RACHAEL AND THE BEAST OF THE MOUNTAINS
Amanda reaches the shores at Green Harbour as the first light of day breaks but she meets no ships except one. An old looking ship with a single person on it. He is tall and has a black cloak over his body revealing only thin and dark looking hands and his bald head.
The ship is quite big and made of wood with hints of papyrus here and there. the Harbor is empty and Amanda has no other options if she wants a ride to Mount Nagas.
She flies to the ship and lands aboard that is when she notice that the ferryman of the ship has a two-faced head. His eyes are dark and his face looks hard like they were made of rocks.
"Amunet, daughter of Ra. What is it you seek on the Mesektet?" the ferryman says and Amanda sighs, "Damn it. Of all the ships to land on it had to be the Mesektet," she mumbles.
Her eyes turn blue and she sees souls on the ship, "Of course. I need a ride to the Acheron. Since you are here that must mean you are going that way anyway," she says.
"Hmm," he nods, "Will your friends be joining us?" he asks and she raises a brow, "How did you...?" she pauses.
"Did my father send you?" "He sent me to carry the dead but since you are here I can only assume it is the will of Ra," the ferryman says.
Amanda claps her hands together and looks to the sun as it begins the morning ride, "Thank you father," she mumbles.
"I depart from these shores, now" the ferryman says and immediately the ship begins to move. Amanda sits on the deck and let's her mind wander like a wireless network, roaming the seas with hope to connect to another like her, "Samuel you better be back before we reach Mount Nagas," she says.
Rachael screams as she falls into the darkness, waving her hands frantically as the wind blows her air up and the foul stench of the mountains fill her lungs with their terrible air.
She feels a gust of wind blow her way at a different trajectory as she makes out the movement of the huge tentacle swinging through the air for its screaming meal.
Rachael covers her mouth instinctively but her heart still beats as she sees no grounds and even if she does, she will most likely die from the fall.
She slams into something thick and squishy, coughing and rolling against the slimy surface until she sticks to it. The smell is unimaginable but disgusting, she coughs against the squishy floor and the breeze becomes heavier as the floor moves with great pace.
Hairs about three centimeters long shoots out from the floor, pricking her painfully but also holding her against it as it moves toward the darker parts of the mountain.
Rachael observes the moving floor and realizes she is on the tentacle of the beast of the mountain, her heart races even faster and the pain she feels in her chest increases.
The tentacle slithers inside the mountains filled with heavier gases that makes the woman's chest even heavier as she coughs and she feels blood trickle down her nose.
"Is this how I die? No, not like this in this disgusting place," Rachael thinks.
She forces herself to roll on the slimy floor of the tentacle, wetting her clothes with the slimy ooze and pricking the exposed parts of her skin even more.
She hears a little shriek and sees the tip of the tentacle roll over the body, the tip opens up like a satellite and a pointy white spike comes out of it. The spike is pointed her way and it launches with speed.
Her breath is shaky and her body shivers; her hair stands and sweat fills her slimy face but the adrenaline coursing through her body is stronger than the fear that screams within her heart. She wants to scream for help but she knows she is the only one here.
No one can save her and no one will.
She uses all the might her thin muscles can muster and push herself off the tentacle, allowing the spiky tip to miss its target and pierce itself. A strange and loud shriek comes from within the mountain as the tentacle wriggles and hits the walls left and right.
The tentacle dances around, destroying the walls before swiftly slithering deep within the mountain.
Rachael tries her best to be silent as debris hit her back and her legs until the tentacle disappears into the dark. She lies still for a few minutes to allow her situation to sink in.
She is still close to danger and there is no assurance of any escape but she was born a McQueen, a family of fighters. A family who faced the supernatural till the end and she will not cower in the face of danger.
She has no options but she chooses not to die here. Life always throw situations that look impossible but one must not give up, as there is no assurance of success there is no assurance of failure. All she can do is try to survive her dreadful situation.
She begins to crawl, slowly and gently to not arouse the interest of whatever beast lies in wait for her mistake. The gases get to her and dizziness becomes her companion. Her head begins to hurt and blood trickle down her nose and into her mouth.
Her hair becomes sticky and glued together due to the slime from the tentacle and her skin have reddish spots and her nails her black with dirt. She crawls faster as the gases seem to get heavier in her lungs.
Pain accompanies her in her broken rib and insanity soon follows as she hears a strange voice, "Where are you?" it says. It is husky and quiet like a whisper.
It hisses and fills her ear, "I will get you for what you have done, human" it says.
"Death is coming for you. I can feel it," she hears and an eerie tingling runs through her spine. She feels a little weight on her back and her thighs but keeps going.
She stops to rest for a bit as breathing becomes torturous, "That is right. Rest, I will help you" the voice says and the sound of hisses begin to fill the dark.
Minuscule movement of debris follows and the weight on her back becomes heavier, like she is pulling some extra baggage along. Rachael blinks slowly as her eyes threaten to fall into a deep sleep.
"No, Rachael. Don't die. It will be alright," a gentle and familiar voices says, she recognizes it, "Samuel," she mumbles, "Don't die baby girl. You can do it," she hears her father's voice say.
"You can't do it. Rest, I will come for you," the husky voice says. Rachael slams her hand against the ground and grits her teeth but she smashes something, she looks closely and see the shattered body of an eight-legged creature.
She looks down at the rest of her body on the floor and finds the strength to kick and swing her hands as she finds herself surrounded by spiders. She stands and begins to throw them off her body but they fight back with bites that make her groan in pain.
She coughs and screams at every bite she feels like a nail as been hammered into her body.
"There you are," she hears the voice again followed by a slithering sound.
"The creature is coming again," she thinks and begins to run towards the exit of the cave, taking some spiders with her.
She coughs and spits blood as she runs through the darkness with a tiny speck of light at the exit. The slithering movement of the tentacle gets louder as it chases her through the dark, it is huge and fast but she had a head start and still has distance between them.
She runs and takes a quick glance behind her to see the spiky end of the tentacle close behind her and gaining, fear grips her and she doesn't notice when she reaches the end of the cave.
The tentacle stabs but misses it's mark as it stabs the air while Rachael falls into the darkness beneath and continues a fall to unknown ends.
She looks down and a blue light flashes just as her body hits the flowing stream at the bottom of the mountains.