novelraw Chapter 55 : For What We Hold Dear
Chapter 55 : For What We Hold Dear
Mollie got up, rubbing her head as the world was descending into chaos. Crap hit the fan and proceeded to be drizzled everywhere else. Everyone was basically at each other’s throats, and she just wanted to be out of here fast.
It did not help that Masha’s blessing made everything so much louder. Or rather, made her perceive everything on a higher level. It was like having sirens in her ear constantly wailing. She couldn’t even understand half of it, nor did she really care. Everything was so disorientating that the only logical thing was to move away.
But to where? Maybe to the bridge? That seemed empty. Well, she did see the twins head to it for a bit, so maybe not there, they’re trying to get laid so badly and are on some stupid quest to the River that was literally stated to incinerate your soul!
She looked back up to the mountains. Maybe that was the best bet. Mollie sighed and walked away, but noticed something off. Patting her pants down as she realized.
“Wait… Where is my-“ Mollie turned around, looking for her gun, trying to remember where she last left it.
Bang!
A gunshot whistled through the air as Mollie turned to the source, finding two girls she felt like she knew fighting over her pistol.
“Oh come on!” She raced ahead, finding the two girls. They both had brown hair, but one looked more frazzled with messy locks, and the other was taller, with shorter hair, with the additional feature of being grappled and nearly restrained by vines.
“I… won’t let you hurt her!” The one with shorter hair said as she grabbed the gun by the barrel, moving it away from Jane‘s position.
“And I want to go home! Give it to me! Now!” The one with longer hair then pulled the trigger, firing aimlessly through the air.
“Ah! Carey? Uh, yeah, I remember you and you’re Samantha- wait- give me that, it’s mine!”
She pointed at the pistol that was currently firing wildly into the air as both ladies struggled to get a hold of it before running out of bullets, only hearing clicking noises.
“You dumbasses- ugh!” Mollie grabbed the gun and managed to yoink it out of their hands now that they realized it was empty.
She then took out the magazine and revealed she had a new one, causing Carey to nearly lunge at her before Mollie pointed the empty gun at her face, making her back off.
“Whoa there bitch. Jeez, you think this is going to do anything to the walking nuclear bomb over there?” Mollie pointed at Jane once more as the lady literally blasted a massive fire laser through the air.
“It worked when that guy shot her-“
“Oh, you mean when she got shot twice point-blank and just looked like she got a stomach ache? Before she began to burn away Magick contracts that bind people’s existences?! Are you out of your mind?!”
“I-I just want to go home!” Carey’s hand shook as she fell on her knees, sobbing as her tears began to fall on the ground like the rain that, for some reason, started to pour down on the three of them.
Samantha’s mind began to sink amongst the drops; the deaths of the many Choir members sang out to her as she was reminded of her inability to do anything. Her lack of conviction. She was never chosen as someone to hold the Harbingers' flame, and that was because she honestly never could. Ephitet beat it out of her, and she could be nothing more than a wounded dog.
Well, no more! She ripped off the vines as they faded from view and was about to grab the gun when Mollie backed away again.
“What are you doing? I ain’t gonna off the military killer over there!”
“I’m making sure nobody can! That people like her!” She points at Carey. “Won’t ever try it.”
Carey shook, her spirit was slowly laden with the dripping pain of those who had died before. The many explorers and travelers from afar who have sought to escape Galfania but never could, not given the chance she was. She had to take it no matter what!
“Let me go home… I want to see my friends… I just want to be out of here already!”
Mollie, however, could see the madness in their eyes, stepping away, grimacing slightly as her mind was cracked open and memories of those who died alone in the freezing depths. Those who have been devoured by monsters and those who have been burned away by the fires that were starting to consume the world.
Yet, for what it’s worth, she didn’t seem that perturbed. It scared her, yes, gripped her to the core. But, if all roads lead to death here, if no matter what, life simply didn’t matter in the end. There was no reason she should give in for a quick death.
Plus, she was in the afterlife, maybe she can strike a deal to stay here instead. It would be amazing if she could land a gig here, maybe as a gatekeeper too.
“Alright, you crazy bitches, breathe in and out. There’s nothing you could do about the situation we’re in. Why don’t we like, play cards? I actually have a-“
Carey and Samantha lunged at Mollie as she ran as fast as possible, racing away from them and into the safest place she could think of: The Bridge.
‘There’s a guardian here, right? I didn’t do anything wrong! Please don’t judge whatever wrongdoings happened outside of Galfania!’
She quietly prayed, but perhaps it fell on deaf ears as Carey curled her hands together in a vine-like motion, causing Mollie’s body to be wrapped in flora, completely covering her up.
“Alright, you bastards! You want it so badly? Fetch!” With what little force she had left, the Volunteer chucked her pistol into the air and onto the far end of the bridge.
The two other ladies raced straight ahead with no hesitation, nearly climbing over each other, Carey constantly activating her Name to bind Samantha while the latter continued to tackle Carey, both trying to make it to the end of the bridge, but they wouldn’t even make it past the middle.
Before either one of them could curse at each other, a massive three-headed dragon seemingly manifested out of nowhere, standing guard towards the pistol as it stared down at both of the ladies, grinning ear to ear as if it had just found food.
“Now what do we have here?”
Samantha and Carey couldn’t move; their whole bodies were frozen like statues as they could do nothing but stare up at the beast in front of them, unable to even twitch their eyes. Mollie watched in the background, also paralyzed, even though she wasn’t on the bridge, watching the scene unfold with morbid curiosity.
“Welcome back, child of rebellion. It seems your spark has returned. For how long can it burn out?”
One of the heads then circled towards Carey. “A child of scribes, lost and afraid, wanting to go home and desires to do anything for such a goal.”
Then, the third head stared at Mollie, sending fear down her neck as it projected an image in her mind of its neck wrapping around her body as she began to feel herself being constricted even more.
“A child of fortune, who desires thrill and fun, a sweetness in life in her ever tasteless mouth.”
He laughed, taking joy in their terror and fright as he allowed them to finally speak. “Now then, explain what you all have to offer? What joy can you bring me so that I may allow you all your deepest desires?”
Zmey first stared at Carey, as if waiting for her to plead her case.
“I-I.” She got on her knees after the dragon allowed her. “I just want to go home… I don’t want to be here anymore. I’m not someone who belongs here, I-I just needed the money!” She scraped the bridge with her fingers; if it were real, she could have dug them to the bones.
“Everyone started dying… Over and over… It’s not fair, I-I didn’t sign up to eat frozen berries and be attacked by monsters at every corner!” Carey looked up at the dragon as she pleaded, but he didn’t seem all that impressed nor interested.
One of the heads stared at Samantha instead, gesturing for her to take her turn.
“I want to make Ephitet pay, for all they’ve done to me, and to my friends and my family. I don’t care what needs to be done; they’ve been up there in their ivory towers for all too long! They need to be brought down, and whether it’s fire or brimstone, I’ll make sure to rain it down on them with Jane by my side.”
It looked like Carey was about to say something, but Zmey easily silenced her with his presence. He seemed so much more intrigued by Samantha’s answer than he was by Carey's, but his last head reared towards Mollie.
“Uh… I guess, I just want to like… Live? I don’t know, I just came along because I had nowhere else to go. It seemed okay either way. Didn’t expect it to evolve like this. I would prefer not to die, though. Maybe I could stay here then? This place looks peaceful enough.”
Zmey chuckled, laughing a little as all three heads grinned with sheer malice. “A kindred spirit, I see. Well, I, too, absolutely adore entertainment and enjoy seeing how this shall all turn out. In that case, I shall ask thee a question, a riddle.”
The dragon then began to move towards Mollie. “You’ve heard the cries and the bemoanings here, so I grant you your first duty as arbiter. Who shall I throw into the River Smorodina, and who do I spare? But, you have to fulfill their desires while choosing them.”
Samantha and Carey’s eyes would have widened if not for the sheer aura that Zmey exuded upon them, smothering them hard.
“M-Me? I have to-“ Mollie pointed to herself as Zmey’s heads nodded.
She stared at both Samantha and Carey, people whom she had zero clue about, no relationship with, and now she had to decide who would live and die.
“You asked to be a gatekeeper; make your first choice. If you fail to choose… I shall simply dominate you all so wholly that you would become my eternal slaves.”
Mollie stayed silent; if she had sweat glands, she would have been doused already. What was there to do? Who could she pick? Fulfill their desires? But they both want to live? How does that work?
She looked at both Samantha and Carey, weighing both options. The former wanted a revolution, to bring about a new age formed from the ashes of the old. The other just wanted to live.
Wait… If only one wanted to live, then that means the other one…
Mollie turned to Samantha and realized what had to be done next. What needed to be done next?
Jane needed a spark, something to set her off even more. Something to help push her over the edge, something to help her finally burst into flames.
And so she proclaimed. “Samantha… Samantha needs to die.”
Zmey laughed, he guffawed. His heads twisted together as he hummed a happy tune regardless of what was said.
“How wonderful… How sublime… You have chosen correctly. You have chosen wisely.”
He looked at Carey. “Child of scribes, you will be saved, for now at least. After the dust has settled, for now, you shall all watch with me this wonderful inferno that shall blossom right before us.”
And Zmey looked at Samantha, grinning ear to ear. “And you shall be the tinder that shall begin the fire and brimstone you so wish to bring. Rejoice, for your prayers have been granted.”