《Talis Man》9 | Lyla You're a Bit Thick
Advertisement
The sun isn’t in the sky just yet but the bright hues of yellow, orange, and pink spread across the clouds. The air makes my skin rise with goosebumps though it’s not that chilly. The porch is dwarfed by fog spread as far as I can see with only feet of the green grass in front of me exposed and by the looming trees a few hundred feet out sticking their heads above the fog. And honestly, even the slender driveway dwarfs the porch, though the fog engulfs in it, I can picture it as it winds around curves and disappears somewhere by the first bridge over a ravine. But the song, it fits perfectly on the porch. Like a sitting buddy on the porch swing. Or a best friend you hold hands with when you’re eight.
The song, the noise, the music, the whatever you want to call it is to my right. That’s where I’ll try first. The dew-wet grass soaks my jeans and when I step into the wood line, the air changes from cool to crisp. The sunlight hasn’t made its way through the canopy just yet but there’s enough light to see where I’m going.
It’s calling. Sweetly. Brightly.
It’s addictive.
Leaves crunch under my feet, rocks jut from the ground forcing my path to zigzag. Birds are quiet. In fact, I can’t hear any chirps at all. And when I pause, no rustling in the tree branches from squirrels or scurrying of chipmunks through the leave litter. Totally silent. I would normally turn around and sprint away from such an eerily quiet place but the song is my friend, pulling me towards her.
Over there, straight ahead. Oh, a ravine. I wrap my arm around a tree trunk and judge the steepness. It’s not a deep ravine or a wide one. Just a cut in the hill, really, as a creek runs through. And if I use the trees as a brace, I don’t slip on my way down. It only takes a few seconds to make it to the bottom. I leap over the creek, barely trickling and up the other side, pulling myself with the lovely help of the trees. At the top of the ravine, it slopes downward into a gentle hill.
Advertisement
The sun is still not lighting my way as much as I want it to but this works. The melody comes from my left. Not straight and not to my right which is perfect since the canopy is thinner to my left. That’s where I head. A few more minutes pass and I trek up a hill. Should be the source of the noise. The canopy thickens and my light disappears. Dark. Shadowy. Dusk.
The song is louder. The crest is in sight. And at the top.
Stop.
Stare.
Soundless.
I’m all of those things, I do all of those things. There’s a cloaked figure in the center of the hill, hunched over. The song continues on. Far, far from this spot. The figure stands. It’s huge. It turns and a rush of images flash in my mind. I can’t make anything out. No details, just colors. And so many of them. Pink, black, brown, purple, yellow and they’re so bright. Tons and tons pulse at the speed of light and the moment, it lasts just a millisecond. A blink of an eye. But in that time the figure stands so close to me. A snout, brown fur. Eyes, dark. I stumble back and slide down the hill.
And I run. I run to the ravine. At the top, I take the briefest moment and look back. It’s still on the hill top.
Stopping.
Staring.
Soundless.
It’s all of those things, doing all of those things.
Down the ravine, cross the creek, up and up and through the woods, to the cool wet grass. Levon’s car is parked in the driveway. Sprint to the porch, open the front door.
“Levon?” I say, out of breath.
“What?”
He’s in the kitchen at the table drinking fresh coffee and bacon.
He drops his cup and coffee splashes all over him. “I thought you were-damnit, hot.”
Advertisement
I hand him paper towels, though my hands shake and my breath is wildly out of control.
He says, “You weren’t supposed to go outside at night.”
“I didn’t. I went first thing this morning.”
He punches my shoulder. “Damnit, Lyla. I friggin’ knew you’d do something stupid. I knew it. I knew it. I told Tessa but she said you’d be okay tonight. I friggin’ knew it.”
I take his last piece of bacon. “Tessa? Friggin’? Tell me what’s happening. Please because I think I found a murderer in the woods or something.”
He squints and blinks three times. “A murderer?”
“I’m serious. There was a bear thing in the woods. I heard this noise and went to check it out this morning. Oh, and this house is so creepy. Did you come home last night? Anyways,” I say between bites. “Heard this noise. Went to check it out. A man bear thing was there. Scared the shit out of me. Like, basically, literally scared me that bad.”
He rubs his hand over his face. “I love mom so much but I can’t believe she didn’t tell you.”
“Tell me what?”
“Where’s your charm?” he says.
“I don’t know. Guess I lost it.”
“Lyla,” he says, “you didn’t lose him.”
Advertisement
- In Serial13 Chapters
The Twilight World
***Welcome, Heir of the Twilight World.*** These words delivered by a sudden blue window changed the life of Zach, a run-of-the-mill CS student about to graduate. His newly awakened power could have granted him infinite wealth. However, reality had other plans for him. After saving the life of his best friend, Zach discovers that the world is not as it seems. He enters a world where magic is commonplace. A world where traveling between dimensions to run an errand is another Monday, and mystical creatures are resources to be harvested. But this brand new world is also one of deception, violence, conspiracies, and hidden secrets. It's also lacking proper means of transportation. Will Zach survive his new environment? Will he discover the truth behind the origins of his power? Or will he fail in a horrible, yet somewhat hilarious way?
8 65 - In Serial28 Chapters
Ringmaster's Ambition
Samuel Tuckerman, a retired therapist and nearing a hundred years old, decided to let the whole world know of his legacy. To leave an everlasting mark in this world, he surrendered himself to the authorities and brought with him mountains of evidence to prove his unbelievable claims. That he was the cause of thousands of disappearances all over the world. These evidence consisted of journals, videotapes, papers, and audio recordings of the last moments of all his victims, or so he claims. Initially met with skepticism, the authorities only saw him as a senile old man until testing out the validity of one of the records led to the discovery of the remains of a person. Upon finding out the legitimacy of the evidence Samuel provided, he was swiftly arrested and all other evidence was distributed to law enforcement all over the world to verify. When news of his deeds was made known to the entire world, all eyes were on him. This revelation led to numerous controversies that the governments of the world had no way to control. It showed the incompetence of law enforcement and the government. It inspired lunatics to try and be more brazen in committing atrocities. It sowed fear among the masses. Fueled conspiracies of collusion with foreign governments to suppress information regarding this matter. All these problems eventually resulting in a one day trial, where he was immediately pronounced guilty and was sentenced to death by publicly-broadcasted hanging. Although the various authorities of the world sought to set Samuel's execution as an example, what was broadcasted in the screens all over the world was not the dying struggles of an evil monster, but the satisfied smile of an old man. With his life coming to an end, he shall soon discover that his sins will lead to even greater consequences.
8 147 - In Serial13 Chapters
Apocalypse ending world
What would happen if suddenly the human race returns to the Stone Age? That only 10% of the world’s population would be alive, who is behind this? Is this a joke? Would our arrogance of superior race be the cause?The remaining population sudently sees itself in possession of a system such as a video game, will they survive while the world we know become chaotic?We will follow the adventure of Hector and his friends, will the legend of Hector take birth or will he remain a normal person until the end of his life?
8 186 - In Serial40 Chapters
Starship Nyx
I am Captain Mara Tan of UEDF Star Fleet. I am also a professor of virtual archaeology and military advanced technology. We've met the fiendish aliens twice, before I was born. Now we're leaving Earth to look for their hidden planets.
8 154 - In Serial30 Chapters
Galduta
What seperates beasts from men isn't the language we speak or any such drivel taught to us in school. It isn't the way we walk or our intelligence that sets us apart. Some would have you believe that it is our ability to think and reason that makes us fundamentally different from the creatures that inhabit the world. That way of thinking, my friends, is entirely wrong. What seperates us from them and them from each other, is simply the skin that we all wear
8 114 - In Serial25 Chapters
Of Love and Loss: An Attack on Titan Story (Levi x OC)
Captain Levi has always been emotionless and the perfect soldier, free of any ropes tying him down... Until a young girl captures his heart.Disclaimer: I do not own all of these characters. The majority are from Attack on Titan. Hael and the nurse are the only ones worth mentioning that I own.
8 265