《Born Immortal》Born Immortal Chapter 28
Advertisement
Randy sat on his haunches in the thick undergrowth of the forest at the river's edge staring across the water at the balcony of the large house on the opposite bank. It was his favorite place to be and he often found himself back here with no clear memory of how he had gotten here. He had spent most of the mild winter just running in the woods all along the long river, hunting for small animals whenever he thought of it or scrounging food from any conveniently unsecured garbage can if he was desperately hungry.
He no longer cared what anyone would think of him; the only person whose opinion had mattered to him, he had been forced to betray. Astyr was as lost to him as his own self-respect.
Yet he would find himself back here watching her from afar as she went about her daily activities, safe from discovery as he crouched behind the bushes and saplings that crowded the forest floor; unable to stay away from her.
The first couple of months that he had lived as a wolf since the night of the Homecoming dance had been mind-numbingly wild for him, completely devoid of care or responsibility or thought. He had run as far as he could for as long as he could with no concern for himself or his surroundings, simply following the path of the river as it snaked its way north through the rough landscape. He had come to find himself in a near-death state at the edge of the great boggy swamp that fed the mighty river. His fur was matted, snarled with twigs, and had lost its sheen while his skin hung loosely over the now-prominent bones of his body.
He had barely had the energy to keep himself alive; a normal wolf would have been dead long before, but Randy had laid down in the sun and the small amount of energy he had absorbed from that had helped him survive to find a meal.
What had really kept him going, though, was the discovery of a familiar scent.
Randy had been roaming for so long that he had lost track of how long it had been when he smelled a scent crossing his path that raised his hackles and turned his stomach.
Lucky.
Randy didn't know where he was at the time but he knew that his great-grandfather wouldn't be anywhere nearby unless he was planning to make trouble for someone; and Randy knew all too well who Lucky's target was at the moment.
He put his nose to the ground and after figuring out which direction had the fresher trail, followed it for over two weeks until he found himself at a crumbling old house in the middle of nowhere. There were no lights and the place was clearly uninhabited but Randy sat down and waited patiently to see what was going on.
After an hour or so, Lucky came out of the decrepit structure and moved off into the forest without looking back or checking the area. When Randy was sure that he was gone for good, he crept in to see what had brought the evil old man way out here.
Advertisement
The inside of the house was empty except for a thick smell of decay and mold that clung tightly to the ancient beams like a protective barrier. Randy spent a few minutes in the entryway trying to see what Lucky had been doing when he noticed that the dust on the floor had a clear path trampled through it. It wasn't just one set of footprints, it looked like a couple of different people had walked through here on a regular basis so Randy wasn't too worried about leaving his footprints behind. He followed the path through the house until it ended abruptly against a wall in the deserted kitchen.
Randy could smell that the scent of the people who had walked through the house continued past the flimsy barrier that was covered in peeling, faded paint, but he had no idea how to move the wall without leaving evidence behind. He carefully checked the footprints in the dust but there were none that went off the clearly defined path so he put his nose to the wall and started checking to see where Lucky had put his hands.
As he reared up on his hind legs and pressed his front paws against the wall for support, the wood panel in front of him moved inward and Randy almost fell on his face before he caught his balance and landed hard on the top stair of the dark, wooden staircase that led down from the empty kitchen.
He was much better adapted for seeing in the dark than regular canines so he cautiously made his way down, stopping at every step to reassess the situation and to try and gather clues to his surroundings from the smells around him.
The smells were mostly just the earthy scent of long-used underground passages mixed with the sickening odor of Lucky and the slightly faded scent of an unknown person who had been carrying some kind of meaty food. Randy inhaled deeply to try and learn more about the mysterious other person; the faint trace of ozone that he detected told him that it wasn't a human, probably an Aesir or Vanir judging by the potency of it, but it had been a few days since the smell had been refreshed so it was hard to tell for sure.
When Randy finally got to the end of the steps, he was surprised to find stone beneath his paw instead of the dirt that he had expected. He stood still and let his senses adjust to the dark surroundings, but it was too dark for even his abnormally strong vision to be of much use. He allowed his sense of smell to take over and lead him to the path that his great-grandfather had taken.
He moved slowly, step by step, pausing to check for danger or changes in the space around him before going any further to the unknowable end. It took him almost half an hour to move twenty paces across the pitch-black chamber before he sensed something different.
There was more stone in front of his face. He wouldn't have known about it if it weren't for the scent of Lucky's hand close by to the right. He slowed his already glacial pace and carefully investigated.
Advertisement
The stone right in front of him was smooth and he pressed his nose up against it and moved slowly towards the scent. After a foot or so, he felt a ridge that ran up and down. He could still smell Lucky's scent further away so he carefully nosed his way over the ridge and moved to the place that the old man had touched. When he got to the place where the smell was the strongest, he encountered a small square of plastic that had a strong tang of electricity behind it. Randy almost barked out a laugh when he realized it was a light switch but he knew Lucky well enough to know that he could still be in serious danger.
He checked to make sure that there were no sounds or scents nearby before using his nose to flip the switch up.
A weak, orange glow filled the space and Randy closed his eyes from the sudden glare. He reopened them slowly and took in the sight of the small room that he had just crossed. The passage from the wooden stairs to the wall with the light switch was only about a yard across and seemed to have been carved from the thick bedrock beneath the rickety house. The vertical ridge in the wall was actually the frame of a heavy-looking stone door that had a thick metal flap at the bottom that was locked with a big, shiny padlock and a small square window set just above center that was covered with a thick metal mesh.
Randy jumped up on his hind legs to peer through the window and had to stare for several minutes to let his vision adjust to the murky darkness beyond the door. The faint glow that seeped into the small chamber barely penetrated deeply enough to show the edges of the room but Randy could just make out against the opposite wall a bare stone shelf cut into the rock that had a skeletally thin old woman on it.
She was dressed in a ragged shift that was a dingy gray color that matched her long, unkempt hair. It was laying in thick, matted clumps around her head as she lay facing the opposite wall, seemingly not caring about the light coming into her small room. Randy gave a small whine and the woman slowly turned in surprise to the door.
As soon as Randy saw her face, with its large silver eyes, he knew without a doubt who he was looking at. He dropped to the ground in shock and started barking loudly in alarm while trying futilely to claw his way through the stone door.
"Shhh!" The frail lady on the other side hissed weakly at him. "You don't want them to catch you here."
Randy immediately obeyed and stopped making noise. He stood still and listened carefully to make sure there were no sounds coming.
Randy was at a disadvantage because he didn't have enough energy left to change back to human form so he definitely didn't want to be caught by Lucky or anyone else down here.
He turned back to the door and jumped up to press his muzzle against the mesh covering the small window, perhaps the woman would understand that he could only offer her this small comfort.
She gave a small, raspy laugh at the sight of the large wolf behaving like a family pet.
"It's okay, boy." She said to him quietly. "There isn't anything you can do for me. It makes me so glad to see a friendly face after all these years, but you have to get out of here. Do you understand me?"
Randy gave a low whine. The last thing he wanted to do was leave her here in this lonely dungeon to be forgotten about, but she was right.
"Don't come back again." She ordered firmly. "They'll smell your scent and get mad. If you want to protect me, get as far away as you can and stay there."
He whined in sadness but he knew he would obey. The last thing he wanted was to make her life any worse than it already was. He stuck his tongue out and tried to lick her fingers that were gripping the metal mesh in a gesture of comfort and farewell before turning and nosing the light switch off and making his way up to the kitchen and out of the crumbling old house that hid the painful secret of her imprisonment.
After that, he had traveled in a long and winding arc back to where he knew Astyr was living.
He watched her in secret as she worked with the others to learn about her powers and perfect her fighting skills. He got a thrill every time he saw her pale blonde hair flash on the balcony and he felt giddy whenever he saw her beat one of the obnoxious boys in mock combat. If wolves could laugh, Randy would have been rolling on the ground.
While others patrolled around the house and the network of safety they were trying to create for Astyr closed up tightly, Randy kept his own vigil. He knew Lucky wouldn't do anything until he felt the moment was right, and Randy knew better than anyone that Lucky's idea of right would mean the most trouble possible. So Randy kept track of every scent trail that came anywhere close to the mansion where she was living, waiting for the day he knew Lucky would show his face.
Randy could do nothing to erase what he had done before, and it tore at his heart to think of how he had hurt Astyr; but he swore to himself that he would give up his last breath if it would keep her safe.
************************
Advertisement
New Life of a Summoned Demoness
Elania’s life is about to change in ways she could have never expected. Summoned to a strange new world by demon-worshipping cultists, she flees before she is bound to their will by an unbreakable contract. Forced to fight for her survival against creatures she thought would only exist in a D&D manual while adjusting to her new body, what can a girl do when status screens and system elements have the power to change her very being? In this action-packed LitRPG Fantasy Adventure, we follow Elania as she tries to find her own way back to the surface while seeking a way home. Not currently updating. Kind of a bummer, but I am not sure when or if I will continue Elania's story. Discord: https://discord.gg/J4VtqMw
8 224The Divine Works
The world was prophesied to end at 2012, on December 12th. It did, in a way, just not the way people thought. On December 12th, when the clocks read 12 all the way across, a new God appeared and demanded the world submit to him. Many years later, the world has changed into what he designed it, with people who are loyal to him and live in the peace he has created. His children and grandchildren create the pantheon.However, none is more feared that his Grandson Aleksandor, the God of Madness. Who's task given to him upon reaching adulthood was to punish the sinners in hopes they may repent and one day be reborn so they may try again for a better life. All his divine life, Aleksandor has known the bitter cold of hate and fear. No mortal prays to him, the evil God. They all, no matter the person, completely shun him. Until Alyson is born. Her life has not been an easy one. Not many know that her birthday coincides on that of the ""Evil"" Gods. Not may know that he has blessed her with a gift. Her parents have done everything they can to make her forsake this God, but nothing has worked. As her marriage day draws near, and the insanity that is her family gets worse, she turns to the one God she knows can hear her prayers, and will answer. But her wish comes with a price. Will it be able to save not only her, but the ""Evil"" God as well, or will they all down spiral into madness?
8 171Bone And Amber: The Inside Story On The Return Of The Dinosaurs
A miracle has been achieved: non-avian, Mesozoic dinosaurs have been brought back to life - not by a technical university or a government programme, but by a venture capitalist concern, for reasons of profit. The social, economic, and political ripples of this development will do much more than enable the simple launch of a theme park for the rich: they will change the world. FAQ: Do I need to know anything about the Jurassic Park franchise to enjoy this? No. This story is not exactly a Jurassic Park fanfic - it is a story about the de-extinction of Mesozoic dinosaurs. While the story begins with some of the events depicted in the Jurassic Park universe, it is very much its own creature, and designed for readers with no prior knowledge of the franchise. It will begin to diverge quite quickly, as well: the dramatic focus will not be on people running around tropical islands trying to be eaten. The whole point of the exercise is to explore the profound consequences and ripples an event like the mass-cloning of extinct animals would generate.Do I need to know anything about dinosaurs to enjoy this? Also no! Sensing a theme yet? Although, if I’ve done my homework correctly, a newbie to the subject will be able to pick up something - not just about the animals themselves, but about their role as a vehicle to better understand the history of life on Earth, and the application of the scientific method to a sadly fragmentary puzzle.Without further ado, please enjoy!
8 76Phenomena the Basic Witch and the Dream Castle
Phenomena Willow is a young witch apprentice who loves nothing more than wizard romance novels and eye of newt spice lattes in the autumn. Mena lives with her auntie, Grizabella, in the Pembroke Forest—the haven she has resided all her life that’s sheltered her from the rest of the world. Mena dreams of escaping the dull life in her cottage and attending the magical school of Nightdream Academy, a place where sorcerers and sorceresses learn how to utilize dream arts out of their very imagination, but her auntie has never told her where it was. One day, an old foe of her aunt, the nefarious Anguish the Blood Siren arrives at her auntie’s cottage, sending young Mena out into the world on a search for the school her auntie once attended. When she discovers the location of Nightdream Academy in the most unusual place and circumstance, this basic witch discovers a whole new world of magic and romance, a place where her dreams…and nightmares come true.
8 595The Mysteries of the Dungeon
In the many worlds that filled our universe, paralleling our own, Earth is amongst the rarest worlds that seem to have the most sort of 'interferences' from these other worlds. The most common forms of interference are through hero summoning, being isekai-ed otherwise known as otherworldly reincarnation. However, in some cases, the system that governs that particular world would indeed try to pick up individuals from our world to fulfil a purpose or goal in mind. The story then follows our main protagonist, Allen Walter as he curiously pressed upon a popup ad, he is then reborn as a newly formed sentient dungeon. Watch as he slowly tries to adapt to the new world, moving on from the lingering feelings of his past life, whilst dealing with the serious affairs and problems brung about dealing with the inhabitants of this so-called new world. ===Release Details=== Daily release - 1 chapters (12:00 am - 3:00 am or 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm) (GMT+1) Timezone Chapter Length: 2000-2500 words per chapter Pov: first-person perspective
8 84Who Made This Groupchat? » skz
When the school's most popular boy, Bang Chan, attempts to unite his friends through a groupchat... well, shit goes down. - a Stray Kids fanfiction - texting - highschool AU- completed
8 92