The boards of the ship creak while the "family" sits inside the dimly lit room. Everybody was staring at Eric waiting for him to begin explaining what could have led to the death of 19 people. Eric took a deep breath in and then began.
"When I was young, I had a pretty big friend group. It wasn't made up of all of the kids in the town but it was still a lot since my hometown was pretty small. Within that group, we had a leader...of sorts. It wasn't that he told everyone what to do but he was the most out-going so everyone just naturally left rule setting and location picking to him. That kid, who was also my best friend, was Kendall and he was the only reason that I was in this group of kids in the first place!"
"Before I was in the group I was locked away in my home afraid to go outside and interact with anyone other than my mom. Then one day, there was a knock at my door. I opened it and saw that some kid was outside asking if I wanted to go play with them. I said no at first but something about this kid just made me want to hang out with him and mess with him just a bit."
"Wait, is that why you tease me?" Alisa jumped up from her seat on the bed and questioned. "Is there something about me that makes me a target for all of your bullying? Is that how you pick your friends? Just find the ones that look weak or teasable and make them your targets?"
Eric looked at Alisa over his shoulder. "Yeah, I guess that is kinda how it goes?" Alisa's jaw almost hit the floor.
"That's so messed up!!"
"Alice!" Alix shouted making the girl flinch and meet her gaze. "Sit back down and listen. If you refuse to do that then you may as well leave!" Alix glared at Alisa which made Alisa pout. She slowly sat back on the bed, grabbed a corner of the sheets and started fiddling with it in her hand. She was sad but would do her best to stay quiet now. Eric withheld a laugh as he got back into his tale.
"So, Kendall talked me into leaving the house and I started hanging out with him and the rest of the group. We were all pretty close, we hung out almost everyday for like four years. I ended up getting kinda close with everyone in the group and even developed some...feelings for one of the other kids but that's not what this is about!"
Eric blushed heavily as he remembered his old childhood crush then he shook his head and the redness faded.
"One of those days, when I was twelve a guy visited the village. This was a man that visited once or twice every four months. Every time he came he told the kids a story from somewhere in the world, so we called him the Temporary Storyman. This time around the man decided to tell us children a story that he knew about the Hollow Mountains where we were growing up."
"It was a darker tone of story than we were used to the man telling but I assume that was why he neglected to tell us until we were older. The tale was the one that I casually brought up to Mama Wolf at the Library, The Devils that Live Within the Mountain. I won't tell you the story exactly because I don't really remember it fully and it'll just waste time. Just know that it has a similar vibe to the one about the devils under Amal."
The three listeners nodded and let Eric continue.
"Now I heard that story and was like, 'There's no way that something like that is true! And even if it is, I won't be the one to go find out!' Needless to say, I was pretty freaked out by it...Kendall on the other hand was so excited by the story that he threw in the idea to go try to find the cave that the devils probably lived in. I was baffled that he'd suggest something like that but what was even more shocking was the speed that everyone else agreed?!"
"It was like no one else thought that going to find the cave with the people called devils was a bad idea! I tried to tell Kendall that we shouldn't go but he was weirdly intent on it. I eventually said that if they go then I wouldn't because it sounded scary and stupid. Then Kendall convinced me by saying that he would help me ask out the girl that I was into at the time and that was that. I agreed in an instant and we climbed the mountain."
Kent's brow lifted inquisitively. "You must have really liked this girl if that was all it took to convince you?" Eric shook his head.
"It was more that I could tell how much Kendall wanted to go and, knowing that I couldn't stop him, when I heard his offer I just decided to go with it. Besides, I didn't actually think anything would happen!"
"Then something did." Alix said. Eric nodded and his face that was once smiling as he recalled his childhood now shifted to a grim stare.
"We found a cave. It was honestly a relief at the time because we'd searched until the sun went down and a snowstorm had started, so we needed shelter. We all scrambled into the cave without thinking about anything except escaping the snow. Now, right away I felt that something was off. The cave had smell to it that wasn't natural for a cave. It smelled...rotten!" Eric's nose creased as though the mere thought of the scent brought it back to his nose.
"We all started look around. All that we knew was the devils stayed in a cave. Now, the way into the cave was very tight, likely only large enough to fit children like us so we doubted that they stayed in this cave in particular but it wouldn't hurt to check. We spread around the small alcove, feeling the walls and trying to ignore the rotten smell/ Then, suddenly, the room was bathed in red!"
"We were all scared. What happened? Why was the room red? Did anyone touch anything weird? That was when the crevice that we slid in through slammed shut! That was when we realized that we were in danger as, stone walls don't normally do that. Nor do they become soft and begin to pull you inside but that was what these walls did. My hand on the wall sunk in and a powerful force started pulling me within!"
"Screams surrounded me as I looked around and saw the others succumbing to a similar fate, including Kendall! I tried to reach out for him and he reciprocated but we couldn't reach each other. The walls transformed. They shifted and morphed into a strange fleshy material that I'd never seen before! It felt slimy and soft when it finally pulled me completely into the wall." The room was silent as the Alix, Kent, Alisa, and even the monsters hung on Eric's every word.
"I was terrified! The world was went dark and I was being squished and pulled by this strange wall. It felt like I was being eaten by a giant monster and I couldn't get out! It became hard to breathe and move, it was horrible! I tried to fight whatever had me but the more I fought the more I suffered! I didn't stop though, struggling was all that I could do so struggle is what I did! Until I couldn't hold on any longer and passed out."
"When I woke up, I had a massive headache. I felt something cold under me and tried to move to see what it was when I realized that I couldn't move. I didn't know how but I was now strapped to some sort of table with a large...metal...thing hanging over me! I started trying to break out but the binds were too tight! That was when the voices started."
"I couldn't understand what they were saying but they sounded like people so I screamed for help. There was no response. The voices just continued what sounded like a chant. Them metal thing started to burn until it was white hot! It started to lower down at me. I started screaming as I things had just become far worse than before! The voices became louder! I cried and begged for it to stop! For someone to come help me but no one came!" Eric paused for a moment, panting heavily.
He took in a steadying breath. "The metal burned through my clothes and onto my chest. It filled my mind and body with a pain that I've never forgotten. That-"
Eric pulled up his shirt revealing the rune on his chest. "That was how I got this." He said coldly then let his shirt fall, hiding the brand once again. "What came next was four months in hell but it felt like an eternity. And at the end of it all my best friend ended up dying in my arms." Eric's face looked lost.
If one looked, they would see his eyes red from wanting to cry but a lack of tears to do so. The room was completely still. No one had anything to say. Well, almost no one.
"What happened during those four months?" Alix asked in a demanding tone.
Eric hugged himself tightly. "I'd rather not talk about it." He said. Alix frowned in confusion.
"But you only told us part of the story?" Alix stood up from her chair annoyed. "The way that ruins work is that they are the remnants of ancient civilizations. They usually have notes or something that teach you a bit about the group. It sounds like you were in some sort of testing lab so there had to have been other tests associated with the ruin."
"Mother, I don't think we should force this out of Eric." Kent got up and stood between Alix and Eric as the girl started to demand answers. "Take it from me. I understand the guilt that can be associated with losing those that you were close to."
Alix scoffs. "He's upset that he lost a few friends? What does that matter? We need this information so that we can be prepared for whatever that ruin in there has in store for us! Even if it isn't exactly the same, we could learn something from whatever ever information that he's withholding!'
"I didn't even want to go into another one of those things in the first place." Holiday comments under his breath but Alix still heard it. She pushes past Kent and stomps toward Eric who still looks shaken from recalling events from his past.
"I can't believe that you're being like this! Sitting here wallowing in guilt and grief when you survived that situation. The least that you could do is dedicate your life to understanding what it was that those devils tried to do to you all but instead you've spent four years grieving! You're nothing but a selfish, weak, shit-stained, COWA- " At that moment a knock interrupts Alix. The door swings open and Waloe is standing on the other side.
Kent regards the woman. "What is it, Waloe?"
"We've arrived at the cliff." She answers.
A feeling of relief washes over Kent as he now has a way to stop this conflict. "Did you hear that, mother? We've arrived at our destination." Alix is standing frozen over Eric. Her fists are balled up tightly and she's visibly shaking from frustration. Eric doesn't meet her eyes. He's too busy being lost in his own thoughts. Alix considers continuing to attack the boy when Mo speaks up.
"Come on, Lexi. We've got better things to do." Hearing Mo, Alix recognizes that she may have gotten too riled up. She unclenches her fists and takes a calming breath in then out. She can still feel her frustration but she has managed to alleviate it enough for her to focus on the task at hand. Her gaze shoots over to Alisa who is just sitting looking incredibly uncomfortable with how things were progressing.
"Come with me, Alice." Alix says as grabs Mo and starts leaving the room. "I need you for something." Alisa nods and follows quickly to avoid being the next victim of Alix's rage.
Kent is next to follow after he gently rests a hand on Eric's shoulder, patting him twice before walking out as well accompanied by Nuka and Trouler. Eric is alone in the room with his head down and his arms tightly wrapped around himself. There is only one thing left on his mind and it is the scene of him holding Kendall at the end of the four months.
Eric hugs himself even tighter as though he is trying to protect himself from something. His body starts to shiver and his eyes burn but there are still no tears coming from them. He is left alone in this room, filled with pain and sadness.
Alone in a dark room with nothing but his thoughts.
He was so messed up that he started shaking. Shaking so much that he was shaking the barrel underneath him. Wait, he wasn't he one that was shaking. Eric looked down at the barrel then down to the floor. It was the ship that was shaking.
The feeling was strange, it didn't feel like how the ship moved before. Before it rocked back and forth slightly as it was spurred forth by the wind and waves. Now it felt like they were in some sort of storm? No, like something had picked the ship up and started shaking it with everyone on board.
Eric slowly stood from his seat and hobbled out of the room to see what was going on. When he arrived outside he first thought his eyes were deceiving him. The wall that he'd heard about earlier should have been massive but it felt like it was sinking down in front of him.
No, the wall wasn't sinking. Eric ran over to the side of the ship and looked down with his eyes wide in awe. The water that the ship once floated on was now far below them as the ship was being carried up by some sort of dark geyser!
That's right! The ship was being lifted to the top of the cliff!