RuneScape Forum Archive | ~The Dwellers~

Dark Enmity

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That struck Roland like a bolt of lightning. No life raft for him, they wanted to see him drown. The whole table exploded into a flurry of harsh comments about Roland’s tests. The elder in the middle of the table held up a hand to silence them.

“As with everyone else at this table Roland, I find myself disappointed with this light. It provides no real purpose for us. I feel no guilt whatsoever saying this is a lost cause.

“However, there is one thing that I and the rest of the council are eagerly awaiting. We are all curious about the prospect of creating more.”

“We have had some problems ensuing that dream—,” Roland was stopped by the elder.

“The council does not want excuses Roland. We want more light. You have until the end of the week to produce more. If you fail to do so then we will have no choice but to terminate you’re funding.”

“Sir, isn’t that a little rash?" The master elder looked at him with dead eyes.

“I do not want to stumble down paths that lead nowhere, Roland. One week. That is my final say in this matter.”

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The cold winds were blowing fiercely through the jail cells. Aimeric’s was to preoccupied with Ivan and his three mates to notice. Unfortunately the others couldn’t speak Aimeric’s language, and Ivan had to be used as a translator.

“You mean there is light EVERYWHERE?”

“You got it, mate,” Ivan said proudly. “For about half of the day. Then it goes dark like this place.”

That sounded wonderful for Aimeric. Not only was there unlimited warmth on the surface, but there was dark to.

26-Jun-2009 00:13:28 - Last edited on 12-Jul-2009 03:03:20 by Dark Enmity

Dark Enmity

Posts: 2,957 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Ivan was equally fascinated with the city. He was amazed when Aimeric told him they had more gasoline then needed (compared to the gas shortage on the surface), was shocked when he told him that they had trees and plants as well and was completely flabbergasted when he found out that cows and pigs and chickens and all kinds of animals lived underneath forty kilometers of rock.

When Aimeric arrived home exasperated he was hounded by Thea. She had her arms on her hips and gave him the cold eye.

“Talked to Ivan again today,” Aimeric muttered. Thea rolled her eyes behind his back.

“Oh yeah? What about Ned?”

“Didn't get around to it,” he said with a shrug.

In truth he didn't WANT to get around to it. Ned was—in laymen’s terms—creepy. The way he talked about death and the possibility in rotting in that very cell...it curled the hair on Aimeric’s neck.

Besides, Ivan had a magnetic personality. Aimeric wanted to learn more about the surface—what it was like to live every day above ground.

Aimeric saw Thea’s depressed face and changed the subject. “What about making sure your voice is gone?”

That had been an issue Aimeric had been dreading since Oliver's picture. All he could think about was what if it could come back. There was a chance that she could

(run through the door run through the door and smash her head on the pavement)

hurt herself again. Aimeric had to be positive it was gone for good. Now it was her turn to give the shrug.

“You’re such a worry wart. I have had an idea. To be honest, I had it since I was ten—something I knew was a sure fire way to get the voice out of me. If it was still in me, of course.”

She looked apprehensive. Her fingernails were involuntarily grazing her forearms.

“Great,” Aimeric said. “What is it?”

She bit her lower lip. “I have to face my fear.”

He didn't like that. What if she was afraid of drowning? What if she was afraid of death?

26-Jun-2009 00:16:03 - Last edited on 12-Jul-2009 06:28:08 by Dark Enmity

Dark Enmity

Posts: 2,957 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Thea was talking much slower. When she explained her phobia Aimeric’s thoughts were clouding reality.

‘Not that bad,’ one voice said. It was the one trying to keep the others from running amuck.

‘Not bad?’ another screamed. ‘Why couldn’t she just be afraid of butterflies?’

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Contrary to his revulsion of Ned, Thea had barely scraped away at persuading him to investigate the problem. Aimeric had doubts. Ned was a vile, cruel human, but he was human. Besides, him keeping Oliver was not even an option.

Rosy lived on Draksten Street, a few miles up from the mining canyon he was stationed at. He thought what the hell and decided to stop by after work. The lines in his forehead were scarred deep in his face showing concern, his eyes cold and hard.

The house was middle-class—fair structure, but not a lot of pizzazz. The windows were slightly dusty and in was obvious that Rosy was not an avid gardener with the signs of weeds sprouting through the grass.

He walked up the cobblestone steps and pressed this illuminating doorbell to hear the distant sounds of wind chimes echoing in the house. He was immediately greeted by a woman, barely a legal adult from first glance.

Her hair was a dirty blond and all tied up in a ponytail. Aimeric got the brief image that she looked like a plastic doll—just stretched polyurethane over a skull. She took one look at him and gave an irritated look.

“You guys don’t like to read the sign on the mailbox, do you? It says no solicitors, so I suggest you make yourself lost.”

“No ma’am, I’m not a solicitor.” She was already beginning to close the door. He stuck his foot in the gap. She looked enraged.

“Part of some religious group then? I don’t really care if I am going to heaven or not, but you better get the hell off my property if you want to still see through those eyes.”

26-Jun-2009 00:16:04 - Last edited on 11-Jul-2009 23:22:58 by Dark Enmity

Dark Enmity

Posts: 2,957 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“Please miss, I am here on account of Ned Oddy,” Aimeric said and saw Rosy’s face darken.

“That piece of work. No friend of Ned’s is a friend of mine. Now get lost before I call the cops!"

She was trying to slam the door shut but was obscured by his foot. Aimeric had to think of a right good lie.

“Please, I am trying to gather evidence to send him to jail.”

Her eyes brightened. Rosy opened the door and welcomed him into the narrow hallway. “My mistake. Make yourself welcome. I am Rosy Laurence by the way.”

Rosy Laurence led him into the kitchen were they sat and talked. Just as Aimeric had anticipated, there was a book under one of the table legs. She opened up the fridge door. “Drinks?” she offered.

“Just water please.” she shrugged and poured turned on the tap. She made herself a cup of tea. When they were both relaxed she asked: “So...you’re a cop?"

"No, a geologist,” he replied automatically. ‘Stupid!’ he thought. ‘What would a geologist be doing prosecuting Ned Oddy?’

She gave him an odd look. “But I work as a city prosecutor.” He let out a breath. ‘Good save.’

“Oh, well, I hope you put that slime ball away for good. He stole some money from me. It happened awhile back but I know it was him because—,”

“I am just mainly concerned about the party you had recently.”

“Oh,” she said, crestfallen. “Sure. Ned was there. Had a smoke, flirted with the girls. Said he had a headache and left. Kind of unusual, actually. Whenever I see him leave parties it’s always with an arm around a woman. I guess he was catching the flu or something.”

He put down his water. Good news. Hopefully more would be coming. “Anything strange happen?”

She giggled. “Depends what your perception of strange is. Beer games, stripping, that sort of thing.”

“I guess what I am really interested in is who was around him?”

26-Jun-2009 00:16:09 - Last edited on 12-Jul-2009 03:04:10 by Dark Enmity

Dark Enmity

Posts: 2,957 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“It’s Ned; he doesn’t drink, so he’s mostly just a buzz kill. People tend to avoid him. Although, there was one girl who was hanging around him an awful lot. Had a schoolgirl crush if you ask me.”

Aimeric almost spilled his water down his shirt. Calmly, he asked her if she knew who this mystery girl was.

“Yeah, I think it was Melisa something. Pink hair, lots of piercings. She’s all about punk.”

His heart was pounding and blood was throbbing in his temples. “Do you know where she lives?”

“Sorry, first time I saw her at my parties.”

“I need you to focus. Do you remember her last name?”

“I think it was Cartier. Or Carter. Or maybe Carmen. The name is on the tip of my tongue.”

“Thank you for your time, Miss Laurence,” he was already heading out of the open door.

“Wait!” her eyes looked almost fearful, bulging with dread. “Promise me something.”

“Sure Rosy. What?”

She gave a sigh of relief and leaned against the stair banister. “Promise me you will get my money back.”

At first Aimeric felt like he had been slapped. Quickly, he recovered with a polite, “Of course.”

He walked out the door thinking that he would probably never see her again.

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Thea and Aimeric were standing on Twilight Bridge, spanning six-hundred meters across between Knight’s Island and Mona Peninsula.

“We don’t have to do this Thea,” Aimeric said softly. Thea was staring down, her breathing hard and thick.

“No, it’s you that doesn’t have to do this. I can do this myself if you don't want to.”

“There’s no way I would let you go alone.”

She smiled at him, but still conscience of her fear. “Well then, scaredy cat, are you ready?”

He looked down. Thea was afraid of heights. Not that much of an irrational fear, but when you actually had to free-fall, it felt pretty traumatic. “I’m ready.”

26-Jun-2009 00:16:13 - Last edited on 12-Jul-2009 03:04:48 by Dark Enmity

Dark Enmity

Posts: 2,957 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Thea grabbed his right hand tightly in her left. She closed her eyes and brought one foot over the railing, then the other. Aimeric did the same. Below them was a huge lake of water. ‘Just great,’ he thought. ‘Both Thea’s and my own fear rolled into one. Heights and drowning.’

She was mumbling to herself now. Aimeric suspected a song her mother may have taught her to calm the nerves. He wished he knew the song.

“One...” she shuffled her feet closer to the edge. Her toes were off the edge.

“Two...” Half her feet.

“Three.” She did not scream this like most people would do. Instead she merely stated it, like a man stating his mortgage payments. When she said three she and Aimeric merely slid of the edge, plummeting to the water in silence.

Aimeric head was pounding, though. The fall was rushing blood to his head; he was feeling woozy and faint. Then...

There was a splash. Aimeric and Thea hit the water. Hard. It felt like his feet had contacted with cement. But then instantly after he hit, the invisible solid turned into a liquid and let Aimeric and Thea slip through.

Aimeric wasn’t afraid. Primal instincts were kicking in: Get to the surface. He dove upwards and felt the cool fresh air meet his face once more. Then he saw he was alone.

‘Where is Thea?’ he looked down and saw her floating under the water. She must have fainted from the fall, of the impact with the water made her unconscious. Aimeric dove down and wrapped and arm around hers.

He thrashed his way to the surface. Thea let out of gasp and a splutter of water came out. They swam to dock were a man roping up his tugboat stared at them, horrified at what he thought, was a poorly constructed twin suicide.

Aimeric ignored the man. “Are you alright Thea? Are you hurt?”

She looked around confused. “No voice.” Aimeric gave a hoarse laugh and collapsed next to her.

“How would you know if it would always come? How many times have you dived off a bridge?” He asked sarcastically.

26-Jun-2009 00:16:18 - Last edited on 12-Jul-2009 06:18:21 by Dark Enmity

Dark Enmity

Posts: 2,957 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“Twice,” she gasped, coughing up water. “Once when I was eight, and I went to the circus. After the show I could use the tightrope. I didn't even have to fall, I was so scared. The voices weren’t as bad as when I got older, but they still came. The second time it was jumping off a cliff, into water. I was sixteen and I did it with a few friends. It’s an extreme sport.”

“You don’t learn, do you?” Aimeric said and she laughed, hugging his body.

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“Ready, Aim!” Oliver was bouncing at the front steps with his blue jacket. On his shoulders was a knapsack, filled with a few sandwiches and an apple for desert. “Hurry up, you slowpoke!”

Aimeric came down the steps in clean working clothes and guiltily looked up above, where Thea’s room was. ‘It was for the best. You have to do this."

That morning he had snuck into Thea’s room and turned off her alarm clock. He felt horrible doing it, but Oliver needed help. He was now drawing things in secrecy. Random things, like a couple days ago he drew a garden. The next morning Aimeric saw flowers sprouting from the soil.

He decided it was enough when he went to bed last night. It was an awful sleep; he had two nightmares, both about Oliver.

In the first one Oliver was drawing something with crayons at the kitchen table. “What's that, Oliver?” he asked politely.

“I drew a party clown,” Oliver replied solemnly. Aimeric’s talks with Ivan had become more personal. They were had discussed fears one day. They didn't have clowns in their city, but by Ivan’s description, they sounded horrible.

“C-clowns?” Aimeric was starting to back away from Oliver slowly. His head twisted toward the front door, which was now making an awful knocking noise.

“Yes, silly,” Oliver said impatiently. “For your birthday. Say hi to Mr. Tatters.”

26-Jun-2009 00:16:23 - Last edited on 12-Jul-2009 06:20:14 by Dark Enmity

Dark Enmity

Posts: 2,957 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

The door opened and Aimeric wanted to scream, but couldn’t. He felt that he was underwater and all he could do was watch.

Tatters came in through the door. His clothes were ripped and torn, and he wasn’t wearing those huge red shoes, but his feet looked like grotesque logs. Tatters’s make-up was blood, smeared around his eyes and lips. Fangs lined the inside of his mouth as he gave a grin that stretched to his ears.

“Come here, Aimeric. Come give Tatters a hug.” The clown laughed and began to walk. He was holding a knife in his hand. “If you give me a hug I promise all will be alright.”

He realized tatters didn't have skin. That wasn’t white make-up, it was his skull. Tatters looked at him with his cold, dead eyes and darkness rushed out. Aimeric was drowning in it.

“Come hug me Aimeric! HUG ME AND IT WILL BE—,”

Aimeric woke up.

The second dream was shorter. In it Aimeric saw Thea, quietly crying by the window, looking out onto the window.

“What’s wrong, Thea?”

Her eyes turned fiery. “What’s wrong? They took him, Aimeric! They took Oliver because you wouldn’t listen! You wanted to show him off and now he’s gone!”

“What? Me? Thea, I didn't—,”

“SHUTUP! IT’S YOUR FAULT! YOUR FAULT YOUR FAULT YOUR FAULT,” she was screaming and pushed Aimeric with her hands. He tripped backwards and smashed through the window, spraying tiny shard onto him as he fell towards the lake.

“YOUR FAULT YOUR FAUL!” He was drowning. Aimeric looked for the surface but couldn’t find it. There was nothing but water, stretching on forever. And he would die in it.

When he did wake up he was fighting with the bed sheets that were wrapped around him tightly. Celeste had been sleeping in the guest bedroom lately. Aimeric thought all night if what he was doing was right.

“Okay Oliver, let’s go,” he said with little emotion and they headed off to work, Oliver skipping as usual and Aimeric sulking, dreading over his decisions.

26-Jun-2009 00:18:43 - Last edited on 12-Jul-2009 03:03:10 by Dark Enmity

Dark Enmity

Posts: 2,957 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

When they got there it wasn’t very busy. Friday only had half the usual employees. Nobody really cared that a young child was there around heavy machinery. Once they saw him with Aimeric they just assumed he was bringing his son to work, like a tradition most fathers have.

Oliver was fascinated by it all. “What does this do? What about this? Why is that thing over there? What’s this called? Can I try this?” was all he could say for the first four hours.

Aimeric just sulked along in his work. He knew the real reason. Roland always stopped by every Friday to check the progress. Roland never really liked the grinding sounds of metal and he especially hated the sounds a screeching Bessie, so he always came on the off-days when it was quiet.

As expected, Roland arrived at the site at noon, just when Oliver was digging into his baloney sandwich. He greeted Aimeric happily.

“How nice to see you, I must say thanks for your help with that light business. Those men were quite chickens, me included!”

“I was no trouble,” Aimeric said impatiently. “Has been going well?”

“Alas no, the council is even considering shutting down the operation.”

Aimeric scratched the back of his head. “Roland, I need to speak to you in private.” Roland looked nervous but followed him into a nearby tent with Oliver.

“Well, what is it, my dear boy?”

“Err...Oliver is special.” Roland just looked at him with a dumbfounded expression.

“Really? I must admit he does look a little slow.”

“No, not like that. It's hard to explain but...” Aimeric was gagging on his words. “Whatever Oliver paints happens in real life.

Oliver grinned. Roland just stared, looking dubious. “Aimeric, have you been getting enough sleep?”

“I know it sounds crazy, but I can prove it!” he pulled out a box of crayons and a scrap of paper from the bag. “Oliver can paint anything. Just tell him what and he will do it!”

Roland sighed. "I don’t have much time for these mind games Aimeric. But very well.”

26-Jun-2009 00:18:44 - Last edited on 12-Jul-2009 03:05:11 by Dark Enmity

Dark Enmity

Posts: 2,957 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“Think of anything. Anything at all.”

Roland racked his brain. An image came zooming into his mind. It seemed perfect and for the first time he wanted Aimeric to be telling the truth. “Alright. Oliver, can you paint the cave by the well full of light?”

‘Oh God,’ Aimeric thought. ‘How would he even know what light is?’ And then the terrifying image of the chandelier came into his mind. ‘What if Oliver paints something else?’

But Oliver was already scrawling with the crayons, scratching colors across the paper.

"Done,” Oliver said proudly holding up his masterpiece. It truly looked like it could be hung in a gallery. The rocks were finely defined, the moss at least six different shades of green. And of course, the room was full of light.

“Amazing,” Roland said. “Just like the room...only now...it’s beautiful...” His eyes were hypnotized. Roland glanced up at the two staring at him and he cleared his throat.

“Yes, well...very good. But now we must see if this painting is true. Aimeric, I permit you and your child a leave of absence to come and join me at the cave.” His voice sounded soft and faint, his eyes still gazing at Oliver’s new creation.

“Of course, sir,” Aimeric said formally. For Oliver this was a special moment. Some moments were just awful and you had to cry, even if the other kids made fun of you. This wasn’t that kind of moment. The whole way there, Oliver had a grin plastered to his soft round face.

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“Oh...my...God...” This was all that came out of Roland’s mouth when they entered the cave. Aimeric was breathing sighs of relief. ‘There was a chance it wouldn’t work. Deep down I felt that Oliver lost the gift. But he did it alright.’

26-Jun-2009 00:18:50 - Last edited on 12-Jul-2009 03:07:05 by Dark Enmity

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