Chapter 19: The Church

CHAPTER 19: THE CHURCH

As the group settles for the evening I find myself drifting between thoughts of Sam and our apartment in Atlanta. I hope she knows I didn’t abandon her. I see her clearly in my vision, white hair and a lithe body. She would have been better here than me, but I’m glad she’s safe. I turn over in the cool mud while perusing memories of our time together: Skiing at the mountains near Salt Lake, exploring her hometown in the Midwest, when she proposed. My heart aches as I think about what I’ve lost and I pray I’ll see her again some day.

“Completing that quest was easier than I thought,” mumbles John in the early morning, he and Mike snacking on some leftover meat from the other day.

I groan as I pull my body up and am pleasantly surprised to find almost no pain in either my shoulder or hip. Definitely healing too fast. I reach out and with a smile from Big Mike, I’m handed some breakfast.

“It isn’t about the destination my friend, just the journey.” Big Mike says with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

“Knock it off with the wise-guy act, it doesn’t suit you,” John chuckles at the man.

I ignore their banter as I eat and look around, I don’t see Cody but something else does catch my eye. The altar, where once a sword cracked the white stone, now has gold fusing the broken pieces into a solid surface. I run my hands over the material and feel a warmth running through it like an electric current. The sensation begins to seep into my skin, the itchiness begins to build back up. A pulling drags at my mind, it’s weak but feels as if I’m missing something right in front of me.

A hand pulls on my arm and I snap out of the mindset by John.

“Cody wants to check out the other buildings on the way back, are you feeling okay?” His voice echoed around me.

“Yupp, A-Okay,” I say, earning a hesitant nod before the guy pulls me to my feet.

“Hopefully this was worth it,” I mumble as I get my bearings.

John and I are waved forward by Cody and I notice some words written in the mud as I exit the once church. Before getting too far away Cody stops me.

Stick in hand he writes into the mud.

“Found this, church. Take it.”

He hands me a white stone statue of a dragon with gold veins across the sculpture..

The detail is exquisite, it’s as if someone petrified the creature and shrunk it down to size. As I hold it up to the light I find the scales show in a golden pearlescent hue. Finally the eyes show in a solid gold, the same as the altar. With a final glance I place the object into my backpack and ready myself for another trying day.

As we pass through the sunken village Cody stops at the larger buildings and has us search through the mud. Most of the time we find broken furniture remains and pieces of pottery. But, Mike did pull out a brass horn of all things. We leave most of the smaller buildings and find the largest so far. It’s half sunk but a large rectangle in shape. It seems the old roof didn’t survive the ravages of time and we pull clay shingles from the mud as we look through the area.

As I set some of the broken shingles aside John calls for aid.

“I’ve got something here! Help me get it out,” he calls and the group comes over.

Peaking through the mud is the glint of silvery metal. With four sets of hands we quickly dig out the artifact and I do a double take at what we found. An armor set, with segmented bands that wrap around the torso and short segments layered over the shoulders coming down to the sternum. It instantly reminded me of pictures of ancient Roman armor. The piece was too large for me, and we quickly hooked it to Mike's pack.

“We need to tell the others about this,” John lets out as he looks over his find.

“I bet there’s other things deeper under!” Big Mike presses his arms deep into the mud, pulling at the stuff.

“We can’t spend days digging around here. We’ll have to come back,” I say, putting a hand on his shoulder.

With a final pull he lets out a deep sigh and stands.

“Fair enough, little lady. Next time, we’ll bring everyone,” his expression shifts into an eager grin.

——-

We continue our path back home, the group in high spirits after the successful completion of our quest and finding the various relics. Cody once again leading the way, pauses. The midday sun pierces its rays through the thick vegetation, but something has changed, at the edge of the sun a hint of red peaks through.

Cody taps his ear twice and points to the right, deeper into the bog. I listen intently before a distant thump of water rings out. A few moments later an even louder splash follows. We all prepare our weapons as the thing comes closer.

With a forward hand motion the Watcher leads us towards a series of broken buildings for cover. We crouch down against the walls as the splashes turn into loud thumps and vibrations suddenly turn quiet.

We sit there, pressed against the white stone walls of a destroyed building, our limbs fatiguing from the effort. A splash followed by a thump echoes closer. A yowl sounds out as movement streaks across the once-walkway between buildings.

A large cat, not unlike a panther, hides behind a distant building. It watches as another form smashes into the area.

A massive reptilian form, one with blue scales fading to red at the base of several spines which sprout down its back; fin-like skin extending between each spine. The massive beast has two trunk-like back legs and two smaller arms. Its neck curves in a short S shape before meeting its elongated skull.

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[Spinosaurus- Level 54]

“Fuck,” I let out as we stare at the massive dinosaur.

Quietly John shushes me. The monster glances around before pressing down on all fours, its neck curled back like a snake ready to bite.

The panther dashes across the muddy path, trying to duck into a ruin as the dinosaur lunges. Two echoing thumps sound out as it slams its limbs into the ground, mud splattering as the ground shakes. Its neck extends as it nearly grabs the cat.

A moment later it lets out a massive roar, turning its head to its back and snapping out again. The Spino rolls onto its back while a second, slightly larger panther, lands next to it.

[Panthera- Level 26]

“We should go, I’m strong, but I’ll need to be stronger for this,” Mike says as he looks over John’s head.

“Why is the panther attacking though? Shouldn’t it flee?” John asks.

“Doesn’t matter, we can’t do anything against either of these. Let’s go.”

As we turn to Cody, he signals us to follow and we move around the perimeter of the ruin. After a couple minutes of quiet movement from the group, Cody pauses.

The bestial fight echos throughout the ruins and we look before moving to the next ruined structure for cover.

The dinosaur rears back on its hind legs, thin fleshy slashes on both its back and chest. The panther is rising from where it was seemingly knocked prone. A long gash along its ribs glints with blood in the noon sun.

In the distant corner between broken white walls the other panther sprints carrying a small bundle in its mouth.

“Is it just abandoning the bigger one?” John asks. The smaller panther enters another structure and sprints back without the bundle.

“Looks like it was carrying cubs,” Mike points out.

Following Cody further past the buildings, we watch as the panther leaps at the Spino. Dagger-like claws flash, the tawny brown fur moves through my vision as the panther slams bodily into the dinosaur. The panther tears through scale, trailing several long gashes across the beast's chest.

A massive roar blasts through the bog lands as the dinosaur's neck snaps and its jaw clamps onto the cat. The Spino’s jaw shakes violently and crush its victim between its strong jaws, with a final audible crunch the panther is thrown to the ground.

With its mate's chest caved in, bones exposed in a puddle of flesh and blood, the smaller cat lets out a sharp yowl and charges the spinosaurus. Its light form darts up a crooked white wall and runs along the narrow edge. Leap from the precipice the Panther slams into the monstrous dinosaur.

“Oh no, it’s too late,” John mumbles, hand held to his face.

Bones crack clearly through the ruins, a body thumps into the mud, and the dinosaur begins its feast. Goosebumps run down my skin at the munching while the Spino doesn’t even check its surroundings before eating. Blood mixes with the dirt and my mind turns at the sight before I force myself to look away.

“What about the cubs?” I ask the group from my spot pressed up against the cool stone building.

John’s scrunched face falls into horror.

“We could try and rescue them?”

“We can’t, I don’t like leaving helpless animals either, but when that thing spots us we are all dead.” Mike places a hand on John’s shoulder.

My eyes meet Cody’s, his posture leading towards the cubs. With a nod of my head I turn to Big Mike. “The two of us are quiet, I’m confident we can at least get them out of there so they don’t get eaten. Besides, it's not even checking its surroundings.”

The strongman raises an eyebrow, but I step away and follow Cody’s stealthy gait. We stick low to the ground, the sounding press of shattering bones and latching jaws, grant our walk an eerie ambiance.

The small pathway now seems to stretch between the ruined structures. Checking the corner I see the massive blue and red scales of the spinosaurus, its enormous tail pressed onto the ground a few feet from me.

Cody and I quickly and quietly shoot across the road, each step agonizing with the fear of the beast behind us. Jumping into the shadows of the chosen building, I pause and catch my breath. Cody’s form slinks deeper in.

Shaking off the intrinsic fear, I move through the broken structure. Like all of the buildings we’ve seen here, white scuffed stone is built up into a near roofless house, the angles are misaligned with the years of sinking into the mud. In the back corner, rare vegetation sits in a dug out hole. Kneeling next to it, I look to see three small kittens curled up. Although all three carry the same rounded ears, short muzzle, and fluffy tail, they each sport a different coat. One solid black, another a creamy yellow-orange, and the last white.

I reach into the recess and pull the kittens into my arms, their soft fur running over my dirty hands. They curl further into each other and let out small meows as I look them over. Eyes still closed but no noticeable issues. I slip the bundle into my backpack and with a look to Cody I lead the way back.

The spinosaurus’ body rests tens of feet down the path, although its tail extends just a few feet from us. Its head rises as it pulls one of the adult panthers down into its throat. I wince at the sight and the vibrating crunch that follows.

As I pass behind the monstrous creature, a small meow pops from my backpack. Cody and I freeze along with the dinosaur. It lets out a deep breath and sniffs into the air.

I creep forward, trying to keep as quiet as I can. Each step nerve wracking, I slowly make my way to the next building. Cody follows behind me and quickly darts against the wall. Quick thumps of movement echo out followed by the snapping sound of the dinosaur’s jaws.

My heart pounds while I brace myself for the Spino’s wrath. Seconds tick away as my ears strain to listen for the monster's movements. I pull on Cody and the two of us slip around the back of the ruin and quietly make our way to the group.

“Okay, we got the cubs, let’s get out of here before it finds us,” I tell the last two of our expedition.

“I’m glad you’re safe, but you’re right, let’s go,” Big Mike pats my shoulder and ushers Cody to lead the way.

——

We slowly shift our way out of the ruins and through the wooded area around it. Is that a snake? I catch a glimpse of something moving up in the trees. As the day darkens to bright flora begins to shift to a luminescence and subtly brightens our path forward. Avoiding touching anything glowing, we make our way through the vegetation and find the muddy waterway that separates the bog from the cliff side.

Cody tosses the rope over a sturdy branch and hands it off to Big Mike. The rope drags a bit through the still water, but he makes it across. John and I follow up then pass the rope back to Cody. He swings across, and just as he hits the midpoint, rapid movement catches my attention.

With a splash of water, a gator launches from the water. Cody goes from a swing to a leap as I reach out to pull him in. His face twists into a rictus of fear while his arms instinctually reach out to me. My stomach drops at the sight, and I stick my hands as far from the edge as I can.

I hear a loud snap as the gator clamps its jaws and Cody’s body slams into me, pushing the two of us in the mud. Mike pulls him off of me and looks both of us over. Paying special attention to Cody’s leg, shaking his head he pulls both of us up, “You both look good.”

“Welp, that was terrifying,” I say as I dust myself off, hands shaking violently as I run them over my skin.

With a vehement nod from Cody, he presses his hand into mine for a moment before letting go.

“I thought you were going to die,” John says to Cody, with a look of relief over his features.

After a few minutes of catching his breath Cody leads the way up the cliff side. The cool evening air flows over my body, pulling both heat and moisture that I picked up in the bog. Before long, we find the cave we used previously and I find myself drifting off to sleep in the same spot I took last time.

Before letting my body rest, I pull the cubs from my basket and look them over. Still sleeping, so freaken cute though. I press the three cats against my body, keeping them warm as the dreamscape takes me away.