"Father!"

My pupils dilate.  My brain is on fire.  My heart speeds, like it wants to rip out of my chest.  My ribs become heavy, as if I feel pressure in my lungs.  Gasping, I try to run, but my legs won't move,

"Why!" I screamed, bringing my shaky hands to my face.

"All this time, I trusted you.  You were my father!" My words were clustered.  My emotions over-ran me.  My gut ached as if someone had a hold on it, squeezing it.  My breath was shaky.

"Simple really!" In a distinctive tone of voice, my father boomed, his voice cutting through the tension.

"Well, let me explain..."  Before continuing, my father made hand motions, pointing to my brother, the smaller of the hooded figures, who I presumed to be Molly, who was making her way down the hill, attempting to reach my brother.

"What are you doing to him!" I screamed.  I felt as if I needed to protect my brother.  Once again, my heart lurched in agonising pain.

"Don't worry, we need him.  Once he's done, he'll be got rid of"

"What do you mean!", I snapped, my tone laced with disgust.

My eyes followed my father as he walked in circular motions.

"You'll see.." Trailing off, my father pulled out a dagger, the same one my brother and I had discovered.

"Now, back to what I said before!". Swinging the dagger in the air, my father swung it at trees, leaving gashes embedded within the bark of the tree.

"Ever since I was eighteen, I was part of the Aluthistist"

"The what?" I questioned, keeping a weary eye on the two taller, cloaked figures.

"Well, I've devoted my whole life to bring a living form for Alutherest and Zerathistist.  Then there was Cordell and Dahlia, who turned against us.  They could not finish what they had started, so Molly and I needed to rid the world of these people."

"What did you do?" I asked, my hands shaking in anticipation.

"Well, before I get to that, let me explain my motives"

"Why would you tell me?" My blood began to boil as I looked at my father's twisted grin and soulless eyes.

"You'll never leave these woods, so it doesn't matter"

"Wha-"

Before I continued, my father interrupted me, continuing his story.

"Alutherest and Zerathistist need a physical form to be complete.

For this, they needed a host, a healthy one.  We have tried many people.  There was this couple Cordell presented to us, but they weren't worthy, and neither was poor little Sophia".  As my father mentioned Sophia, he frowned.  His tone of voice and eyes,however, said otherwise.

His soulless eyes pierced through me, his once happy go lucky eyes, gleamed whenever he smiled.  It was all a lie.  He was a messed up man, but he always was.

My heart stopped.  My breath hitched at the mention of Cordell's name.  My mouth became dry as I spoke.

"I-Is the couple you speak of the one Cordell spoke of in his notes after he died?"

Smiling, my father nodded, but he remained silent before continuing seconds later.

"But...sadly, Sophia wasn't worthy enough and had to be got rid of.  But poor old little Dahlia wasn't up to the job.

So I gave Molly access to our house and she did the job, framing Dahlia.  It was such a shame.  Dahlia was next in line to rule after Molly, but she wasn't up to the job"

Slamming a fist into a tree, my father screamed, splinters perching his skin.

"Two pendants, each represented the power one had.  They were the portals, but after Dahlia left, we never saw the pendant, so we could never fully free Zerathistist".  Now screaming once more, my father grabbed a fist full of his hair, shaking his head aggressively, with anguish.

Now it made sense why all the strange happenings happened after Dahlia's pendant broke.  She must have wanted to protect Alex and I.  It had a protective spell which, once broken, it would release an unspeakable force. A sense of guilt flooded my head as flashbacks of Alex and I breaking the pendant replayed in my head.

"Anyway, Cordell brought us Elsie.  We thought she was the one.  We waited many years, but nothing.  She also knew too much.  Once I heard of you meeting Penelope, I knew you were going to find out too much, so we needed to get rid of her".  Wlking close to me, my father touched my cheek, smiling.

"When you and Alex were born, I knew yous were the one.  But, as a child, Alex had a weaker immune system, so we decided that you, Brooklyn, would be the host of Alutherest!" Raising two hands into the air, my father jumped back, laughing with joy.

My eyes widened in shock.

"Yes, my child! You will be the living host.

We've waited fifteen years.  After many failed attempts, we even attempted animals.  We needed to tame them; but finally! You are ready!" Now raising the dagger in my direction, my father's chin jutted out, his eyes gleaming red as the reflection of orange and yellow reflect of off his face.  The sun was setting.  Small particles flew through the air, the calming nature of the forest morphed into one of fear.

"I'm going to destroy your existence, just like Armando did to Cordell!"

"A-Armando!"

"Yes, child, you've lived your life around many people, all waiting to bring anew life into the world, one which replaces yours!"

Booming with laughter, my father made a low, gurgling noise from the back of his throat.  Veins pulsed in his neck.  His eyes were wide open, his pupils were dilated.  The colour was fading from his eyes, and were being replaced with black.

"I'll give you 10 seconds!"

"10"

Looking behind my dad, the two tall figures looked up for the first time, their hoods falling as a result of the afternoon breeze.  I could see two long slender faces, with no eyes, just eye sockets.

"9"
"8"

As the sun went down, the forest was engulfed into darkness.  The silhouettes of the trees loomed over my figure.  Mist was rolling in, covering the forest floor.  The aged tree branches cracked in the dead of night.  The moon cast a gleaming light upon the stones and the tips of the oak trees.  The moon glistened over the faceless creatures, their bodies twitching.  As the wind blew, their limbs assumed the form of ash.  Their bodies blew in the wind, the ashes fading away into the distance.

"7,6"

"It's nearly time!".  The same disembodied voice whispered to me before the two cloaked figures were finally gone.

Pushing myself up, I stumbled over the roots of trees and loose rocks.  My stomach was in knots.  Intense pain spread through my shivering body.  I wanted to give up, but I couldn't, not after everything Alex and the others had gone through.

"5,4"

I ran into the labyrinth of trees, my figure engulfed in darkness.

Running through the never ending trees, stray branches scratched my skin.  My legs gave in and I fell.  The earthy smell was intense,. Wiping my hands on my coat, I stood up and continued.  The light of the moon guided my path.  The sounds of night loomed around me.

"I'm alone!"

My chest was burning, and further tears were falling down my already tear-stained face.

"3"
"2"

I stumbled once again, falling into a stream.  The moon glistened again on the cold crystal waters.  Jumping up, I scrambled back onto dry ground, the mist enveloping me.

I ran behind a tree in order to catch my breath.  It was then that I heard a voice break through the night.

"One, here I come!"

"Why.." was the only thing I could think of as my legs shook, with coldness, My head was spinning.

"I'm alone!"

End of Chapter 29

Thank you for reading Chapter 29! It means a lot!

I'd like to know what you think will happen to Brook.

What do you think will happen in the next chapter?