The string of the balloon gently wrapped around Synthia's arm, not
threateningly, but more like a gentle embrace. The jester's smile
grew wider, as he gave a twirl. He then held out a hand to her. He
helped her to her feet, keeping her hand in his. The jester smiled
again, and cleared his throat. A deep, smooth, almost hypnotic
voice poured forth, as he began to sing
Hide your tears, but I can see...
He looked at Synthia expectantly. He wanted her to sing with him.
She hesitated for only a moment before softly singing,
They don't care, they don't care, they don't even care at
all.
Aroura took off, keeping up with Evander as best as she could. She
used the wind to give her an extra boost of speed.
"They couldn't have gotten far!" Aroura puffed, breathing heavily.
She prayed the entire time that Synthia was alright.
He heard the singing and followed the sound, forgetting about the
others for a moment. They'll have enough sense to follow me,
he thought. Zack emerged in the field and spotted two people.
One obviously appears to be a jester, but who's the other
person?
Aroura watched Zack hone in on something. "Evander, I think he
found something."
She started off after Zack.
"Synthia!" Aroura yelled, relieved to have found her. She raced
forward to hug Synthia.
Synthia screeched at Aroura. She had been trying to say, "Stay
back, I might hurt you!" But it came out sounding like metal
scraping against metal. She involuntarely swiped at her, barely
missing, causing Aroura to jump back. Synthia moaned mournfully.
The balloon still bobbed at the end of its string, making for an
almost comical sight. But the sadness in Synthia's red eyes
destroyed any humor. She inched back a few steps. The jester
frowned, stepping protectively in front of her. He sang again.
Living in a constant grating agony
Synthia whispered her part
So why try, So why try, I just always feel so
small...
Evander stared at his sister. What had happened to her? She had
become fully demonic. Her mouth and hands were still caked with
blood. Her lamenting moans broke his heart to hear. He couldn't
bear to see his baby sister in so much pain. The mouths on her legs
and throat snapped, ozzeing what looked like blood. When the jester
stepped in front of Synthia, at first he felt more angry than he
had ever felt before. Then calming slightly he felt a little
greatfull that the man was trying to protect her. But something
didn't sit right. He felt like he new the man from somewhere.
"Synthia, please, Honey, it's okay. Please, I have to know you're
alright! I don't care if you hurt me! It won't be your fault, it'd
be mine. I was so worried! Can I please give you a hug?" Aroura
asked, tears welling up in her eyes. She couldn't stand to see
Synthia this hurt. "Honey, remember what I told you? You're not a
monster! Monster's do terrible things and feel nothing but sick
joy. You couldn't feel like that even if you tried."
Zack was practically frozen to the spot. Not only was the sight of
Synthia shocking, but the Jester was pretty random. Finally,
muttering something to himself he spoke up.
"So, who's that Jester looking guy?" he spoke up, approaching
Aroura and Synthia, beginning to disregard her appearance.
The jester glared at the three of them. Evander felt a sharp pain
on his arm. Looking down he saw that it looked as though it had
been rubbed raw with sand paper. The jester spoke. "Just go away.
Candy Pop will save the day." Candy Pop? Why did that sound so
familier? The sun was just beginning to peek over the tall trees
surrounding the clearing.
"I don't know what that means," Aroura said, looking to Evander,
hoping he knew. "Please, honey, can I help you? I only care about
what's best for you."
Synthia made a small whimper, hiding behind Candy Pop. Why wouldn't
they just go away. She was nothing but a vicious animal. She just
wanted them to leave, before they got hurt. Candy Pop spoke again.
"This child of fear will find her rest, and you shan't keep me from
my quest. To her father I shall take her, to my lord, savior,
creator." The sun just touched the top of his hat
Evander clenched his fists. "You're not taking her anywhere you
technicolored freak!" He suddenly remembered why Candy Pop sounded
so familier. The sun crept farther down him. "Quick! Keep him out
of the sunlight!" He shouted, but it was to late. The sun cast a
shadow of the man on the ground. The black shape grinned, eyes
glowing red. A massive shadowy hand burst forth from the ground,
and swiped at them.
Zachary paled, managing to deflect the shadow though it caught him
by the leg before he managed it.
"Didn't expect that, did'ja?" he asked, laughing lightly to
himself. A few ghost faded into focus of the others, curious of the
events.
"Ey Zack, what's going on?" they asked.
"No idea, honestly," he replied.
Aroura went into an instinctual mode. She jumped forward and
knocked Synthia out of harms way. Standing up, she hugged Synthia
before she could ran. "Honey, I'm so sorry. Please, I want to help.
You know I only want to help you, hun."
Looking back at Candy Pop, she snarled, "Touch her again, and I
swear I'm going to cut your fingers off so you can't do it again."
Usually he didn't manage something like that. Not surprisingly, he
blacked out a few moments later. Using his power over shadows was
too much usually had negative effects towards him. The spirits
clustered around him, glancing from him to the others and back.
"Well, we should probably do something," one of them said, though
the others just shrugged cluelessly.
Synthia felt the hunger again, and pushed away from Aroura, running
back to Candy Pop. Her eyes had turned black again. She turned back
to Aroura, and roared at her, hoping to keep her away. 'Feed, feed,
we must feed, feed us, we must feed.' Her mind cried to her. Candy
Pop placed a hand on her shoulder. The shadowy hand engulfed them,
before shrinking to a small sphere. The black faded away, leaving
only a small jingle bell.
"I-I don't know!" Evander couldn't think, couldn't breathe. His
sister had been turned into a demon, killed his friend, and been
kidnapped by a mad jester. How was he supposed to do anything?
Stop. Calm down. You are Dr Locklear. A calm cold hearted killer.
You do not break under pressure. Take a breath. Now move. Evander
walked over to Zach, checking his vital signs. Unconscious, but
other wise unhurt. Good. "Aroura, help me make a stretcher so we
can move him. When we get back we'll ask Slender what to do."
They quickly put together a makeshift stretcher out of branches.
Evander used his microbes as rope, binding the branches together.
He picked up the small bell, dropping it into his pocket. "Lets get
going." He said as they lifted the stretcher. A few minutes later,
they were back at the mansion. They were met by Toby and Hoody.
"We'll take Zach to the infirmary, Slender wants to talk to you."