Eve's Hollow by Charles Bedlam (best free e reader .txt) 📕

“I suppose we're to follow,” Ransley said.

An invisible force grabbed hold of Estelle and pulled her forward before Ransley had even finished his sentence. They followed the aura trail into the darkness of the inner alley ways. A brisk jog was enough, but Ransley's age stopped him from keeping up with Estelle. She wanted to break out into a sprint, but Ransley called to her.

“We still don't know what out here!”

He was right. Estelle slowed her pace and turned to wait for him. Once he caught up, they found the trail beginning to disappear. It faded like a candlelight reaching the very bottom of a wick. The trail was still easy to follow though. A distant caw ahead of them also helped to keep them on track. They jogged after the trail for several minutes, turning down separate alley ways and before long, they didn't know where they were in the city.

“This is madness,” Ransley said, out of breath. He leaned on a trash to recouperate. “How are we going to get back?”

Estelle walked ahead of him and peeked around a corner.

“And the stranger thing is,” Ransley continued, “I have the oddest feeling that we are being watched.”

“Ransley,” Estelle said.

“I'm certain no one is out here though. We haven't seen a single Punished.”

“Ransley,” Estelle repeated, still looking around the corner.

“Hm?”

“Look...”

Ransley stood and joined Estelle at the corner. They both moved around and into the alley there. This alley led back to the street, which relieved Ransley. The trail above them extended across to a very large, white marble building. Large steps led up to a landing that used several pillars to hold up a large triangular roof. In the center of the triangular roof, was a massive engraving of a set of scales and the word “JUSTICE' beneath it. The trail led to the top of this roof and that is where the crow patiently perched.

As they gazed up at the bird, their eyes drifted around the roofs of the surrounding buildings. Almost every roof that one could see from the ground was covered in crows. Hundreds, maybe thousands of crows. If a group of crows was called a murder, then this would be a slaughter. As Estelle stared up at them, she swore she could feel the weight of them all pressing down upon her.

“The courthouse,” Ransley said.

“Should we go in?” Estelle asked.

“We don't know what's in there,” he asserted. “It could be trap. It could be a monster.”

“Or it could be the samurai,” Estelle said firmly. “We'll keep quiet like we've been doing. How will we know unless we look?”

She was eager to find him. Too eager. She knew that, but somehow she knew she was close to her goal.

“You can stay here while I go,” she continued. “Would that be better?”

“Of course not! All I'm saying is we need to have some kind of idea of what we're getting ourselves into.”

“I get that but-”

“I DO hear someone!” a raspy voice called from the darkness.

“You're mad, I tell you,” a second said to the first. “MAD! MAD!”

“Sounds like the Punished,” Estelle said.

“I've never eaten someone,” the first wretch wheezed. “But I'm told human flesh is quite delicious.”

“Alright,” Ransley said. “Let's go to the courthouse.”

They briskly walked down the alley and out on to the street. The courthouse was massive and the steps rose high above Ransley. They looked around and watched each others backs. The black mass of birds still watched them as they reached a very large set of wooden double doors.

“Wait,” Ransley said, “do you hear that?”

Estelle listened and there was only silence. “Hear what? I don't hear anything.”

“That's what worries me. The air is so still here. When I was a hunter, the air got very still like this when a large predator was around. Like everything around held its breath. And these crows...”

Ransley looked at more clusters of crows on the side of the street that they had just come from.

“I fear something is about to happen here.”

“Are you still with me then?” Estelle asked, looking up at him.

“I haven't abandoned you now and I'm not going to.”

Estelle gave him a smile. Ransley then pulled on the brass handle of the door and pulled it open. Ransley was only able to open the door enough to squeeze through, the hinges heavily rusted. Being the gentleman that he was, he held the door for Estelle, who easily passed through. Then he squeezed through with Estelle helping to hold the door open. Once he was inside, the door fell shut. They were in pitch black.

Ransley drew his flashlight. The beam of light revealed that they were in the main foyer of the courthouse with a circular fountain in the center. A statue of Lady Justice stood elegant, holding a pair of scales in her hand. On the other side of the fountain was another set of doors. While they made their way to them, Estelle noticed how empty this place was. In her travels so far she had seen many areas that were jam packed with a great number of items. This place didn't have much of anything. Estelle let that emptiness fill her and she tried to center herself.

“Estelle,” Ransley called, nearing the door. “Do you hear that?”

“More silence?” Estelle jested.

“No... Screaming,” he said.

“What?”

Estelle rushed over to Ransley, who had his ear against the door.

“Do you hear it?”

Estelle did the same as him. At first she didn't hear anything. Then she heard a shout followed by a scream of pain. She backed away from the door as her blood ran cold. Ransley looked at her with deathly seriousness.

“What do you want to do?” he asked.

Estelle thought for only a moment. She drew her gun and held it to her chest. Ransley did the same, dual-wielding pistols. He gave Estelle his flashlight then pressed down on the handle of the door. He cracked it open and Estelle peeked through. He opened the door a bit more and she disappeared through to the other side. After a few seconds, she called to him.

“Come on.”

He went through the door. They were at the beginning of a large and long hallway with several doors on either side. This corridor was empty and suffocating at the same time. The screaming was getting louder, accompanied by groans. The shouting voice was a recognizable, furious female. At the end of the hall was a set or doors and bright light flickered through its cracks. Accompanied by the sound of surging electricity and that suffering scream, The Pale Lady roared at her victim. The air around this room felt hot once they approached the doors. One of them was already cracked open. Estelle pushed it open a bit more so that she and Ransley could spy on the events in progress.

Turning off the flashlight, the room appeared dark at first. Small orbs of light came into view that aimlessly hovered around the courtroom. From what Estelle could make out, the judge's bench sat at the far end of the room, tall and wide, made of wood and elegantly carved. Everything else in this room had been destroyed. Burned and crushed, then pushed aside to create a circular clearing. The piles of broken wood, metal, and concrete sat in mounds around them. Estelle still didn't see much else though.

“I love you,” the Pale Lady said softly. “I know you know that. Monsters like you and I understand each other. We belong together. You know what they all say, right? About how you're a bloodthirsty killer? Just like me.”

“Bullshit, Lady,” a heavy male voice breathed. “And I'm not like you, crazy bitch.”

“You ain't seen crazy yet, honey. You can lie to me, but you can't lie to yourself. You love the slaughter just as much as I do.”

The male voice was silent. Estelle, on her hands and knees moved into the room and ducked behind one of the debris piles. Ransley followed close behind. The mounds were large and would easily conceal them. However, it was still too dark to comfortably maneuver. So they waited.

“Be with me, Nova,” she said.

“No,” he responded firmly.

They heard a loud thud and Supernova grunt.

“FOOL!” she roared.

They heard a few footsteps.

“Maybe you'll be more susceptible in the Craze.”

“That...,” Supernova's voice fell off. “That isn't fair. Even for you, Lady-”

“Hiro-Ti Ka,” the Pale Lady hissed.

A bolt of blue lightning lit up the room, arcing from her fingers to the chest of the bound Supernova. In the few moments that he was being electrocuted, Estelle saw that he was tied to a chair with his hands behind his back. The room went dark after the bolt ceased.

“How close to death do you have to be to fall into the Craze, Supernova?”

The Pale Lady's voice was alluring and playful. His breathing became heavier and he coughed more frequently. Estelle's eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness. She could now make out their individual silhouettes, moving like shadow puppets in the dark. Estelle could only watch as the Pale Lady grabbed hold of Supernova and delivered punch after devastating punch to his face.

“Don't act so weak,” she said after her assault was over. “I know you can take more than this. I've beaten you, shocked you, sliced you up. Mmm, we've had some great times, haven't we, baby?”

“Ugh, if that's what you want to call it. I mean the Ferris wheel thing was pretty cool-”

She punched him again. “Don't talk about the Ferris wheel!”

Estelle had no idea what to do in this situation. He was real. The Supernova Samurai, in the flesh. He was real and he was in danger. Estelle knew, though, that any interference on her part would not end well. Begrudgingly she decided it would be best to just wait.

“I don't want to kill you,” the Pale Lady said. “Thus far, I have fought you successfully without taking your life. But you always seem to get away from me.”

“You just love to hear yourself talk, don't you?” Supernova choked.

“You're always alone. You wouldn't be with me. You always fight alone. I'd fight beside you. Why can't you see that?”

“I do,” he slowly replied. “But you're torturing me to get what you want. You don't care about what I want. You don't care about anyone or anything but yourself. You are selfish and cruel. You are a psychopath with no regard for human life.”

“Anything else?”

“You murdered seven-hundred and fifty of my brothers and sisters.”

“I let you take them away, did I not?” the Pale Lady asked, seriously.

“You let us take most of them.”

“Oh... Right.”

The Pale Lady walked away from Supernova. Her back was to him as well as Estelle and Ransley. She disappeared from sight, but Estelle could still see her victim. Estelle figured this would be the best time to act. She thought that while the Pale Lady's back was turned, she could free Supernova from his bonds. She wasn't sure if she'd even get that far, but this person was vital to her trials. She held her gun, ready and prepared to move.

“You know the girl is here,” The Pale Lady said.

Estelle froze.

“My vision came to pass, so I know yours did as well. I saw her.”

Her voice sang out from the darkness like an evil seductress.

“If you want me to yourself so badly,” Supernova said, “why tell me this?”

“So that you know how serious I'm going to get. I know I've shed your blood all over this city, but I never once thought of taking your life. It seems I may no longer have a choice.”

“Do you truly feel so threatened by my Seeker?”

This question seemed to agitated her.

“I know my truth,” she snapped. “But I know that soon I may not have a chhoice. I might just fucking kill you.”

A bright, deep blue light appeared in the Pale Lady's right hand. It shone so bright, it lit the whole room up. If the Pale Lady hadn't had her back turned, she might have seen Estelle and Ransley. For the first time, Estelle could actually