Hadagery
By: Teresa VanMeter
Copyright 2013 Teresa Vanmeter
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Copyright 2013 Teresa Vanmeter
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Hadge!
Chapter 2: The Edge of Darkness!
Chapter 3: Harbinger.
Chapter 4: In the Face of Evil.
Chapter 5: The Secrets we keep.
Chapter 6: Path to Nowhere.
Chapter 7: Tale of the Hereafter.
Chapter 8: The Divined.
Chapter 9: The Darkest Hours.
Chapter 10: To Hell in a Hand basket.
Chapter 11: The Bowels of Hell.
Chapter 1: Hadge!
Aarrrrrgggrrrhhhh! A beastly sound twisted amongst a peculiar undying cold, like a beacon to all things that may dwell in the darkness, things born out of evil, ripened by the sum of all fears.
Thereafter a wild thrashing echoed through the remains of a town called Harbinger, left in ruins by some catastrophic event. Strange shadows shifted uneasily, through the fields of mysterious blood flora. Unseen voices stirred from out of nowhere, beyond the crumbling graveyard, where creepers crept nervously over the dead. Across the lifeless river left stagnant and polluted, as something churned just below the surface. Throughout the gnarled dead wood pines, where the sinister reavors lurked, drawn to the frantic noise of the living. Up the treacherous mountainside, in the vicinity of the abnormally large red cap mushrooms, where a gray fog lifted upwards, and the thrashing had promptly ceased. Seeing that a murky hulking creature emerged within the gray matter, silhouetted by an obscured inconsistent glow escaping the widow’s weeds growing far above. The creature breathed quite fiercely in the dark cold silent face of this anomalous world.
Aaaakkk! The shadowy creature hacked. Even as the widow’s weeds above swished aimlessly, followed by the subtle sounds of departing footsteps, and an inconsistent glow that had faded, leaving only darkness behind.
“Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!” The shadowy creature roared, “I’m going to kill you!” as its angry voice wheezed amidst the cloud of fungal dust. Which wickedly billowed up from a wild mutated patch of dried crimson soama, a red cap mushroom commonly known for its mind-altering capabilities. One of the few plants that had survived the constant dark cold, colonizing the entire dead pine ridge of Ennead Mountains, a cluster of nine mountains separating the valley from the rest of the ill-fated world.
The hulking shadow stumbled through the cloud. Its exaggerated size quickly shrunk down to an undersized solid form of a male, just over three feet in height, considered to be quite tall in his tiny populated group, and one of the oldest at the ripe old age of 19, nearly 20. Most in this bitter world didn’t survive beyond age 25. His pale roughened skin had reddened patches from the cold temperatures, and stained with years of dirt. Unruly dark brown hair matted his head, and went on to prickle his entire body, covering every wrinkle and crack. He had an unusual indent on his right temple, which caused the nearby eye to be sluggish. Strangely his sight was nocturnal, however he had a thin milky membrane over the eyes, as if the gods were playing a trick on life. He was gimp on the right side from birth, still no one could tell with his oversized dirty clothing, since he’d learned how to use the leg quite well. He is simply known as the Hadge. And the remnant of this terrible world is called Elysium.
Hadge coughed, hacked, and furiously swore revenge upon the mischievous perpetrator under his breath, “Uweeeee….” He barked, “You grubb!” He often came here alone to the Cliffside for roots and herbs. Having no idea the rambunctious Uwee had followed, scarcely age 14. At what time his thoughts grumbled, “With friends like him, who needs enemies?” Even as the scene replayed in his mind, from out of nowhere Uwee nimbly leaped onto his back, like a stepping-stone he hurdled directly over the crimson soama, forcing Hadge down within the rotting mushroom remains. Then laughed like an impish child, while he climbed higher and higher up the Cliffside. Riskily yelling “Eat my dust!” It all compounded Hadge’s fears that the noise could attract danger, and may even worse draw the deadly reavers.
He stopped momentarily to regain his bearings through the near blinding dust. Focusing on the thousands of flecks in the night sky, shiny beacons of light, and the only ray of hope left in all the darkness. It was foretold that Yahveh’s Divine light could set the world free, but from where he was standing nothing looked divine. He berated himself for believing such silly fantasies. “Stop it!” He whispered crossly, “It’s stupid.”
Elysium a misleading name, far from paradise, Eden or even heaven as it suggests to be, because it’s always been in a malevolent otherworldly darkness for as long as he could remember. However vague tales from the elders whispered that once upon a time it to be otherwise, such as the fantastic stories of the bright blue skies, or the warmth from a big yellow sun. The elders are all dead and gone, just like their stories, and any expression of hope. Yet he often wondered what really happened here, all the great cities lay in crumbled ruins under a frozen blanket of ice and darkness. He had seen the relics of great books of long ago depict creatures that no longer exist, such as the domestic pets of cats and dogs, even as mankind too had also somehow devolved into scared little animals, being fed upon by reavers and alike.
A sickening feeling lurched in his stomach, reminded of all the people he had once knew being dragged away by the evil reavers, as he watched powerlessly, and they were never seen again.
All at once Uwee’s playful giggles echoed higher up the mountainside. Even as the sound carried uneasily here and there, certain to draw any creatures within earshot.
“Uwee!” Hadge lividly bellowed, feeling the uncontrollable urge to sneeze, the first symptoms of the crimson soama, sure to last many hours. His friend Uwee had known full well what the plant would do. Abruptly the force nearly bent him double, “Achoooooo!” At last heatedly grating threatening words through his teeth, “I’ll find you.”
Hadge irritably limped with his gimp leg towards the rocky incline mumbling beneath his breath, “I’m going to kill that grubb.” Noting an odd crisp crunch under his threadbare feet. His eyes promptly fell to the ground, darkened by a massive amount of desiccated bugs. He instinctively bent down to retrieve one of the deteriorating corpses, hearing the tone of his own bewilderment, “What?” This was something he’d never seen before, only to believe they must have drifted from high on the mountain. All at once grasping the uncanny fact that he hadn’t heard any bugs on this trip. Feeling somewhat puzzled, “What’s going on here?” he sorted the details in his mind, “But why now? What has changed?”
He arose from the crouching spot, realizing he no longer heard Uwee’s juvenile ramblings through the strained silence. Curiously wondering, “Is this part of the game?” his thoughts began to worry, “Has something happened?” Immediately following Uwee’s path up the mountainside, knowing full well that danger lurked around every corner.
Quickly his attention was drawn to the two-foot high widows weeds, which still eerily swayed beyond the wild rustling throughout his ordeal, as if something had been there. He moved cautiously towards this destination. Momentarily catching a bitter smell of fireflies, carefully scanning the shadowed surroundings, seeing nothing in its wake.
“Uwee!” Hadges voice grew fretfully insistent, “Dammit, answer me!”
Abruptly he stopped to the noise of an out of the ordinary creak, trailed by a distinctly un
real clicking, sensing something wasn’t quite right. His eyes nervously darted back and forth throughout the murkiness, having that same uncanny feeling of being watched. Just as a silky white thread drifted out of nowhere landing on his face, with an instantaneous touch he exposed the oddly tacky three-inch thread, however its origin remained a mystery, and he wiped the substance across his tattered clothes.
“Achoooooo!” He blathered from the pressure in his head, rubbing his running nose. Once again thinking angry thoughts about Uwee. Until there was a faint movement from higher upon the path, and he reckoned Uwee was still up to his grubbish tricks.
Hadge sifted further up the mountain to a plateau of herbs, picking plants along the way. He had expected his pal surely to find his way there by now. Still sensing as if he were being watched, as the repugnant smell of fireflies came and went, however he could see no fireflies, and the once chorus of insects had evaporated into a eerie calm. Seeing that his intensity of fear continued to amplify.
Painfully every contacting footfall the dried out insect carcasses pierced his footpads, as thousands had turned into millions. Shrinking back in horror, exclaiming, “Good Yahveh! What’s going on here?”
Searching the skyline for anything and nothing in particular. As a peculiar swelling cloud arose from the distant mammoth soama growing near the surrounding dead wood pines, where the sinister reavers appeared to have grown much more active, factories of the damned. Half tempting that the reavers may somehow be involved in Uwee’s disappearance, “But reavers don’t eat.” Hadge reasoned, “All other animals on this mountain don’t have the capacity for this kind of destruction.” Connecting the facts, “None of the clues seemed to add up.” Nevertheless his dominating fear had to request, “Where on Elysium was Uwee?” Most importantly, “I have to find him, and find him fast.”
“Achooooo!” He cursed under his breath once more, trying to brush the fungi from his body, creating a feeble fog flowing from where he stood. Exactly as something disturbed the bushes nearby, as if trying to avoid the irritating fungal dust also.
“Uwee?” Hadge carefully ventured. Examining the stirring bushes, gathering no response, as he moved even closer. Noticing more of the strange silky white threads, seeing that each stuck to his fingertips. Similar to the tiny roachenthrop living in the moist corners of the caves, who spun cocoons no bigger than his finger. Yet the size and comparison didn’t concur, and the roachenthrop only consumed cave mold.
Swiftly that intense unseen gaze pierced deep into his backside yet again. At the same instance he’d glanced at the waxy leaves of the plant before him, catching a glimpse of a faint glow emanating from behind, first red, then a blue, followed by a green. It was practically unreal compared to anything he’s ever seen in his lifetime. He twisted around to find nothing but darkness, except a gently swaying branch of a dead tree. Hearing the sound of his own confused voice, “Huh?” Knowing Uwee couldn’t possibly be involved in all these strange undertakings, because none of the group could reproduce those elaborate lighting, “Heck!” He mentally bantered, “They barely knew how to breathe.”
“But what….” He had to ask, “Am I dealing with?”
Hadge uneasily took slow deliberate steps towards the limb, which had grown from the side of a broken boulder walling in a small basin where the mature widows weeds grew. Watching and listening all around, aware that whatever it was had to be quiet and super fast. Even as he warily climbed atop the boulder, looking down upon the swaying plants, which could hide many creatures. The giant stalks of olive flowers emerged from the three-foot high leaves, even as something more disturbing seemed to be growing amongst the weeds, something that hadn’t been growing there previously. Hundreds of silky white round structures two times his size. Realizing for the first time from this vantage point the white sacks were scattered everywhere, however they hadn’t managed to migrate down to the fungal ridge, “Good Yahveh!” He was shaken and confused, “What are these things?”
Listlessly he backed off the boulder, the resonance of his quickening heart pounding in his skull. In the same instance his alarmed eyes followed the white masses higher up the mountain, having a gut feeling that snooping Uwee pursued the objects up the Cliffside without a second thought to any real threat. He somehow felt responsible for putting him in that danger.
Without further thought he too trailed the strange white sacks upwards. “Aaaaaaaa,” He gasped as one of the sacks undulated oddly, seemingly pulsating whenever he was near. Hadge feeling his heart and head hammer amid near blinding terror, with every eternal step drawing him closer to the unknown.
Steeper and steeper up the hillside he’d gone. Looking out across the dark valley of Elysium, until his eyes reached the deteriorating remnants of Old Harrier Road that had long since collapsed. The road was something they had used long ago to travel between cities, leaving behind disintegrating concrete supports in the middle of nowhere, as mangled metal beams lain twisted like fibers of a rope, and the road no longer lead to anywhere.
Hadge climbed atop chunks of asphalt and concrete, near the mouth of the mountain. He felt warned by the mouths endless blackness, pulling himself up by the rusting guardrail, no more than thirty feet away from the entrance. The guardrail had been warped by a huge metal structure with wheels, plowed to the point both surfaces mirrored the other. The paint on the metal structure had long since faded, as he recalled that the elders had in the past called this metal thing a truck.
The truck had been wrecked. Its load of metal drums finally eroded away, as its foul smell waft far and wide. The terrible odor was even capable of traveling passed his swollen soama filled sinus cavities. The sickly yellow waste traced the same path the strange white sacks apparently followed, he couldn’t help but wonder if something horrific grew from out of the sickening waste. Seeing that his attention returned to the wreck, moreover the barrels from Novena Military base. The base was no more than ten miles away, up the third hill of Ennead Mountains.
Then to his surprise the bones of an unfortunate soul was found wedged between the front fender of the truck and the guardrail. It had been there a long time by the large human size, the right side barely recognizable, with a sharp piece of grill piercing its right temple.
Sympathetically he felt a connection of phantom pain, even as he unintentionally rubbed the hollow spot on his own temple, experiencing such a profound mourning. Whispering, “Poor guy. I wonder who he was?” Sensitive to the mans death, “At least it was quick.” Yet he was curious to why the creepers hadn’t consumed the skeleton. “Hmmmmm.” He considered, “Maybe the barrels deterred the beasts.” The barrels were quite disgusting, and grabbed his nose chuckling as he limped backwards, “Awful.”
At once in the broken and dirty window of the truck he could see that strange glow from somewhere behind, he moved ever so slowly to search the darkened landscape.
“Achooooo.” The sneeze had come from out of nowhere. As the light quickly faded and blackness lingered, followed by a subtle clicking noise. Just as he turned realizing the mountain was papered in that same odd silken threads, with the loose ends eerily drifting amid the brisk air, like ghostly figures in the dark. Then a clicking came from the left, he found nothing, next swishing from behind, still naught a thing, and to the right. Something was toying with him.
“What on Elysium is going on?” Hadge had an overwhelming sense of terror picking at his brain. He crumpled to his knees in paranoia and fear, with his head between his hands. Seeing for the first time an unusual black stick beneath him. The strange object was three to four feet in length, pointed at the tip, spanning sharp thorns down one side. Then he suddenly noticed hundreds of those same black objects littering the ground everywhere. Defeated and dumbstruck at that particular moment to the issue, he wondered, “What are they?”
Suddenly something moved near the mouth of the mountain. His mind instantly pictured black soulless faces of the reavers, its long black twisted fingers clinching a blackened we
apon. Recalling the forewarning of the elders, “The reavers watch the road.” As his mind quickly asked, “Could the reavers have gotten Uwee?” Forcefully he pushed the panic out of mind, “No!” Wanting very much to believe, “Its Uwee.”
Alive or dead he couldn’t leave him here. Hadge stealthily turned towards the warning blackness of the mountain. He had that uncanny feeling of being watched, yet that feeling had become much more prominent, like millions of eyes processed his every move, his every life taking breath. His heart pounded violently, like the moments before death, the pounding smothered all other sounds into oblivion. Even as he surveyed the black for signs of the culprit, while his short fingers knowingly found his trusty dagger at his waist, ready for any engagement. He almost welcomed anyone who dares try.
Then the atmosphere changed, charged electrically as every hair on his body stood on end. When an instant of tiny white light could be seen at the other end of the tunnel, followed closely by ghostly hovering blue torches. One by one the torches materialized along the remaining stretch of mountain road, hissing as they lit, while others suspended themselves where roads had formerly been. With all that was hidden in the darkness abruptly becoming quite clear. “Lightning the way.” He murmured in complete awe, “But to where?” Even as the right words seemed abundantly obvious, “Light can set you free.” Feeling somewhat dubious, “What if it’s a trap?” Those questions were among many Hadge’s mind gathered, yet the biggest question remained, “Why did they light now?” Seeing that he’d never remembered seeing the torches before, but somehow felt a curious affinity to its purpose. The bluish flames burning away some of the heavy darkness caging all to this world, like a fragment of hope.
All the quarrels around him seemed to have just melted away, as he glanced to the heavens and the dark didn’t appear so dark anymore, and the burden of temperature was neither hot nor cold, like living in a perfect dream, unable to tell truth from deceit. When his rational side suggested that the crimson soama might be altering his perception.
In that same instance he heard a muffled squeal, as his sight followed the sound into the once blackened tunnel, which was now eerily bathed in blue light. The tunnel packed with network after network of the same silken webbings, even as massive dark creatures three times his size skittered about, their abdomens intermittingly glowing, red, blues, and greens. Very similar to the fireflies he used to remember, but the wings have become useless due to the size. The sticks were actually the remains of spiders that had been cannibalized by each other. “How else could something that size survive without significant source of food?” Since they’d eaten bugs on this mountain to extinction. Then a darker thought crossed his mind, “Even I could be food.” Feeling his body instantly shrink back.
Hadge’s eyes lifted higher, seeing debris of animals and humanly corpses dangling among the webs of unidentified cocoons. Sure that unimaginable horror plagued those still alive, knowing what death may come, and he feared Uwee might have stumbled right into the monsters lair. Even as he noticed one of those hideous spider creatures were attempting to prod a wriggling white cocoon. Something was still alive, and promptly he thought of Uwee.
“Uwee!” Hadge screamed in horror, knowing positively it had to be his friend. Without thought to personal injury he leapt forth into the spiders den, heading straight for the wriggling cocoon. The spider loomed above him, rearing its hideous barbed legs in sweeping motions, clicking with every movement. He looked up into the black beaded eyes of this demon, at the same time as dozens more shifted all around him, all clicking in unison, every movement he made they followed. Still he inched closer to his friend, armed with the small dagger from his belt. Wondering as he moved, “Why haven’t they attacked?” Then another curious thought occurred to him, “They followed me all the way here, but still didn’t get too close.”
“Achooooo!” A halo of dust particles dispersed throughout the tunnel. As he irritably growled, “Of all times for an allergy.” Swiftly refocusing on the spiders, as they had oddly recoiled, recognizing for the first time, “They fear me.”
He was given the time he needed to free Uwee from the cocoon. The gooey white threads were harder to cut than he’d thought, slowly exposing Uwee beneath those perilous fibers. Immediately discovering that he looked rather sickly, with several puncture wounds on his shoulder. The puncture was probably a way to subdue its prey, so they may eat them alive. Finally Uwee fell free from the cocoon, as Hadge quickly pulled him upright, edging closer to the entrance. Then that overpowering feeling of being watched crept up his spine. Exactly as something black lashed out at him, gashing his forearm, and he nearly dropped his friend. The spider quickly withdrew, screeching out, as if in great pain. “No!” Hadge howled watching the spiders unsettling actions. Very sure now, “They fear the mushroom dust.” Now it all made perfect sense, “That’s why they haven’t migrated beyond the crimson soama. Its like a poison to them.”
Hadge knew that the only hope they had was to get to the fungal ridge before the dust was gone from his clothes. Seeing darkened figures lurk in all directions, hundreds the way they had arrived, the army of spiders really left them no choice. At what time he moved towards the path of least resistance, where Old Harrier Road abruptly dropped off.
The road littered in rubble of concrete, rebar, and asphalt, scattered all along the mountainside below. Which would lead them to the fungal ridge and deter the spiders. Only if they could survive the fall. However Uwee was in no condition to do anything, as he supported his lithe body. Taking into account of the soama he’d breathed, in tandem his arms flogged his encrusted clothing, subsequently launching the fungal dust in the air around them, temporarily confusing the spiders, giving them precious time.
The cracks and debris in the concrete increasingly grew worse, as his feet launched rocks over the edge, and they crashed along the cliff below, exploding into tiny fragments as they struck solid surfaces. However the echoes of the rocks long treacherous journey terrified him most, reminding him once again that the fall could kill them both. His thoughts laughing hysterically, “Caught between a rock and a hard place.” As he searched the edge for an escape, fortunately discovering exposed rebar holding the remnants of a concrete support close to the end of the highway. Just five feet below where he presently stood, while the other end was jammed into the mountainside.
Morbidly he envisioned how his potential plan might end, with two lifeless bodies dashed on the jagged rocks below. “Stop it!” He needed to be positive. Even as he grabbed Uwee tightly by the waist, without further thought and they plummeted off the end of the bridge. Landing hard on the concrete below, and he instantly scrambled to his feet, dragging Uwee down the support, like a child’s slide. As dozens of spiders had followed, tugging at Uwee’s comatose legs, a literal tug of war.
They had at last inched their way to the sanctum of the fungi, happily kicking the dust into the air. Overwhelmingly Hadge couldn’t help but sneeze over and over, laughing as he spread the dust further. Watching the spider’s retreat. Temporarily feeling relief, even as he was hacking and coughing.
Hadge knew it still wasn’t safe to be here, all the noise had carried throughout every dark corner, even as more sinister creatures could be coming here this very minute. Then he weakly pulled Uwee over his unaffected shoulder, heading in the direction of home.
The soama and his wounded forearm took its definite toll, not to mention his head felt like an oversized balloon, as his distracted mind seemed to marvel everything along the way. Saying far out things, like, “That rock is sooooooo cute.” And pointed at the red cap mushrooms, “Stop laughing at me…” Realizing the soama had really befuddled him, and wondered if the whole spider ordeal was even real. Climbing down that mountain, home never seemed sweeter than it did at that moment. His home was hidden beneath the cemetery, where no reavers would ever look, and creepers dared only nip at the living.
Hours had passed before they were safely inside Hadges home in a hidden
cave beneath the cemetery, and the passageway secured. As he lain Uwee on the quilted coverlets, his gray skin appearing quite pasty, light tan locks coated with a hairnet of webs, deliriously moaning under his breath. Hadge wasn’t entirely sure any herbs could help cure the spider’s venom, but he had to try.
Picking various herbs from the pots he had growing around the room, swiftly mixing a foul smelling concoction. He applied it to both of their wounds. Then collapsed next to the bed. Captivated that this creepy sensation might be how a comatose person felt, limbs lifeless, mind starved and hazy, randomly thinking of those strange blue torches. Yet even his question was unclear, “What could they have been?” Before his aching head sank to the hardened floor, he blankly stared at the plants he’d grown. Plants that had at one time needed sunlight, but he had miraculously made them grow. Then he drifted off into a bleary restless slumber, peacefully knowing they’d escaped.