Dylan and Autumn fall through on the other side of the portal. When he looks around, he sees the sky is blood-red and huge, black birds much like ravens fly all around them. Autumn looks around too, her green eyes looking orange-tinged as she searches the sky. Shadows swirl around her face and arms, around her ribbon and then wrapping around the middle of it.
Autumn looks at him. "Are we gonna be okay?"
Dylan nods. "Of course, of course. Come on, we should keep moving." He reaches his hand out and helps her stand, but doesn't let go of her hand, and she doesn't protest. They walk down a long boardwalk that goes over red water. It isn't any blood he's ever smelled before, but the water sometimes doesn't look like water, if you know what he means.
As they walk across the boardwalk, Autumn walking behind Dylan as they go, and then, one of the birds dives down at them, screaming like a banshee. Ice and shadows both burst forth, colliding with their assailant.
Dylan opens his eyes as the frost and shadows engulf the bird, who is now laying on the boardwalk, screaming in pain. Then the others birds start screaming and dive at the two of them.
"Dylan. Run!" she shouts.
They both run away from the birds, but it isn't enough, because then the very water starts to shake and tremble, almost like an earthquake underwater is happening.
The boardwalk vibrates beneath their feet. It suddenly bucks and Dylan and Autumn are both thrust into the air, then knocked down to the boardwalk. Autumn screams, and there is a splash. Dylan frantically scrambles after her, and then he falls underwater as well.
The shock of the cold does not affect him, as his body was already freezing from the inside out with his corrupted power. He swims down, wraps his arm around Autumn, and then kicks frantically for the surface of the water.
Dylan and Autumn break free of the underwater world, but then something swims up beside them. It breaks the surface and is quite obviously a Siren, a warped version of a mermaid. The Siren is seemingly attracted to Dylan, as she starts to sing while circling them.
But as enchanting as the Siren's voice is, when Autumn's quiet voice breaks the song's melody, he lashes out and ice wraps around her, swirling into a spiral of ice that makes her float on her back on the surface of the water.
She screams in anger and suddenly, her huge, six wings that are black and feathered flare out of her icy tomb, and she breaks free in a starburst of energy.
Dylan swims towards the broken boardwalk. The Siren screams with anger again and flies into the air, and that is when Dylan sees that there are more of them. The demon birds are back as well.
"Holy shit," Dylan says.
Autumn snorts.
Dylan focuses on his ice power, and he pictures a surfboard in his mind. He crafts the surfboard and he and Autumn hold onto it.
"At least we know this is water," Autumn says.
"Yeah," Dylan says. "Gotta look at the positives."
They reach the boardwalk and he uses the ice to pull them both onto the wood. Dylan takes Autumn's hand and the two of them walk onto a bridge that leads over to dry land. Solid earth beneath their feet again, Dylan and Autumn follow the path through the woods, and towards who-knows-where.
The woods themselves is very weird, as the blood-red sky makes the trees appear black and ominous. He sees a figure standing by a tree as they are walking, and he holds his arm out to stop Autumn's advances.
Dylan looks at the figure, a wraith. Wraiths have always reminded Dylan of skeletons that are black as ink, surrounded by wisps of clothes and torn fragments of human essence.
"Dylan!"
He looks at Autumn, and then, suddenly, something grabs her by her hair, and yanks her back, yanking him along with her. Dylan scrambles after her. Then, her shadows explode from her body, and Autumn starts to scream. She starts to cry as well, and Dylan feels pain and fear and sadness all at once, all from her, and the glowing red ribbon tied around their wrists.
Dylan wraps his arms around Autumn, holding onto her tight. He flips them over and they hit the ground, him on the bottom, her on top. Autumn is now unconscious, he realizes with a start.
Carefully, Dylan pulls her off him, then stands up and picks her up.
"We gotta work together."
He starts walking again.
YOU ARE READING
Lifeline (Chills Fanfic)
FanfictionAutumn has just begun her life as a vampire, and now, she's been thrust into a world she does not know. Dylan has been a vampire for a long time. When their paths cross, and Dylan is faced with the choice of whether to save Autumn or not, he does, a...
