Skeletalien Host

Skeletalien Host chapter 4: Rank Four

Ellen, Rouge and Leanne stuck close to the silver eyed Skeletal. At first, they were walking through empty corridors that all looked the same, it was like finding the exit of a labyrinth, a route only the Skeletals knew but then they came to a dead end.

Ellen looked to the Skeletal anxiously, surely he wasn't lost! What hope did she and the girls have if he couldn't even navigate his way around? The Skeletal gave them all a soft wink before he smacked the wall with his fist and stood back, rock grated against rock as the wall shifted to reveal a doorway and an insane sight.

Hundreds of creatures buzzed before the foursome, swarms of bodies hurrying left, right and centre in a magnificent hall. At least a dozen dangerously steep staircases ran up the walls to various doors carved in the mountainside, stairs that were barely stairs at all in fact and could easily lead to death. Beautiful, blindingly bright lanterns hung down from the rocky ceiling giving the hall a false sense of daylight. Everything seemed busy and bright.

The Skeletal broke away from them and walked briskly towards the crowd. Ellen scurried to keep up to have a large trolley whisk in front of her nearly mowing her flat. It was piled high with scrolls, parcels and envelopes. A dwarf-sized Skeletal peered over it angrily and glared at them.

"Watch it, whores!"

Ellen gasped at his foul language and watched Rouge flare up beside her. The Redhead sent the skeletal flying into his trolley head first. It toppled over with the Skeletal in it causing all the letters and papers to explode into the air. A small crowd of creatures out of the hundreds milling about paused to point and stare. Ellen caught the silver eyed skeletal turn to have a handful of envelopes hit him in the face.

He glared over at them all with a thunderous expression. The crowd hastily dispersed with a collection of panicked looks. The Skeletal in the trolley slowly crawled out, dazed and sore, when he looked up, the silver eyed Skeletal stood above him. He gasped and went to crawl back into the trolley. Ellen watched the Skeletal they were following pick the entire trolley up and set it right, he then fed his hand inside and pulled the small Skeletal out by the scruff of his hair. Ellen winced.

"Watch where you're GOING!" the end of his sentence fell into a terrifying, animalistic roar.

Ellen leapt out of her skin. She found him absolutely terrifying and the little Skeletal seemed to agree as the force of the roar blew his dark hair back off of his face. He nodded feverishly. "Ev-ever so sorry Rookey."

'Rookey' dropped the Skeletal back into the trolley with a clatter. "Clean this up" he grunted before turning on Ellen and the girls with an aspirated look. "Keep up."

Ellen gawped after him, struggling to take in how horrifyingly inhuman and huge he was as he towered over the sea of heads before them

Rouge whistled quietly to herself. "That is some strength and authority."

Leanne nodded as she took ahold of their hands. "That's what I was thinking. I've got a bad feeling about this."

Ellen felt her stomach become unsettled all over again, just when she allowed herself to hope she feared Rouge and Leanne were right. Everyone back there seemed afraid of their silver-eyed Samaritan, Ellen saw it in their faces. Did that mean they should be afraid also? There was so much to be afraid of here, she could feel it and Skeletals were naturally a part of that but she had hoped this one was sincere when he offered them help. Of course, it had been in exchange for a (still unconfirmed) favour which had her worried most of all. He'd given them his word he would help them escape if they did what he asked of them but she imagined all forms of awful favours he could ask. What would be too awful for her, would anything be if her freedom hung in the balance.

She studied the back of his head. Everyone in this crowd knew his name, at least it seemed to be his name. Was that normal?

Did everyone know everyone's name here, or was he known for being some fearsome force not to be reckoned with?

Or there was the scarier option. Was he in charge?

What if he was the leader?

She clung tighter to Leanne's hand as they followed him through the crowd. Whoever he was they didn't really have a choice about trusting him now. They were in the midst of Skeletal's and creatures alike, one wrong move and they'd be thrown back into that awful tunnel or worse.

They made it through the rest of the crowd with ease to a set of hallways on the other side, people simply parted ways to make room for them and it made the girls feel even more cautious.

The hallways and smooth walled passages they entered were decorated with smarmy wallpaper and dim lights. Someone had placed wooden slats down to create a wooden floor in contrast to the cold stone floors everywhere else. Wardrobes, desks and odd shoes randomly lined the walls alongside mirrors, hairbrushes and other female items. Ellen took in all the strange sights with wide eyes. She'd never seen anything like it and she certainly didn't understand it.

Girls of all species, shapes and sizes wondered up and down the halls alongside them, each giving Rookey an appreciative glance. They all wore odd clothing or barely any clothing at all. She'd never seen such indecency in all her life, why, she wouldn't be caught with her knees out let alone her legs! Her cheeks burnt fiercely at every new girl in sight.

Rouge hid her nose in her hand. "It stinks."

Ellen had to agree, the air was thick with a mixture of perfume, salt and something woody. It hurt her nose to breath. She forgot about the smell when she saw more Skeletals passing by, tall leering ones that reminded her of those controlling the black carriages. It didn't go unnoticed by her that all the Skeletals and creatures rushing about in the enormous hall behind them were plain, small and easy to ignore. All those who walked here had something striking in common, they were all hard to miss. Beautiful, unusual and frightening.

What Ellen noticed most of all though was how they all showed some kind of respect to Rookey. She leant up into Leanne's ear as they walked. "Do you see the way they look at him" She whispered, her heart thumping dangerously as she said it out loud.

Leanne swallowed loudly and nodded slowly. Ellen squeezed her hand. They all had noticed. Ellen wasn't sure what was worse, being led into a trap blindly or walking into one knowingly and not being able to do a thing about it either way.

She couldn't help noticing small, silly things that didn't help, like the unnatural way Rookey moved. His gait was slow and graceful, something someone his size shouldn't be capable of. It frightened her, to see such an inhuman detail.

Ellen felt her dread resurface, drenching her skin in a cold sweat. The air around them was stifling and it made her feel heady and ill. Vaguely in the back of her mind, she acknowledged that she couldn't put up much of a fight on a good day. Here she was dehydrated, starved and exhausted. Dead weight to her friends who seemed to be holding up much better, but then they hadn't been travelling for as long as she had.

They turned a corner abruptly and finally found themselves at a set of rugged double doors. Ellen's eyes trailed over the door handles, they were made from blunt knives, at least she thought they were blunt from the way Rookey grabbed them without hesitation.

"What's behind those doors?" Rouge blurted. Ellen hadn't noticed until now, but there was a look of panic on her friend's brow, wisps of her red hair stuck to her face by a cold sweat. Ellen's heart fumbled at thinking of Rouge as a friend but she ignored it.

The Skeletal glanced over his broad shoulder, his silver eyes glinting like two silver fishes caught in a moment of sunlight. Just by looking at the ridicule in those eyes Ellen could see they had made a grand mistake following him here.

She stared hard at him with terrified eyes as he turned away from them. "Who are you?"

He pushed on the doors.

"Rank four Leader...and fourth in command of the Skeletalien Host."