Ella habla espanol?

Hey everyone, I know that this week has been a little light on the posts. We're still trying to adjust a working schedule, so bear with us for awhile.

Anyways, today is Saturday, which means a new chapter of Ankoku no Ki. This week starts the story arch that will last till the end of the book, so I really hope you enjoy it. Anyways, tell me what you think

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Chapter 10:

Comenzemos Realidad

1.

            The year 2030 is when Rachel Edington’s story continues. A year has gone by since her escape from the secretive wing of Wright Patterson Airforce base in Ohio, USA. In that time, she managed to find transportation out of the United States—with the help of the German doctor, Friedrick Hartmann—and to Tokyo, Japan, the new capitol of the Republic of the Eastern Union. The war is taking a small toll on citizens of Japan, but life in the technologically advanced capitol is, for the most part, progressing as usual.

            Now dawns the time when you ask: “What’s next?” Well, simply stop asking such stupid fucking questions and start reading further down the page to find out.

2.

            “Why do we have to go to the market so often? I’m getting sores on the bottom of my feet from all this exercise,” groaned nineteen year-old Angela White as her and Justin Feldin stood in front of a refrigerated wall of soy products in a downtown Tokyo market.  Angela was a girl of medium height with lightly tanned skin. Her face was naturally pretty and worked to highlight her bright, light-green eyes without a trace of make-up. In two long braids her red orange hair draped past her shoulders and rested atop her breasts. Habitually her hands pulled softly at one of the braids as she waited for Justin to choose between several types of tofu.

            To the average passer-by, Angela was just another pretty girl who resembled the average Latina and really loved warm colors—literally, her entire wardrobe everyday consisted of a t-shirt and pants of either red, orange, or a combination of  both colors. To her circle of friends however, she was a person with a firry ambition to explore new things and a slight obsession with fire. Well, I guess “slight” is putting it lightly, especially since Angela loved everything about fire—its glow, its color, everything. At one time, the obsession had thrown her life as an orphan in Madrid, Spain into hot flames. (She had a pile of matches, gasoline, and a lighter. You do the math.) For a while she was even homeless. Luckily, times were quite different when she was relocated to Japan by a private interest group and met Justin, Rachel, and their three other roommates.

            Finally Justin decided on a type of tofu and placed the white block in the small basket hanging from his arm. “We wouldn’t have to if Yoshiro didn’t eat so much all day,” Justin replied with a slight bit of humor. “I swear, that kid eats so much food…I figure he would be as big as Huey by now.”

            “Well, it’s no surprise, considering how much he runs each day,” Angela snickered.

            “I guess.” Justin’s eyes replaced the case of soy products with Angela as their point of focus. Softly, he smiled at her. “I find that it’s best to not complain about it though.” She smiled back and let her right arm intertwine with his left.

            “How could I ever complain about spending time with you, Justin?” He laughed lightly before kissing her softly on the top of her head.

            “No sè, bonita.” Angela’s smile brightened as she pushed her body even closer to Justin. She always loved when he spoke Spanish to her.

            “Te adoro mi amor.” Together, they walked lightly to the other parts of the market to get the rest of the items on the shopping list they had been sent to complete. Never did either give up the comfort of the touch of the other.

3.

            “Alright, Rachel, just focus your energy into physical form. Picture a vine coming from your body, feel it beneath your skin, and then make it breach, just as we’ve been practicing. You can do in, mein liebe.” Dr. Hartmann coached Rachel as she meditated with crossed legs in the center of their minimalist Tokyo home—only a few blocks from the market at which Angela and Justin were shopping—in only a training bra and black sweat pants. For several months the doctor and Rachel had been trying to gain more control over Rachel’s abilities, while even discovering a few—such as her realized ability to sharpen a curved vine so much as to create a large scythe. (One day, I’ll tell you the gory stories behind such a realization, but for right now we’ll stick with Rachel’s training.) Several vines began to reach upwards toward the ceiling from her back and held stiff in the air, she smiled at the, now pleasurable, feeling of the sharp plants breaking out from beneath her skin. A side-effect of the training had definitely been to make a masochist of the once sweet and timid young woman.

            Her tightly closed eyes marked the level of her concentration as she attempted to envision what the vines should do before the action occurred. Two of the vines split, dividing into four smaller vines. Suddenly she opened her eyes with excitement. “I’m doing it!” she exclaimed. The vines shot back into her skin as soon as she lost her concentration. She shuddered hard in ecstasy with the feeling of the retreating plants. Hunching forward slightly, she tried to gain control of herself.

            “Y’know, that still creeps meh out a lil when ya do that,” joked a chubby, dark-skinned kid of twenty named Huey Langstrom, who sat on the couch pretending to read Manga, but secretly paying more attention to Rachel’s training.

            “Shut up!” Rachel exclaimed sharply as she sat up in embarrassment. “You’re a creeper for watching me anyways!”

            “Sure, yell at the black kid, racist.” Huey laughed heartily. Like Justin and Rachel, Huey was from Ohio, but spent most of his time a few dozen miles south of their hometown, Monroeville. He was a child of the streets of Cincinnati, a city which grows more violent as I write these words. Huey’s mother died from complications at his birth, and his father—who couldn’t handle the stress of raising him and his three other brothers—put a colt .45 to his head and blew his brains out against their Over the Rhine apartment only a month later. As you can see, Huey never knew either of his parents, but his brothers—ages 10, 14, and 16 when he was born—all pulled together to help raise him. Their efforts eventually turned to illegal actions in order to keep the rent payments paid, but such was the only way that they could survive. Huey loved his brothers, but he always knew that what they did was wrong and wanted more out of life than they ever had to offer. This wanting led to actions that will be made clear very soon, but resulted in him being relocated to Japan by the same people as Angela.

            “Rachel, you need to lose concentration so easily,” Dr. Hartmann preached for the tenth time that week. “This training is meant to teach you that above all else.”

            “I know.” Rachel sighed. “It’s quite hard when I have a pervert like Huey watching me.” She glared in his direction.

            “Hey, don’t mind me. I’m just sitting her, catching up on my favorite comic.”

            “Oh really? Is that why you were reading the exact same thing the last time I was training?”

            “U-U-Ummmm…..” Huey stammered for words. “Huey’s not here right now, please leave a message after the beep…BEEEEPPP…”

            “Uh-huh, that’s what I thought, pervert.”

            “Now, Rachel, get focused. We must get to finishing this training if we are to locate the tree of darkness,” the doctor said, trying to get her back on task.

            “But,” she protested, “isn’t knowing that it’s somewhere in the Kanto region enough to just search blindly for it?”

            “You should know better than that, mein liebe. The door to the Tree could be anywhere from an inch wide to the size of an entire building—” Rachel groaned.

            “Fine, fine.” Once more, Rachel closed her eyes and tried to focus, but quickly her concentration was broken by the sound of the front door sliding open and the sound of Angela and Justin’s laughs filling the air.

            “We got the grub!” Justin yelled as he and his girlfriend entered the living room holding hands. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt anything,” he said apologetically as his eyes fell upon Rachel, whose eyes were fixated on their hands.

            “No, it’s fine, you didn’t interrupt anything at all, Justin,” she said with a fake smile as a few vines started to squirm at the small of her back in response to her rising hatred for Angela. Justin wasn’t fooled by her cheesy smile and smartly released Angela’s hand. Of course, Angela looked at him in confusion for a moment before she got the memo and worked to change the subject.

            “Has Yoshiro or Melanie come back yet?” she asked Rachel, who still refused to speak to the girl whom she considered a home-wrecker at best.

            “No,” Huey answered, putting down his comics, “Yoshiro is somewhere searching for more information on the Ankoku no Ki legend, and I think Melanie is out with another guy.”

            “Isn’t that the fourth one this week?” Angela asked with a small sense of humor.

            “Yeah…but you know Mel, always looking for a good time with the guys.” They both laughed, while Rachel stood up and started to walk away. Justin tried to pretend not to notice.

            “I’ll be in my room,” Rachel said with an undertone of anger. “Don’t bother me unless another person comes to kill me.” Soon, she was out of sight and in the next room over. An awkward moment passed before Angela took the groceries from Justin and walked to the fridge in the next room to put them away.

“I believe she will need help,” Dr. Hartmann smiled and followed Angela into the next room.

            “Dude,” Huey said to Justin, who simply stood in the shame of making his best friend so irritated at his presence. “You know, if you make her any angrier, you’re likely to get your balls sliced off by those vines, or something.”

            “What can I do?” Justin asked, sympathetically. “I can’t please everyone…” he sighed.

            “I guess, but kudos on bagging the hot, Hispanic chick by the way. I know you guys’ve been goin’ out for about a couple months or something, but I’m still surprised you pulled it off without her setting your junk on fire.” Huey laughed, returning to his comics. Justin smirked, inching himself in the direction of Rachel’s room.

            “You honestly wouldn’t believe how hard it was to stop her. She really loves fire.” They both laughed—Justin’s laugh being hollow, with only thoughts about the pain Rachel felt.

Fate drives us.

~Alex

An Introduction of sorts

Ankoku no Ki, Part 2: 

Living Key

Chapter 9:

Introduction

1.

            For whoever may read this, I am a narrator without name whose identity will never be expressed explicitly, but may be guessed upon as we delve further into the story of Rachel Edington and her companions. There are facts to be consider however before you read anymore of her story. “What facts?” you may ask, but I wish to do nothing more than relive the past few decades.

            On the day that I am writing this message, my calendar reads: January 27, 2036, a little more than 5 years since Rachel was abducted from her dormitory at The Ohio State University and taken to a top secret wing at Wright Patterson Air Force base. The reasons for her abduction might be questioned, had they not been required under presidential order. Since the signing of the Treaty of Beijing between China and Japan in 2019, the United States’ police power has been acting under questionable authority to secure the interests of their country.

            Then again, the Treaty of Beijing had been a questionable matter to begin with. In one fell swoop, it destroyed the long-standing rivalry between China and Japan and forced their people to forget all past aggressions. Such an action probably would have been welcomed, had not the treaty ushered in a new era that combined the two world powers and created the Republic of the Eastern Union (R.E.U.), which gradually grew to envelop such countries as Mongolia, South Korea, and the ever-controversial North Korea. This new union worked effectively to push the United States out of Eastern Asia, only worsening the effects of the US bull market crash of 2022. As conditions in the United States worsened the military and technological expertise of the R.E.U. began to eclipse the once dominant world power. It seemed as though the R.E.U. would be the new leader of the civilized world.

2.

            As per all good things, the conditions of life in the R.E.U. came under question as a new leader arose and brought the country to its peak at the cost of its citizens’ freedom. The average citizen was overworked, underpaid, and largely without proper nutrition. A rising population had left many people without work and without a place to live. In response to the population issue, the leaders of the state of China within the R.E.U. suggested reinstating the old practice of forced abortions, which passed without opposition. When media coverage of such events reached the United States to make the conditions of American seem better than they actually were, the public cried out in protest and eventually elected a man in 2024 whom saw the benefit of trashing the R.E.U.’s policies and sending unwanted aide to Asia. When the aide was met with resistance from the Eastern Union’s military, innocent people were slaughtered by soldiers and the anti-U.S. propaganda turned the Union’s citizens against U.S.

            Eventually the growing hatred turned to violence in 2027, when a series of elementary schools were bombed in southern California by Union radicals who wanted to instill fear in everyone stateside. The POTUS used this action to get preach to Congress and declare war. The president was reelected easily and in 2029 U.S. bombers devastated the P.E.U.’s capitol of Beijing. This action only worked to intensify the hatred between both sides until finally the Union’s military invaded California only a week after Rachel’s escape from Ohio, making the U.S. the main battleground for what appeared to be the start of World War III. 

3.

            As has been already told from Rachel’s story so far, a section of the military believed that the answer to the conflict was to make the United States an unstoppable power through the use of the Tree of Darkness (Ankoku no Ki in Japanese)--an ancient tree that Japanese legend named as a barrier between life and death, good and evil. Legend places the tree somewhere in Japan, but only viewable by its guardian, whose true name has been lost to time.

“What exactly would the U.S. military want such a barrier for?” Well, that question shall be answered in time. Until then, the facts shall build with the tension until all minds crash with realization of what are the truths and what are the lies of this book of grotesques.

Fate drives me.

~Alex 

A heartfelt letter home.

Hey everyone, it's Saturday and that means a new post from me, Alex. This week has been kind of hectic for me, unfortunately, and until today I didn't have anything to post. Between my grandfather having surgery, musical auditions, homework, fatigue, and depression I'm behind on my normal schedule. The result is a shortened post to end part one of Ankoku no Ki. Although not the first ending I had in mind, I do feel that this letter from Rachel to her Mother a year after her escape summarizes what I had in mind and introduces the part two fairly well. So, here's chapter eight.

Chapter 8

Maybe Memories

Dear Mother,

            Do you remember my name? I barely remember it myself nowadays. I cannot help but doubt who I am. Everyday changes everything and I do not know how much longer I can hold out. Each day I think about you both, but with no letters or calls I almost think that you do not remember your only daughter. It has been over three years since I saw your crying faces as you dropped me off at the university—I wish it were shorter. I know that you wanted the best when you sent me there to study philosophy, but it seems that fate has wanted something entirely different.

For a year and a half, everything was fun, new, and so much more peaceful than my senior year at Lemon High. Unfortunately, the peacetimes away from Monroeville only lasted that long. I started having those dreams again, like I use to have right before we left Liverpool. You remember, right? The ones where I was in the empty void? The terrible part was that the dreams finally came true. Suddenly, I found myself beside myself and accused of a murder that I did commit, at the fault of a deity who calls Eris who only wanted to protect me. When the military found out, they imprisoned me for several months and subjected me to treatment that I never wish to speak of again. As you may have figured out, I am no longer a prisoner. In fact, I escaped with the help of a German scientist named Friedrick. He is such a nice man and reminds me so much of father. I am certain that you would love him.

Currently, I am living somewhere in Japan with Friedrick, Justin, and four others who are just as downtrodden as I am. There are decisions in this life that are my own to make. With all my heart, I wish that such decisions would bring the two of us closer, but I do not believe that will ever happen. I am not certain how much longer I will be of this world, but I do not write you so that you will worry. Mother, I sincerely hope that you will not worry. Justin will keep me as safe as possible as long as he can—we both know how reliable he is. I sometimes wish that I could have taken your advice and tried to be more than friends with him, but love is not exactly something I should be worried about love right now, according to Friedrick.

There is so much more that I wish I could tell you, and, as much as it hurts me, this may be the last chance I will ever have to tell you anything, but there’s only so much paper and electronics reveal my location too easily. But, Mother, please stay safe. I heard of how the warfront had been brought to the States. Each day I pray for your safety, just as I pray that this letter reaches you. Just remember how much I love you and every day I will do my best to make you proud.

Your loving daughter,

Rachel

~End of Part One~

Fate drives me

~Alex

A late post

So, this week has been kind of hard for me. Without going into much detail, I've been trapped inside my mind throughout it all without hope of escape. What's so wrong about that? If any of you would ever see what's inside my mind, you would commend me solely for being able to cope with it each day.

Anyways, like usual Saturdays mean a new chapter of Ankoku no Ki. This weeks installment takes place about a week from the last chapter, just to keep you informed.
So, without boring you any longer, here it is....

Chapter 5

Breaking Point

            “AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!” Rachel’s voice echoed against the walls of the dark room around her, much more a prison now than when she had first awoke to its confining walls. Sitting up in her bed, she exchanged her piercing scream for heavy breathing to work with the small beads of sweat upon her skin to signify the stress of her dream. Her eyes peered out into the surrounding darkness. The pain just keeps getting worse. Why is she doing this to me?

A ceiling light in the center of the ceiling suddenly burst into life as the room’s only door slammed hard against the adjacent wall, revealing a scene of the worried colonel. Rachel shut her eyes quickly to shield herself from the sudden onslaught of light.

“What’s wrong? What happened??” Col. John Stroyer asked quickly, his words drenched in concern.

“Nothing…” Rachel responded softly, her eyes finally adjusting to the light enough to gain a view of John’s white shirt, printed with a small Army’s logo over its breast pocket and a pair of beige khakis. His two guns had disappeared somewhere in the week between then and their first meeting.

“It sure as hell didn’t sound like noth—!”

“It was just a dream!” she snapped. “There’s nothing to worry about…” John sat down upon the bed, next to Rachel. He stared deeply into her tired, blue eyes. Why do I suddenly get the feeling that he’s staring into my soul?

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked, his expression strange—wedged between compassion and uncertainty.

“No, I’m fine.”

“You know that we’re here to help you, right?”

“Yes, I’m aware of that.” I would sooner trust a convicted rapist… John sighed heavily and stood up sharply from his seat on the bed.

“Well, since it was obviously nothing,” he smiled down at her, “maybe we should start today’s exercises. That sounds fun, doesn’t it?” She scoffed at the colonel ruefully and drew her knees up, capturing them with her elbows.

“Will I have to run another two hours this time?” she asked sarcastically.

“No—”

“Am I going to be strapped to more machines?” she continued without any notice of John’s words. “Or will I be forced to eat foods I don’t like. Or shown—”

“No, Rachel, I assure you, this time will be different. I promise you, if today goes well things will be better without those needless tests. You might even get a bigger room.” He laughed—his happy smile intent upon persuading her. Rachel let go of her knees and swung her legs drop over the side of the bed. After a disappointed sigh, she stood up slowly.

“None of that really matters anyways,” she said softly. “A prison is still a prison, no matter how big the bars are.”

* * * * * *

            “Where are we going?” asked Rachel, blinded by the heavy, black bag over her head. Along with the bag, restraints had been placed on her wrists—heavy metal shackles—which bounced lightly in front of her with each step. The only way she moved forward was by the colonel’s aide as he pushed her back lightly, slowly guiding her forward.

            “I told you when we left your room,” he responded lightly. “Today’s test involves you having ignorance to the situation until the time is right.”

            “But, why—?”

            “Oh, c’mon, life’s no fun without a few surprises. Am I right?” he chuckled loudly.

            Why do I have such a bad feeling about all of this? A small click collided with Rachel’s eardrum. “What was that??”

            “It was just the click of a door. We’re in a room now.”

            “Oh…Oka—” Suddenly, she felt the bottom of her shirt lifting up and a warm hand enter the new opening. Rachel tried to squirm away. “What the hell are you doing?!”

            “Relax, relax. I just need to put a small sensor over your heart. As always, it’s strictly part of the test, I promise.”

            Do I have a choice otherwise? “Alright, do it,” she said with a defeated sigh. Lifting her arms as far as her shackles would allow, she made room for the colonel to affix his sensor to the skin just above her left breast. She shuddered at the cold touch of the object.”

            “Alright, you’re good to go.” After a small click she felt her restraints drop from her wrists, followed by the click of the door as it closed loudly behind her.

            “John?” she asked, drawing no response from the empty air. With newly freed hands, she lifted the bag from over her head and stared at the dimly lit room around her. Suddenly she noticed the two sleeping timber wolves at the opposite end of the room. “What’s going on?!” she blurted out unthinkingly. The ears of one of the wolves perked up, causing Rachel’s skin to crawl with the fear flashing through her mind.  

Immediately, she spun around and tried the door, only to find it locked. Furiously, she began to pound on the hard surface of the door with her tightened fists with her heart pounding in double time to the frantic rhythm. “Let me out! Let me out!”  She yelled at the top of her lungs, her hands beginning to turn bright red and radiate with pain. “PLEASE! LET ME OUT!!!” After a few seconds, tiredness forced her hands to become still. Tears cascaded down her cheeks as she attempted to catch her breath. Slowly, a low growl rose above the audible beating of her heart. Timidly, she turned around to see both wolves snarling at her viciously, their sharp fangs dripping with saliva. More rapidly, her heart began to pound, shocks of pain spreading outward from her chest over her body. Her right hand went to her chest, clutching it as she began to hyperventilate.

The wolves began to advance forward, forcing Rachel to back up hard into the door and slide down until her butt slammed into the hard, tiled floor. She winced in pain.

Is this all still a test? Why is this happening to me?  The room around her began to darken at the corners of her vision as the wolves growled even louder. She could tell that they were hungry. Why must I suffer? One of the wolves lunged forward. Rachel squeezed her eyes shut, expecting to reach her mortality. Then, abruptly, her pain disappeared completely and her breathing evened. What’s going on? When she opened her eyes, she gained sight of a mature version of herself petting the attacking canine, frozen in the air only a foot from where she sat.

“Pre’y li’le thing, isn’t it?” the woman stated in her usual thick, cockney accent.

“Eris!” Rachel spat, slowly raising herself to her feet using the door as leverage. “Why do you keep punishing me like this?!”

“Punishing you?!” the woman laughed. “I was surprised you remembered my name, but I guess your eyes just aren’t open yet, are they? Well, tough luck. Open them up! I wasn’t the one who led you into wolves’ den, was I?” With a casual swagger, she advanced towards Rachel, who now held guilt upon her face. “No, that’s the fault of those bastards keeping you prisoner here.”

“I know…”

“If you know, why do you still blame me, reject me?!”

“I’m too scared…”

“Are you serious?? You are, aren’t you?” She stopped directly in front of Rachel, staring into her clear-blue eyes with the dark chunks of charcoal which were her own. “Where’s the logic in denying yourself freedom from such fear?!”

“They want you, for some reason. I can’t let them—”

“Hun, they’ve been after me for as long as I can remember. They’ve no more surprises for me.” She placed her hand just above Rachel’s left breast. “Like this.” Ripping a portion out of Rachel’s shirt, the woman tore the sensor from off of her skin and crushed it in her hand. Rachel stared at her in uncertainty. Sparks flew from the crushed sensor. “If you di’n’t know. This electrode was meant to go off the second I stepped into the light.”

“Why…?” Rachel whispered in shock.

“I’m a guardian, and they want what I’m guarding.”

“Did time really stop then?” Rachel addressed the wolves.

“Time is meaningless, my dear. The only thing that’s standing still is the world you see. This won’t last though, you’re mind is too strained as it is. So choose quickly. Will you give up your fear and receive my help, or let hose beasts maul you?” Eris pointed back at the two timber wolves poised to attack.

“Is that even a choice?” The woman smiled. Slowly the woman began to fade and a wave of pain came rushing over Rachel. She screamed outward, squeezing her eyes shut…in ecstasy. Why? Why does this pain feel so good? Her scream turned into a maniacal laugh as time started once more and she caught the wolf before its teeth could connect with the soft flesh of her neck. Her hands gripped the wolf’s throat as she stared at its snapping, salivating jaws with blacked irises filled with violent thoughts. Why does this feel so good?

“Because you’re with me now, Rachel!” Eris yelled from the back of Rachel’s mind. “You’ll never have to feel pain again!” Dual vines emerged from beneath the cream-white skin on both her arms, drawing dark streams of crimson from the newly opened wounds. She smiled even wider in pure ecstasy at the newfound pain. The thorny vines raised high in the air before producing a black flower, as dark as the eyes Rachel now sported, at their tips. “Yes! Do it!”

The flowers came down quickly, their center’s turning into vicious fanged mouths. Each bit into the skulls of the wolf, digging through the animal’s fur and peeling away the wolf’s flesh with increasing speed. The wolf whined in severe pain and reeled backwards violently.

That’s right…eat them all! The wolf fell to the floor, dead, as the left flower continued to gorge upon the wolf’s body. With a wide grin, Rachel advanced towards the second wolf, who cowered and whimpered in the far left corner of the room. “I love your fear, love. It keeps things so much more interesting.” Rachel laughed as the flower from her right arm lunged forward and sunk its sharp teeth deep into the wolf’s jaw and rip it off in one, strong tug. Rachel laughed even harder, more insanely, as the second wolf fell and the vines began to turn red as they fed avidly upon the animals’ death-filled blood.

Sharply, she turned around and glared at the locked door. “Now to rid myself of my captors.” Both flowers released themselves from the wolves and came to Rachel’s side for a brief second before she commanded them to strike forward at the door. Their fangs busted through the wooden door, only to strike the metal beneath. “What the hell?” It was then that Rachel’s ears began to pick up on a faint hissing sound. “What’s that noise?”

“Look behind you!” Rachel turned around quickly to see a light fog flooding the floor from a small vent at the bottom of the wall.

“What…the…” As she breathed in the tainted air, the room began to spin and she began to become disorientated. “Eris…” Rachel collapsed to the ground, unconscious, the flowers withering up as their thorny stems retreated into Rachel’s healing arms. As she lied upon the foggy floor, her eyes began to fade back to the innocence of their original blue tint. 

Provehito in altum

~Alex

So...It's 2011...if you haven't heard....

Luckily, your friendly, neighborhood demon of greed gets the luxury of making the first post of 2011.
Pretty spiffy, eh?

In order to kick off this new year, and new month, I thought I'd bring you all the 4th installment of Ankoku no Ki :D

Alright, there's no need to boo -_-
Haha I joke and really do hope that you all are enjoying the story thus far.

Here's the refresher course, if you've forgotten:

Last week, the main lady, Rachel Edington, escaped from the twisted event of her professor's murder, seemingly by her own hand, with the help of her long-time friend Justin Feldin. The two OSU students fled to her dormitory, where Rachel revealed that she had seen someone else murder her professor. Who? A girl of unknown name and origin whose main difference from Rachel was her obvious love for violent deeds.
Before the two friends could discuss the matter any further, Rachel's roommate burst through the door followed by a explosion soon after. Parts of the roommate shot into Justin, leaving him bleeding on the floor while a squad of men burst through the room's door and forced Rachel into a deep slumber.

Now, the story continues...

Chapter 4

“When they catch us, don’t say a word!”

            The world spun in elaborate circles around Rachel as she opened her eyes, ripping herself out of the darkness for of a scene of her sitting in a hard, oak chair wearing nothing more than a white, sleeveless tee shirt and a pair of red panties. “Where am I?” she mumbled as the spinning began to slow. She felt hung-over while never having taken a sip of alcohol. Turning her head to the left, sickly-green vomit ejected from her mouth, burning her throat. More slime leaked from her mouth as she tried to spit out the remainder of her breakfast.

            “Ah, I see you’ve awakened,” stated a man in front of her in a thick, German accent. “I was almost afraid that you might take yet another day to come out of your slumber.”

            “Where am I…?” she muttered once more as she gained her first, real glance of the environment before her. Around her was a brightly lit room and slightly larger than her dorm room back at OSU. Against the wall on the other end of the room was a freshly made bed clad in white sheets and a pillow. There was only one brown, wooden door to mark any sort of break in the surrounding gray-colored walls.

In shock, she attempted to stand up, but found that knotted ropes around her wrists, stomach, and ankles wouldn’t allow her to move. After her first attempt failed, she panicked and struggled harder, causing her and her chair to topple over harshly onto the carpeted floor below in the opposite direction of the pool of vomit she had just created. Pain shot through her chest as she coughed harshly.

“What’s going on?!” she screamed as she made another attempt to move her arms once more without success. “Why am I tied to this chair?! Where are my clothes?!” Panic claimed her mind as she forcibly tried to free herself, an act which resulted in little more than the ropes scraping the skin on her wrists raw.

            “Up we go!” exclaimed the German man, ignoring Rachel’s questions. With one heave, he raised the chair back to its original position. “We can’t have you getting any nasty bruises now, can we?”

            “Where am I?” she blurted out. “WHERE ARE MY CLOTHES?!”

            “Relax, relax, mein liebe. Don’t be so frazzled. Your clothes are simply missing because I had to search you for weapons, drugs, and whatever else might be harmful to me or yourself.” She noticed for the first time that he was wearing a long white coat over forest green khakis and a black shirt, which contradicted his light-blond hair and white skin. Behind horned-rim glasses he stared at her eagerly with dark-blue eyes. His creepy smile made Rachel’s skin crawl. “Nothing sexual was done to you either, I can assure you. Although you are a very attractive Mädchen and I wouldn’t mind un—”

            “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SAYING?!?” she screeched. The doctor cringed slightly, but smiled at her still. “WHERE THE HELL AM I? WHO THE HELL ARE YOU? WHY AM I HERE??” The man stepped up to her and slapped her hard across the face.

            “It’s unfortunate that we can’t avoid leaving such unnecessary marks, mein liebe,” he stated with a feigned frown and a slight sense of sorrow. “‘Who am I?’ you ask. What would you do for an answer, mein liebe?” He straddled her, pressing his body against her hers, and placed his lips only centimeters from her ear. Fear began to creep into her mind as she began to conceive all the possible things the man might do to her. “Don’t listen to anything they tell you,” he whispered almost too softly for her to hear. His words surprised her and sent a cold wave over her skin.

            “What—?”

            “Don’t speak, just listen,” he interrupted, the warmth of his breath felt odd against her ear as he pressed himself tighter against her. “My name is Dr. Friedrick Hartmann. I apologize for my actions, but you must understand their necessity in order to trick the people watching us. You were abducted by the military. They want to free her.”

            Her?! He can’t mean—

            “They’ll do anything to free her, mein liebe. They want to use her as a weapon if they can’t make peace with China.” He rubbed his hands down her arm in a faux sexual gesture. “They wanted me to come in here and force her out by stressing you. It is imperative that you stay calm, no matter what. I will try to get you out of here. Until then, you must stay calm.”

            “That’s enough, Friedrick,” a man’s voice came from behind the perverted German man, he sounded American. Rachel couldn’t see the source of the sound through Friedreck’s large body. “Get off of Rachel now or I’ll put a bullet through that demented skull of yours.” The doctor groaned mockingly and moved back slightly. He smiled one last time at Rachel, a sincere, warm smile that made her feel comforted although she refused to show it.

            “You always know how to ruin my fun, don’t you mein Oberst?” Friedrick said disappointedly with a small sigh of defeat. Friedrick climbed off of Rachel, clearing her view of a tall, well-built man with short, dark-brown hair and matching eyes. He wore a forest green shirt and camoflauge printed khakis. Beneath both of his arm pits he carried, large, silver guns in leather holsters with a large hunting knife sheathed in the side of the right holster. He looked to be only in his late 20’s, but had the appearance of a person who warranted the respect of someone twice his age. When Friedrick reached his source of intervention, he smiled happily as if he had done nothing wrong. The man sunk his fist deep into Friedrick’s gut, causing the demented doctor to double over in pain. Even while in pain, he faked a wide smile.

            “That’ll be all from you, Dr. Hartmann. Return to your lab immediately. Also, I don’t want to hear you speaking German when addressing your superiors.” The stern voice of the dark-haired man was enough to knock the smile from Friedrick’s face for a second.

            “Yes, right away, colonel.” The doctor feigned another smile and left the room in a hurry. The colonel shook his head in shame and approached Rachel.

            “He didn’t hurt you at all, did he?” he asked with a deep sense of concern.

            “No, I don’t think so…” she responded with deep-rooted uncertainty towards the man addressing her. Once more she was uncertain of how to approach the situation at hand. “Is it really necessary for me to be tied to this chair?” The colonel laughed lightly.

            “Not anymore,” he placed a small smile on his face, “I’ll undo them to make you more comfortable.” He pulled his knife out of its sheath and quickly cut the knots. “While you were asleep, these knots were a safety precaution. Now, they only seem to be a nuisance.”

            “Precaution from what?” She flexed her wrists in an attempt to rid herself of the feeling of the ropes.

            “That’s not very important right now.”

It seems pretty important to me… Rachel sighed and slouched in defeat.

“But, I can tell you that you’re in good hands at this facility and that we understand that it wasn’t you who killed your professor.” She perked up immediately.

            “Really?” Realization set in, and her happy expression turned incredulous. “Why?”

            “I’ll just say for now that we have good reason to believe that you couldn’t have possibly done it.” He smiled brightly, and she returned the expression.

            “That’s great!” she exclaimed in thoughtless glee. “Just wait until I tell Justin!”

            “Justin? Oh, you must mean that boy that was with you…” the colonel’s face grew more solemn.

“Yeah…Why do you say it like that? What happened to Justin?!”

“He was dead when they found him.”

“What?” Shock struck Rachel hard.

“It seems as though a small object penetrated an artery just above his left thigh. When the recovery team found him, he’d already lost too much.” He placed a comforting hand upon Rachel’s shoulder, the warmth of his hand felt good against her skin. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“It’s all my fault…” she said meekly. “If it weren’t for me, he’d still be alive. I should have died instead. I shouldn’t be alive…” She wished she were dead, that she didn’t have to hear such horrible news. Nothing at that moment could have made her feel worse, but her thoughts ceased entirely when the colonel wrapped his arms around her tightly. In her sorry state, she gave in to the comforting hug without question. Then the doctor’s words rang through her head: “Don’t listen to anything they say.” Thoughts began to shoot through her mind faster than she could perceive them. The question posed seemed to be whether or not she should trust the armed man squeezing her against him. Regardless, she knew what she had to do.

“I know how it feels to lose someone close.” She squeezed him tighter, forcing cool tears to fall from below her eyes. “My father died back during the Afghani insurgency.” Something about the tone of his voice was meant to soothe Rachel, but only made her feel more uncomfortable.

“What happened to him?” she asked, sniffling mucus back up her nose cutely.

“He was driving a Humvee full of wounded soldiers when someone decided to send a rocket their way. The explosion blew up the entire passenger’s side of the vehicle. He survived the blast, but couldn’t survive the amount torture they put him through when they took him captive. I was only thirteen when I heard my father wouldn’t be coming home…”

“Does the pain ever go away?” she asked softly.

“No, it doesn’t.” He pulled back from her and stared into her sad eyes with a sense of kindness that almost made her believe him completely. “But neither does all the memories you made together. All of those memories are with you, and they are worth more than all the pain of loss.” She smiled slightly. “You just have to cheer up, and think happy thoughts until the world feels a little less cold.” Her smile widened before she sniffled softly.

“Thank you, I needed that.” She laughed in embarrassment. “So, you never told me who you are.” He smiled at her ignorance.

“My name is Col. John Stroyer. I’ll be looking after you while you’re staying here.”

“Where is ‘here’?” He laughed once more.

“You don’t need to worry about that at this moment.” He stood up, removing his arms from around her and made his way across the room. “Now, maybe it’d be best if you took a little nap. I’m sure you must be drained from all that’s happened.” She smiled and nodded sweetly.

“Yes, a nap does sound quite good, doesn’t it?” He gave her his hand to help her up. “Thank you.” Standing up, she began to slowly make her way to the bed.

“No thanks necessary, just rest up, you have a big day awaiting you when you wake up.”

“Oh?” Col. Stroyer nodded. She pulled back the sheets on the bed and laid herself down.

“And, I’ll be sure to keep the doctor out while you sleep.” They both laughed lightly as the colonel inched his way towards the door.

“Thank you,” she said even sweeter. “Also—”

“Yes, I’ll bring you a fresh set of clothes when you wake up.”

“How did you know?”

“Just a good guess.” He winked. “Sleep well, Rachel.” He stepped out the door. Rachel’s smile faded with the light in the room.

Is Justin really dead? What’s going to happen to me? She squeezed her pillow tighter against her body. Why am I so scared? Justin…I wish you were here… For the first time since she awakened in the room, real tears fell from her clear-blue eyes—no longer innocent due to the crime she knew she was a responsible for.

*  *  *  *  *

“How’s she doing?” Brigadier General Edward Stroyer—a buff, black-haired man of average height and tan complexion, wearing his full army uniform—asked Col. Stroyer as he stepped out of Rachel’s room into the dark hallway between captive’s rooms.

“She’s fine. Even through Dr. Hartmann’s ‘attack,’ she remained in a calm state. Also, upon hearing about her friend’s death she didn’t change. She broke down, but the situation wasn’t enough to make Eris come out of hiding.” The brigadier general rubbed his chin pensively. “It’s almost as if her professor was a one-time-only event.” The colonel sighed.

“No, it wasn’t,” Edwards spoke sternly.

“Sir?”

“When they went to retrieve both of the children, Eris reared her ugly head. Two of her vines cut through half of the retrieval squad before they could get all the way through the door. When the smoke cleared, they found Eris with several flowers and half a dozen vines coming from her body. Why do you think it was so necessary to sedate and subdue her before capture?” John looked at his superior with momentary ignorance was without reason. He had seen her torn clothing, but the extent of the situation hadn’t sunk in until now. “No, this girl will change again..” Edwards’ tone was too matter-of-fact for John’s taste, “but the question is whether or not we can kill Eris’s connection with her before the distortions begin to occur. That’s why I’m putting my faith into you, Colonel.” John smiled with pride as Edwards placed his hand atop his shoulder.

 “I’ll do my best to make you proud choice, sir.”

“No doubt,” Edwards coughed roughly, removing his hand to cover his mouth. “That’ll be all for now. You will be notified when she awakens, until then, make the necessary precautions.”

“Yes, sir.” I won’t let you down, father…  Calmly he turned and proceeded down the hall to prepare for Rachel’s awakening. 

Provehito in altum

~Alex