Strangers of the Forsaken.

Chapter Three: Part Three.

Chapter Three: Part Three.

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Slowly but surely, the tentatively careful young Princess made her way nervously down one particular corridor within the cave. There appeared to most definitely be something about this pathway. A very distinct something, that was giving off a rather strong sense of deep-seated anxiety within Laylah. This was a feeling she hadn't gotten from almost anywhere else she had been within the cave, which in turn was causing her to tense up. The bitterly ice-cold, biting air all around her was whipping painfully at her shoulders, forcing the young girl into a state of near complete terror and fear. Not too far ahead of her, the Princess was certain she could hear the heart-stopping, menacing roars of the winged tigers. She stopped dead in her tracks, frozen tightly with fright, to the very spot where she now stood. With nowhere to run and nothing available to defend herself with, Laylah was now more of a target than ever before. She didn't even speak the tigers' native language and so she had no idea at all, of what the creatures could be plotting. Every word they spoke to each other was yet another piercing dagger which struck deathly fear into the very heart of the Princess.

Upon taking a few moments to properly compose herself, Laylah was soon able to continue her frightfully tense walk down the corridor. Each step she took brought her that much closer to the source of the ominous, evil roaring sounds that ultimately taunted her very ears. Pydren stuck quite close to his owner as she walked, not wanting to stray too far from her side. He had a knack for knowing when she was feeling afraid, after having been with her now for so long. There may have been little that a creature of his small size could offer in the way of defence, but this was something he more than made up for in loving care and support. Laylah and Pydren had been the very best of friends for many years now and they had been through a lot together. The two of them knew how to look out for each other, even when times may have looked desperately bleak for them both. The growing friendship that had blossomed between those two was obvious to all who met them both. Nothing would ever truly be able to tear apart such a devoted, loving bond.

The planet from which Princess Laylah originates is one that is rather similar to the Earth, while at the same time being quite noticeably different in some aspects. There was a very distinctly visible smoke that rose up slightly off of the ground, everywhere you would walk. The temperature was typically quite cool eternally, as it was usually a rare occasion for the inhabitants to be treated to a hot Summer's day there. Seasons didn't really exist on this planet and each species had its own specific language in which they communicated. The sky would often change colour throughout the daytime; from a rather charming pale blue colour in the early morning, to a pleasant lilac purple towards the late evening time. Stars were always visible in the skies and they twinkled beautifully, like shining beacons of hope in an otherwise bleak and hopeless world of darkness. The swirling clouds present on this planet are also multicoloured, mainly due to the varying different types of trace gases within them. The planet's surface is a soft grey to orange gradient colour and there are two visible moons, that can be clearly seen from it. The time this rather mysterious planet takes to orbit around the sun, is appropriately forty eight hours. Across the surface; craters, volcanoes and large open canyons are littered just about everywhere. The atmosphere here is quite thin in comparison to most other planets. A swirl of majestically beautiful clouded must, filled with the brightest purple stars, wraps itself around the planet in an almost protective manner. When viewed at a distance from space, this particular planet can be seen as having a rather noticeable amber glow surrounding it. There is no obvious separation between countries here, as there is on Earth, which is another notable difference between the two planets. The name of this planet is Straleruta and it sits a comfortable distance from the Earth, within our solar system.

There are not many who are aware of the existence of Straleruta and back on Earth, the planet is almost unheard of. There are those Earthlings who believe this other planet is simply nothing more than a fabricated myth, invented by Earth scientists as merely a conspiracy theory. These people cannot be blamed however, as there is currently very little evidence that Straleruta is in fact a very real part of the planetary setup. It is also very prone to the occurrence of natural disasters, similarly to how the Earth is. When such disasters take place on Straleruta however, they often happen with a force much greater than that seen and felt on Earth. Planetary quakes for example, were at least twice as powerful on Straleruta and storms had the power to completely rip apart entire continents, in no more than the blink of an eye. There were areas of this planet that had now become totally uninhabitable, due to the sheer amount of natural damage that they had suffered. There was nothing that could ever be done to rescue such areas, which of course meant they were unfortunately no longer liveable.

Back in the deep, overbearingly murky confines of the secret underwater city in which Carsten was still being held captive, life was about to become very different to what he had been used to before. Although neither of them knew it yet, both he and Stefan had been captured and were now being held prisoner in this forsaken place. Soon to become nothing more than the newest additions to the already growing army of human slaves, who haunted here. There was nothing and nobody that could even hope to save the two boys now; a terrible fate they had only brought upon themselves. It was a bittersweet notion, because it almost made them wish they had never left their homes in the first place. If that had been the case however, they would certainly never have stumbled upon the true culprits behind so many tales of terror.

All around them; from each of their respective holding spots, both Stefan and Carsten could see scores of blank minded people, just mindlessly making their way around the city. It seemed as if these people were doing the evil bidding of their higher creature overlords. It was clear that they wanted this city to be built for a very specific purpose. What that was however, was very much unknown to all but the most superior of this race of monsters. A species who referred to themselves as The Undead Guardians. They were undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with for many, as there were none who didn't see these truly awful beings, as something to be feared. Very rarely did anyone ever really manage to escape the vile clutches of these frightful beings. In fact, this was an occasion that had only taken place twice within the past five years. Both times had been taken note of by The Guardians and a great many lessons had been learned as a result. Ever since the second successful escape by a human; new, much harsher regulations had been put in place. This was to ensure that under no circumstances would history ever repeat itself again.

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