Future Warnings from Midnight

Chapter Twelve: A Monster

She stared at her reflection as she held the soul of the handmaiden. Her eyes narrow as she knew what would come next. Shannon studied her darken circles under eyes as she moved her lips to recite the enchantment from the Unknown. Her eyes closed in a newly found fear. There was a darkness was eating her up. But Shannon knew it was with cost to live. She was well beyond the point of return. The young witch turned away from her reflection. The warm of the soul radiated between her fingers. The body of the handmaiden laid in a small sphere in her pocket. It was to be the vassal of the Unknown. On one hand, it was ready. The soul on the other hand... Shannon twirled her fingers around its life force. The young witch held out the vial of the essence of the Unknown. As she poured the black liquid taint onto the brightly glowing soul. It tried to fight back the darkness. Shannon raised her voice.

"I want to live. Is it so bad I want to live?" Shannon whispered to victim, "Would you understand my struggles? I have been dying to escape my fate. And now... My only way to fight back is to do this. My time is growing shorter and shorter... Would you really blame me for wanting to unite Dreams with Reality?"

The soul wormed about in her hands. Shannon narrowed her eyes and sighed, "I am only a human spellcaster. I am doomed with a very short lifespan. Would it be so terrible if I continued to live? I would be helping more people with things, if I had more time. Could you even understand what good I could do?"

"Fred! Sophia! Gin!" Edgar stumbled about the strange world, "Where are you?"

The young duke swallowed in the dark and empty place. It was far from friendly. The place he existed in was without substance and meaning. Everything felt everywhere and nowhere. It only started to take form once he thought about the forest. The last solid moments of alertness were his saving grace. Or so he thought. The forest seemed to pop back into place. The meeting ground was empty still. There was no sign of Fred, Sophia, or Gin. Edgar paused as he reflected on the eerily thoughts of all the cobwebs that had been about. He heard the rustling of the leaves above from the forest. Edgar spun about as he spotted the sliver threads of webs. He shuttered as he felt one on his hand. Jumping, the young duke scrambled about as he heard louder scuffling from along the webs and leaves.

"Stand back!" Edgar shouted as a large spider crept forward. The young duke fell back in fear. Here in the starless night and odd woods. It was not natural. He froze in fear. Yet as his eyes wildly went about the space as the giant spider moved forward.

"FRED! SOPHIA! GIN!"

No one answer.

"FREEEDDD!"

Silence.

"Guys!!" Edgar managed to shout as his voice cracked. He shivered with terror, "Someone help!"

Edgar crawled backwards. His terror won over his eye for detail. The young duke found his feet once more as dashed away. He heard the unsettling rustling of thousands more coming. As Edgar a deep wish for an escape and safety he ran straight into a door. A plain old wooden door sitting in the middle of the strange forest. The young duke panicked as the thousands of restless feet and legs approached him. He reached out his hand and pulled open the door.

He ran into the doorway without much more thought. Edgar quickly pushed himself against the door and searched for a lock, if only to buy himself time. His fingers fumbled around a lock. He bolted it shut as the spiders charge in. Edgar pushed himself against the door as it pounded shut. The restlessness of the spiders remained. A terrible sound of scratching and hissing came from the other side. Edgar jumped away from the door. As he backed up, Edgar stumbled into a pile of books and baskets. The duke screeched in fear as he swathed away the items. He panicked as he scanned the new room. The doorway back to the dark forest seemed to melt away into the darkness of this place.