:

 

David! Listen to us! It is your destiny to join us, David! David! Listen!

 

The screams become even louder and more painful and I fall to the ground with my hands over my ears.

 

"Stop," I roar. "Get out of my head! Leave me alone! Stop!"

 

They become even worse, overwhelming me to the point where I can barely even breathe. It's taking me over. I'm rolling around the ground, screaming at it to stop, but it only gets worse.

I try to open my eyes, but I'm blinded by white light. Even after I close them, all I can see is white light. I hear a loud bell ring and the screaming stops, but I can no longer feel the ground beneath me.

 

I'm falling.

 

To Be Continued...