Taber looked on helplessly, watching the truck continue to push Ivy back toward the pile of shards of metal. He looked over to where Kaly had been moments ago. 'Where'd she go?'
Bang!
Another shot rang out.
Taber grunted. He managed to block most of the shotgun pellets with his sword.
Boom!
Another blast.
This wasn't aimed at him, but at the blur of energy that was Kaly as she ran along the wall of the cave.
Taber whirled back around, sprinting to the driver's side window.
Inside, the creature bared its fangs at him, screaming something unintelligible.
He hauled back, putting his sword through the window and into its face.
The truck instantly shut off, and stood still.
Ivy's knees shook as she stood, catching her breath.
Kaly walked over to the two of them. Blood covered both her arms, making her look like she was wearing a red long-sleeved shirt. She leaned against the truck, "Well, they're all dead…now what?"
Taber looked around the cave system, spotting a small, but illuminated crevice abut ten feet up the wall.
Ivy followed his gaze. "Oh, I can't fit through there." She said instantly, shaking her head.
Kaly looked over at Ivy. Even in the dim light, her frame was massive—in the weeks being here, she had put on at least eight pounds of muscle, while Kaly, along with most others, had found themselves shredding weight rapidly, and leaning out.
"Let's see," Taber grunted as he scaled the cave wall. His energy gathered around his hands, as his fingers stabbed into the smooth stone. Peering inside the crevice, it lead to another small chamber, with in alter inside, and atop that alter was the three-eyed skull. "I found it," he let go of the side, sliding down the wall back to the bottom. "It's just right in there, but I definitely can't fit, though."
Ivy and Taber both looked at Kaly.
Kaly sighed, "Is it dirty in there?"
"About as dirty as out here."
"Ugh," Kaly took a step back, and with a sprinting jump, snagged the bottom of the crevice, hoisting herself inside.
Shimmying through the crevice, she dropped into the small cavern. Instantly, she felt a strong but constricting energy surround her.
Kaly expanded her aura defensively, trying to find whose energy she was feeling.
Both Ivy and Taber perked up, sensing Kaly's energy flare.
"Hey, Kaly!" Ivy called up, but heard no response.
Kaly felt a massive pressure building in her skull. Wincing, she sprinted forward, ripping the skull from the altar, and jumping back toward the crevice.
"Oh no," Ivy said, as she began to climb the side of the wall.
Just then, Kaly wiggled free of the crevice, flipping through the air, to land on her feet, holing the skull, under her arm. Looking back at Ivy, she held it up, moving its jaw as she spoke, "Tah-dah!"
As the three maneuvered down the side of the volcano, Taber walked behind the two, and couldn't help but notice Kaly's and Ivy's hands were back to being clasped together. "We don't have to sneak around to avoid those things anymore," he chuckled, "You don't need to keep holding hands."
Ivy looked down at their grasp, "Oh, I guess you're right."
"Yeah," Kaly said.
They still kept walking, hand-in-hand.
"Oh, look at that!" Ivy pointed down into the forest below. Three bright orbs of light moved quickly, hopping from tree to tree. "They're using energy. I bet they're from Scathach's training as well."
The three of them arrived back at the village temple at the crack of dawn.
"Alright!" Taber said, his voice echoing off the walls, "Old man!" he called out. "We took care of your issue and also brought your skull."
"I don't think he's here," Kaly walked over to the bath at the foot of the statue of Poseidon, sitting on its edge. "Ivy, how long have we been up?" she yawned. "It's gonna feel so good when we finally get back to that island and-"
"WEEEEEEEE!" The village elder exploded from the bath, jumping several yards in the air.
"What the-" Kaly jumped up, drenched from the salty bathwater.
His wet feet slapped against the stone floor as he briskly walked across it, grabbing his blue robe.
"Hey, old man," Taber started. "What the heck was with those animals?"
"What do you mean?" The elder asked slyly.
"Well, in their cave…it was just weird. It was like a junk yard in there."
"Yeah, those things are basically a packrat behavior wise."
"There was other things. I don't know how to describe it, but they were able to do things and use things they shouldn't."
"Ah." The elder smiled knowingly.
"They were able to use broken guns, and were able to drive a car that didn't even have an engine."
"Imagination."
"What?"
"Their imagination is so, so strong. If they get into a car, and think that it will work, it will. The guns they use won't have ammo or other parts and still function. They imagine it works, and it does."
The group exchanged looks.
"What are they?" Kaly asked, now curious.
The elder walked over to a ceramic tea set, pouring himself a glass, "That's the tricky part. I can't call them humans, nor can I really call them a 'beast' or animal. But the myth is that many generations ago, there was a powerful, wealthy family. Though they weren't political, or royalty, they had a lot of societal pull.
One day, during a bi-monthly family event of a luxurious feast, a 'god' came to their door disguised as a starving beggar. Despite being in a world of plenty, they could not spare a scrap of food for the homeless boy at their mercy. A curse befelled them that night, turning their bloodline into…that." He took a sip. "As a kid, I would feel really bad for them… My mom would say, 'Don't cry over those nefleem. They won't cry over you.' I guess she was right… Mothers usually are," he chuckled.
The group returned back to the Isle of Skye, giving the skull to Scathach, who nodded, impressed.
The other trainees slowly trickled back over the next day, with two groups not coming back at all, leaving the group total to eighteen.
One morning, Scathach announced to the group that their time together was going to reach its end soon. "This will be your last night here. The remaining days of this training will be on another nearby island." She handed out envelopes and paper for them to write letters back to whoever they wanted to contact.
Kaly, not having anyone to write to, sat and watched Ivy. Ivy had a big grin as she wrote, scribbling pictures and diagrams. Before Kaly could see what she wrote, Ivy quickly sealed the envelope, writing 'Tobi' on the front, and handed it back to Scathach, who said she would have all the letters sent before they left.
The next morning, everyone piled on a floating wooden ark, which took them several hours to arrive at a new island.
On the way there, Kaly stared out one of the hull windows. "Yo, Ivy come here!" She waved her over. "Look down there," she said, when Ivy was next to her. "What is that?"
Deep under the water, bioluminescent coral illuminated the sea world, looking like a city at night.
"It's coral, I think."
"Coral," Kaly repeated, as if it were the first time she had ever heard the word. Her hands pressed against the glass, as her eyes had an enamored gleam…though Ivy was more interested in her than the coral below.
"You've never seen coral before?"
"No." Kaly shook her head. "Where I'm from, it either doesn't exist, or is rare. I mean, oceans like this are pretty sparse. The ones that are there are massive, almost unending, and most of the peasants build their villages around them…They don't like me at all though."
"Why?"
Kaly looked at Ivy, debating herself if she should tell her. She looked Ivy in the eyes, saying, "They say I'm a serial killer."
"Woah! That's so cool!"
Kali gave Ivy a strange look, one of interest mixed with surprise, then she burst out laughing. "Okay, that caught me off guard. I was not expecting you to say that. I'm honestly surprised that you believe me."
"Why wouldn't I?"
"I don't know. I've told a few other people, but they just didn't believe me, I guess." She said as she sat on the windowsill and looked back out at the water. "I dunno man, I really thought that this was going to be more difficult ya know? It was hyped up to be the 'hardest most treacherous few months that anyone will ever endure!' I just expected a little more."
Ivy sat next to her, "Well, this is one of the funnest things I've ever done. You must do extreme stuff a lot then? You must live a really exciting life!"
"Not at all. Most of the time I just sit around bored, no one to really talk to or hang out with…That's usually when I would…be rough with the local peasants. They're a lot like you humans who don't have energy. You barely touch them and they die…" She said that last sentence with a slight smile.