Drabble Arch: A Chimera’s Cry - The Lone Hero
This is the second chapter of the story A Chimera’s Cry. If you want to read the previous chapters, go over to the fanfiction.net page! (link)
These chapters / drabbles will go every week on saturdays.
Bones clatter on the ground as the rat's bloody body falls apart under the weight of the acid as I threw them. The body merely rolled over to the rest of tarnished, decaying pile of what could've been. The tunnels echo the collisions, repeating the corpses lifeless "thumps" over and over and over and over again. Every time I hear it, my fur tingles and my skin shivers. This looming plague comes over as the terrifying sounds begin to invade my body. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. It's never-ending. Usually sounds go silent into the night but not this, NO NO NO! It goes on and on.. My subjects' cries. My subjects' shrieks. My subjects' screams. All were silent except for their lifeless bodies. Thump. Thump! Thump!! Thump!!!
"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE ALIVE!" I screamed, kicking the pile of bloody rats to drown in the sewage below. Some were still with on the surface, their corpses mocking him. "You're supposed to serve me! You're supposed to be more mes! I'm your ruler! And I command you TO STOP! MAKING! THAT! NOISE!" More bodies are flown through the water, their splashes manifesting into cries of the anguished as if they were still alive. At first, it was only small with repeated shrieks here and there, but then they become more and more frequent. Suddenly. a cascade of random noises turn into a crescendo of terror as all of the noises began to merge into one. "STOP IT! I..I DEMAND SILENCE!"
The noises stop suddenly. The stillness eerie. I walk up to the sewage and stare at the indiscernible green unable to see the subjects I killed. I storm to the cauldron in my lair where the green lantern above glows dimly to the bubbling liquid. I growl at its putrid stench. I grumble as it shows my twisted reflection back. "This.. THIS IS YOUR FAULT!" I shout at the deceased golem's body that act as the cauldron. I took the sides it. I barely feel my hands burn. I threw it in the ground, watching the green liquid spill. My reflection still shows. I turn my head away.
"You're supposed to work.." I reach into my pouch and took out a ripped, yellowed, crumbled sheet of paper with a list of ingredients and a drawing of a mutated rat. On the top was the name "Scratch". My fist begins to clench as I hold it, fingernails piercing into the drawing's face. "You.. were supposed to work.." My hands released the paper, letting it fall to the moist ground. I step back and sat on my trash bag, hands covering my head as I tried to find comfort in all of the chaos.
Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip. 4 drops of sewage. Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip. 8 drops of sewage. Drip. Drip. Drip. Everything goes quiet. Everything fades away.
DING! DONG!
I jump out of my trance. My ears raised high and reach for my crossbow and pointed in its direction.
Ding. Dong. Ding. Dong. It stopped.
it was only the muffled bell from the bell tower. The Goopy One told me it was there to tell time for the surface.. I glance over at the empty trash bag on the other side of the room. I never touched it. I never touched it since he left.
I crawl over to the dropped recipe and went over to what was once ZAC's bed. I lay inside, looking at the piece of paper with the drawing of Scratch, gazing into the holes I pierced. I try to flatten them out, making them look less like holes.
I shoot a quick whistle towards the cracks, beckoning my remaining subjects to come. One roach comes over. "Hmph. Did they come back yet?" I ask in a raspy voice. "They haven't came back since this morning.. They.. they couldn't have found a new home already? Yes?"
The roach merely skitters to my hand as I raise it towards my face.
"Oh. I see.. you don't know if they did.." I growl at the roach. I always demand answers from my subjects, but all aggression suddenly dissipated when the roach claims they were marching over right now. I peered closer towards him. "WHERE!?"
I sneak through the sewers, running as fast as I can to reach them before they come to their homes to lock the sewer king himself out. I couldn't afford to let that happen. Suddenly, I hear the familiar squashing of footsteps. I look from the corner and see the same hulking figure carrying what seems to be Scratch, a rat slumped on his back.
However, it isn't like the last times I saw them. They walk slowly with their arms limping around uselessly in the air. Their faces look down into the ground in shame. The only arm that's active was ZAC's left arm which seems to be holding a lone feather.
I walk in front of him. "SURPRISE!" I shout, cackling. "Did you miss me!?" Closer up, it was even more peculiar. The blob seemed to be covered in concrete and Scratch is holding on to his neck for dear life. "Wha.. what happened?"
ZAC merely walks around me.
I run back to him. "Hey! Hey! Hey! You're in MY kingdom! And you follow My orders! I command you to answer my question! What happened!?"
He glares down at me. "Listen, pal. Now's not the time for this stuff. Today's been a rough day and Scratch here is exhausted and I don't want to talk about it nor do I want to hear your 'music' in front of the place."
"Hmph. Not my fault you wouldn't let the sewer king in. And it's great music!" Twitch grumbles. That was odd.. He read from human literature that you can get people out by music, and pots and pans provided the best sewer music! "Ugh.. I was just wondering what happened up there. Was it some stupid human overreacting to a building being destroyed? Hehe.. Not your fault they're too dumb to think about what you wanted. Hmph! All humans are dumb. Bleagh!"
"TWITCH!"
I grew silent.
"Listen closely cause I'm not a fan of repeating myself. Today's a rough day, and if you want me to punch you, then I suggest giving us a bit of space. I need to think of some things," ZAC sighs, glancing at the rustled black feather.
"But.. I just wanted to know what happened to my subjects? A king needs to-"
"Twitch. We're not your subjects. We're not your weapons. This is just a temporary home." ZAC turned away and kept moving, never stopping. "We’re doing fine, pal. Don’t worry about it. Good night, Twitchy."
"Good... Night. Goopy One.." I mumble. I sit down in the sewers, looking down at the sewage. I kick about the water, just thinking what to do before they leave forever...
Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip. 4 drops of sewage. I could've sworn I saw one glow...
It was a rough night. The world around me is dark with no light or hope in sight. Everywhere I turn, I see him.
I stand abrupt, awake at the thick of the night. My breathing quickens as I stand up. I look behind me, expecting to feel those 5 scarlet eyes staring down next to me.. to him. I stretch my arm for the lantern and lit it with a wooden match. I see Scratch sleeping soundly on his trash bag, unharmed or untouched, yet he's still affected. I could see the shivering skin and the skittering teeth and reactive kicks here and there. I look down at the feather again. This wasn't the first zaunite science abomination I've fought up there; there were plenty, but I've never felt so scared. This was the third time I woke up tonight.
I bring the lantern over to Scratch and tapped him on the shoulder. The moment he feels my touch, he jumps up and shields himself to me.
"Heh.. Guess you dream about him too, don't'cha?"
He just walks up to slump on my body, exhausted from the panic. Exhausted from the stress. Exhausted from the fear. I feel a pang of guilt. I brought him to this..
"Hey. Hang in there. He won't get you here. Not in the sewers, and definitely not with me around. I promise I'll take him down!"
I sit him up, and made sure his eyes meet mine. "You can't be my sidekick anymore," Scratch just look at him with scared eyes before going back to his trash bag to look for a particular gauntlet. I come up to him and he brings it out immediately, showing the venomous green ball in his hand. Showing the various ways to manipulate it to impress me, but all failed.
I grab him by the wrist and moved his arm down, dissipating the green orb to nothing but smoke. "No buts pal," I said sternly. "You almost died today, and I'm not going through that again. I'm sorry. You're staying here. Can't let some vulture thing get your head, right?" I give him a soft smile before letting go of his wrist.
He raises his hand to show a twisted picture of Twitch holding a bunch of rats over a cauldron through his gauntlet. I swipe it away with my hand. The image turns to smoke. "He won't touch you here.." I glance at the heavy furniture blocking the doorway. "That thing weighs a couple hundred pounds, pal. Twitch won't be able to get you.."
Scratch comes over to hold my big green hand, his grip hard. He looks up to me, defenseless and scared. "I'm not leaving you," I said, petting him a bit. "Gonna take more than a crazy 'sewer king' and some monster to get me away right? It's just Zaun needs me. A superhero can't abandon the people he protects right?"
Scratch nods silently, his eyes drifting on the ground, still reluctant on this decision.
"Tell you what," I said. "How about we get through this night together? Before I leave." I ask. "With the both of us, that monster in our dreams won't stand a chance."
The two of us lay on my bed. I hold on to Scratch with my big arms as he digs into my chest. He sleeps soundly in the comfort of my warmth as I spend the long hours staring at the black feather.