21. Level Three- He Came in Like a Wrecking Ball
CHAPTER 21
Level Three- He Came in Like a Wrecking Ball
JP
A s I take in my bleak surroundings, I guess the only positive thing I can find is the fact that I can feel Moni.
“Well, I guess this is the next trial,” Knots calls out as his wings bristle within the thick fog.
Oh, and Levi and Knots are alive and well, so that’s another positive. I don’t know where everyone else is at, but we seem to be unharmed, which is a good thing, even though, at times, I wish I could strangle Knots myself. Being so attuned to Rez, I easily pick up her thoughts and understand where she’s coming from, and I wish I could just magic away this whole mess. On the other hand, Knots hasn’t been himself to the point that he’s been letting his shield down, and his thoughts have been projecting like he’s yelling, which isn’t like him at all.
As a man who wants to protect his loved ones, I can see where he’s coming from, but I have to admit, I think he’s in the wrong. And if he’s not careful, the only thing he will get out of this family is a friendly bond while we continue to grow without him. He will sit back and watch from the outside. But until then, he’s still family and one of us. He’s just a very lost and stubborn one of us that will have to do a lot of sucking up if he wants Rez back and to stay on our good sides.
First thing first, we need to find and reunite with our family in this hell hole before that can happen.
“Moni is this way.” I point and start heading in that direction, but Levi grabs my arm, giving me a sharp look.
“How do you know?”
Shrugging off his hold, I purse my lips before pulling my bag back onto my shoulder. “It’s a gift from Dad,” I tell him before flashing him my brand on my forearm. “I can feel her when I activate it. It was the first thing I did when I brushed myself off and realized she wasn’t with us.”
Levi, pleased with my answer, nods and moves out of my way as I take point. Stepping forward, I furrow my brows as I observe the empty field before us. The thick white fog doesn’t allow my vision to penetrate much, but I can vaguely make out shadows in the distance of the leftover plant material over the ground from the last harvest.
“She’s this way,” I call over my shoulder as I step deeper into the fog. Knots and Levi quickly catch up with me as we make our way through the field and into the tall stalks of corn.
“Ahh,” Levi calls out from my left, grabbing for his shoulder.
“What’s wrong,” I shout, turning to face him.
“What are these things?” He glares at the green stalk between us as he checks over his outfit.
Knots starts chuckling on the other side of me. “Corn,” he answers. “Watch out for the leaves. They can be as sharp as knives,” he says, moving easily ahead of me. His wings are nowhere to be seen, which makes sense if he knows what this crap is. He’s obviously dealt with this opponent before.
“Huh. Well, I’m glad I made my outfit thick. It didn’t seem to cut through it,” Levi observes, giving us a nod before indicating we can continue.
“Great, something else to deal with,” I grumble under my breath and turn my body to slowly proceed through the leaves crossing my path. I cook with ingredients, but I’ve never considered their origins. Corn; who knew that it could be this lethal?
We continue on for a few minutes until our path leads us through dead and dry crops, opening into a real-life Halloween scene.
“Did we really walk into Anoka?” I ask, looking around.
“What’s an Anoka?” Levi asks, pulling up short and narrowing his eyes at the tall and imposing figure in front of us.
“Anoka, Minnesota, Levi. It’s one of the top Halloween Towns on Earth. That’s what we’re looking at: a Halloween scene. I think that’s a scarecrow, and those are decorated pumpkins.” I point to the ten-foot creature dressed in all black that stands out in the fog. Its white face blends in with the atmosphere, and the way its smile is painted makes it look like its lips were sewn shut, yet it’s smiling despite the wire. Not even a mother would love that psychotic smile. The weather-worn hat and cowl around its head only add an extra creepy layer to the whole scene.
“I thought scarecrows were supposed to have hands and legs,” Knots tells us as he takes in the scene. He’s right though, we couldn’t see this guy’s arms or legs. Hopefully they are hidden by the fog. I’m not about to go poking to find them, but it is odd that we can see his face and torso but not anything else.
“Yeah, they are supposed to look human. That’s the whole point, to scare off the birds and stuff from the crops,” I reply.
“Yeah, but what crops would Rage be harvesting,” Levi deadpans.
Oh shit. I forgot. We’re in the third level of Hell.
I swallow hard around the lump in my throat and scan the scene in front of me again.
“Hey, were all those pumpkins facing us before?” I ask, noticing that more than a dozen pumpkins’ faces with gruesome eyes, teeth, and decorated blood are now facing us. At least, I hope that’s fake blood.
“Nope,” Levi says, conjuring up his bo staff.
“JP, which way is Moni?” Knots urges, getting us back on track.
Oh yeah, find Moni and the rest of the group. I take a moment to take a deep breath and place my hand over my forearm. “To your right, Knots,” I tell him, taking a step his way. “Let’s get out of here before anything else gets too crazy.”
“Famous last words,” Levi says, and the contents in my stomach drop.
I scan the scarecrow again and narrow my eyes slightly. Did it move? No, that’s impossible. Shaking my head, I turn and focus my thoughts back on Moni before continuing on through the maze. We move swiftly through until we come to another clearing and another scarecrow surrounded by bales of hay.
“We have to go through that,” I tell the others as I stop at the edge of the clearing.
“Well, that’s a little unnerving,” Levi says as he catches up, pointing out the massive black and dark blue birds gathered around with only skulls as heads.
Their dark eye sockets gleam red as they zero in on our location, bringing their dark gray skulls into profile and showcasing a row of three-inch spikes on the back of their skulls that are spattered with blood and ribbons of skin from their victims still adorned to their heads.
“Coraravens. Of course there’s Coraravens here,” Knots groans.
“How bad are they?” I ask, swallowing hard.
“Extremely intelligent and work as a team,” he tells us.
“So, do we need to fight our way through?” Levi asks, glancing down at his watch. “We’ve already spent a good chunk of time getting this far, and we only have two hours left.”
“We might be lucky, given the fresh blood on the hay. They might be full,” Knots points out. And sure enough, looking down at the closest bale of hay, there’s a fresh leg dismembered from a body. It could be anyone’s guess where the rest is, but I don’t think I want to know. How did I not smell that at least?
“Okay. Let’s go,” I say, but it’s Knots who extends his hand.
“I’ll take lead if you don’t mind,” he says, allowing his wings to unfurl and extend out. The birds slightly ruffle their feathers in irrigation but don’t move against us as we move. However, as we get closer to the other side, I can finally see the scarecrow better.
This one is about eight feet tall and actually has limbs. It’s wearing dark brown clothing with straw hanging out of its cuffs, but instead of a leather face with a creepy smile, it has a carved pumpkin and a face that glows. His hands and feet are visible against the thick fog, but for some reason, that doesn’t give me warm feelings at all. Instead, the stalks of corn that are in its hands make me pause, wondering why he would be holding them instead.
“You coming?” Levi asked.
“Yeah,” I say, shaking myself out of my thoughts.
As we move through the cornfield this time, I feel as if things are different. I don’t know how to explain it, but I call for us to stop.
“What’s wrong,” Knots calls and backtracks to me.
“I don’t know how to explain it. Levi, can you make sure no one can hear us?” I ask.
He furrows his eyes but does as I ask, nodding once done.
“I feel like we’re being followed or that we’re not alone here,” I state, shrugging. “I know how crazy this sounds.”
“Don’t ever question yourself, JP,” Knots says, grabbing my shoulder. “You have a warrior’s heart. Trust it and your intuition.”
“Okay.” I nod, not knowing how else to answer. I’ve never thought of myself as a warrior. I’m a lover, not usually a fighter, but knowing that a warrior in his own right sees that part in me makes me proud.
“Are we still going the right way?” Levi asks.
“Yeah, straight ahead.”
“You take point. I’ll watch our back,” Knots says, nodding for Levi to drop his bubble.
As I start walking, I pay attention to my path before us and stop when I see one of the stalks move on its own. Without saying anything, I send some water into the stalk, shaking it until an ear of corn falls to the ground with a small scream. My jaw drops as four more wilted ears pop off the dry stalk and shakily stand up on legs that are made up of the dry husk. They push back their dried and dark silk as if it is hair and peel back the husks that make up their arms, exposing their kernels as they brush the dirt off of them.
“I’m not the only one seeing this, am I?” Knots asks as he comes up close behind me.
“Nope.”
“They're kinda cute,” Levi admits, and that’s when they look up and finally notice us.
Their wide eyes are part of their kernel body, and they stare a moment before they narrow, opening their mouths and exposing a forked tongue with a hiss. They jump and turn to face us, taking a wide stance as their kernels expand, showing a thin but deadly glint in the middle of each one.
Are those spikes?
Hundreds of spiked kernels face us as if the corn on the cob knobs were armed to the teeth.
“Um, still think they are cute?” I ask Levi.
Before he can answer, the stalks around us begin to shake as ears of corn fall off and land around us. Tiny legs pop out of the husk as they stand and peel back their leaves, exposing their shiny spikes. One by one, cruel expressions appear along their bodies as they face us.
“Now, this might be a problem. They’re Poppa-Corns,” Knots says as I quickly assess our options, which aren’t many.
“Quick, get together,” I say quickly, thinking back to the time I used my hollow bubble during the attack at the Hub. “Stay close,” I shout quickly as I tap into my magic.
In the blink of an eye, I create a massive water bubble and hollow out the inside so we can stay dry and breathe. My powers seem to come faster and more precisely since my time with L.A.M.B., and it shows. Just with a thought, the water all around us begins to move in different directions, adding extra protection as the corn running toward us triggers us to move.
“Let’s go. Moni is this way,” I raised my voice over the roar.
Leading the way, we move as one swift entity. Swerve left, move right, and run over the Poppa-Corns standing in our way. It’s a fucking warzone out here.
“Watch out,” Knots yells as we dodge left from some dark shadows coming toward us from our right.
Soon enough, we leave the fray, our legs outrunning those of the children of the corn, and we come to another clearing, but this one is empty.
I slowly let my magic dissipate as we come to the center and look around. Even though I’ve gained more strength and control over my powers, I’m still not great with the new tattoo and need to concentrate more on trying to find Moni.
“Well, this one is at least empty,” Knots says, looking around.
“I’m not sure how fast those little buggers can move, but I’m sure we are ahead of them. I don’t like the idea of being surrounded. That was good thinking on your part, JP.” Levi nods with a smile.
I respond with a “thanks” and quickly place my hand on my arm again to try to zone in on my little sis. My brows furrow in confusion.
“What’s wrong?” Knots asks, coming over and looking down at my arm as if he can see the problem written out in place sight.
“I…I can’t pinpoint her now,” I awkwardly announce.
“What do you mean?” Levi demands, joining us.
I shake my head and step back, shaking out my arms to see if maybe it’s just me and I’m overwhelmed. I close my eyes, and I pick up her signature, but it quickly zips off to the left and then to the right.
“It’s as if she’s a compass, and the needle is being fucked with,” I explain. I open my eyes and shrug. “I’m sorry. I get the general direction, but I can’t pinpoint her exact location right now.”
“Okay, that’s fine. What’s her general direction?” Levi asks.
I turn to point, but before I can lift my arm, Knots yells, “Ambush!” and pushes me to the ground.
Embedded in the ground where I stood now is a reaper’s sickle that would have taken my head if not for Knots. Holding the deadly weapon is the first scarecrow with the creepy leather face that we passed. Well, it definitely has limbs now.
What the fuck?
The fog around us quickly grows darker as black shadows quickly pass overhead, and the piercing shrieks alert me that it isn’t fast-closing clouds but Coraravens that are above us. I roll out of the way, shooting up to my feet, and automatically pull my magic to me, forming arrows.
Knots’ sword collides with the sickle as the scarecrow faces off with him, and I hastily back up to give him room. I almost lose my balance as I step on something, and turning to look, I feel my blood drain from my face as I comprehend the busted pumpkin at my feet. But that’s not the worst part. Further away and fast approaching are the Poppa-Corns, but they aren’t alone. Glowing eyes and gruesome, daunting broad smiles converge through the fog as the pumpkins from the other patch join in.
“Levi?” I call out.
“I see them,” he says, as I feel him step beside me. He pulls his staff out of his long jacket like a badass, and a flutter rolls through my stomach.
Nope. You love Zeke, not Levi…just Zeke and Rez. I still take another appreciative look at him in his corset outfit and smirk. But I can appreciate a good-looking man. Hmm, maybe I can pull off the corset look.
Levi’s staff flies up in front of me, pulling me out of my thoughts as it rams into a Coraraven and dives down. Ugh. Head in the game, JP!
I pull back my arm and send arrows flying into the attacking Coraraven and the three behind it. A hair-raising scream pierces the air as the scarecrow with the pumpkin head launches into the air and runs at us with his hands spinning what looks like corn-husk nunchucks. Before I can react, Levi slides in front of me and engages him with his staff, taking on the enemy as if it’s child’s play.
A glint through the fog catches my eye, and I quickly throw up a wall of water before a spike and small fireball speeding my way is efficiently doused. Shit, we’re outmatched.
I send an arrow into each scarecrow to help Knots and Levi when I hear a rustling behind me and turn. A creature walks out of the stalks and stops before me, spreading its leathery wings wide. This definitely isn’t a scarecrow. His body is humanoid, with defined muscles and scars ranging from old to new. Part of his face is missing skin, whereas the other half looks as if he has too much, and it drips off of him. His hands are claws, and his bottom half is part animal, as though I’m looking at a partially shifted werewolf. Behind him are more pumpkin and Poppa-Corn minions.
“Fuck,” I let out under my breath.
Boom!
My jaw drops as my brain tries to catch up to what it’s witnessing. The giant I was just sizing up flies to the left along with his minions and slides a good few feet as I stand in place, wondering what just happened until I hear the best sound in the world.
“ He came in like a wrecking ball! ” Moni sings at the top of her lungs. I look over to my right, and there, on top of a rhino, is my little sister singing her heart out and sending booms out into the fray like a primadonna.
“To the left, Chesty. Full speed ahead!” she yells, sending out a boom into the corn and knocking away some pumpkins as the rhino barrels into the scarecrow that Knots is fighting.