Chapter 66: Chapter 66

THE MIST AND THE RING

The Mist and the Ring

The Tundra, Arctica

Tarja peered over at Floor, who was staring at a ring. The odd thing about the ring was that its' centre was a greenish colour, almost the same colour as the mist. She stared at Floor, who had a very lost expression on her face. Things just kept getting better and better.

Tarja watched as the water kept creeping higher and higher on her body. There was simply no use in fighting it. They were going to die; there was no other way around it. She could feel its coldness creeping into her body, threatening to shut down every system inside of her. She could no longer feel certain parts of her body.

She looked at the others. The smaller ones were almost buried beneath the water's icy blast. They looked like they were turning a blue colour. If they didn't get out of his situation within a few minutes, even more of their group was going to be dead.

Tarja stared up at the ceiling. There had to be a way out of this mess. The mist kept rising with the water. Its greenish flare always seemed to just be out of reach of them. Her eyes shifted back down to Floor's ring. It was still glowing.

Floor shrugged once she caught sight of Tarja's staring. She looked like she wanted to say something, but was too afraid to waste precious air on the thought.

Higher and higher the water came on them until it stopped. Tarja looked down at the water, blinking. There was no longer any water coming up on her. It seemed to staying right at her waist. She looked around the others; it wasn't moving on them either. This was just interesting.

No one seemed to move. It was as if they were afraid to move, that it would set off a course of events that they could not come back from. She could feel its coldness still trying to get inside of her. There was no denying that the water was real, but what about the sudden stopping?

The newcomer only smiled at them. "Come now." She started to wade through the water.

The others just stood there and watched her. What were they going to do? They couldn't just stay here and wait. If they stayed in this water much longer, it would only kill them all that much more faster.

Raakel took the lead, following the newcomer at a slow pace. When nothing happen, the others followed in right behind them. Tarja kept looking around the cave or whatever it was they were in. there really was nothing to see, but the mist and darkness. She had hoped that the mist would show them something, but there was nothing.

Further and further they went into the darkness. The air did seem to be getting a little warmer, if that meant anything. She didn't feel like she was going to freeze to death anymore. She let the cool water dance around her.

Ahead, she could make out a faint island. She looked around, blinking. There was no denying it. There was an island in the middle of the water. The water lapped at it as they got closer.

Tarja climbed on top of it, looking around. There was a forest here too! She looked back out at the water, expecting to see the edge of the cave, but there was nothing. It was as if they had been walking in water this entire time. She looked back at the others.

The newcomer only smiled at their confusion. "Come on. We don't have a lot of time to waste."

"Who the hell are you?" Tarja snapped, unable to hold it in anymore.

The newcomer only smiled. "I was wondering when you were going to ask that. Names do not matter in this land. The only thing I ask you to remember is that I am a friend, not a foe. I will not allow any harm to come to you."

Floor stared at them, then went back to her ring. "Them, can you at least tell us what this means?" She all but shoved the ring in the newcomer's face. "This whole thing needs to stop and you can start by helping us get some answers."

The newcomer stared at the ring with great interest. "And where did you find this?"

Tarja looked at Floor. She had been wondering the same thing. It wasn't everyday that you found a glowing ring.

Floor bit the inside of her mouth. "That's none of your concern-"

"A monster came after us when we took it out of the warehouse. It chased us down this giant hole and almost killed us," Lydia said. "The metal about us kept getting hotter and hotter, but we still kept trying to get it."

Floor shot Lydia a death glare, who just seemed to brush it off.

The newcomer looked closer at the ring. "It certainly is an interesting item. I think it will take us right to where we need to go. I thought it was gone, but here it is. It just shows us that there is hope in the world." She seemed to be talking more to herself than the group. "It really is interesting."

Floor just rolled her eyes. "I'm glad it's interesting and all, but can you just tell us how it is going to help us?"

The newcomer only smiled. "Everything will become so much clearer with time."

Tarja looked over at Floor, who looked like she was going to go through the ceiling. Tarja really didn't blame her. She felt the same way.

Tarja looked back at the ring. "Can't you just tell us something? Anything that will help us?" She smiled. Maybe playing the nice card would get them somewhere, anywhere was better than where they were now.

"Everything will work out," the newcomer said. "You just have to keep the faith."

Tarja only shook her head. "Listen, you need to stop with this nonsense! We need answers and we need them now!"

"I know the times may seem troubling to you now, but you just need to keep the faith. Everything will work out in the end, like it always does."

Tarja turned and walked away from her. She didn't have to put up with this right now. She needed answers and she needed them now. There was no other way around it. Things were not going to be okay. They were on an island that she was pretty sure hadn't existed until just a few moments ago. Not to mention that they were in a land that wasn't supposed to exist; there was no written record of it outside of the supernatural.

She lowered herself onto the ground. Things were not going to work out. She didn't care what anyone else thought. There was going to be no reward for them. There was going to be no light. In the end, there was only darkness and that was the way it was always going to be. This wasn't the movies were everything was bound to work out; this was real life.

The mist glowed around them, casting a little green light on everything. It made her feel like she was in a haze of some sort. Floor still had her ring out. Its' mist seemed to blend right in with the larger mist

Tarja looked around. It was rather odd that the mist had lead them here-not that they really had a choice in where they were going. It was just so strange. She wasn't ready to admit that the newcomer may had been right, but it was at least a good step in the right direction.

"We have to move!" Aatu suddenly screamed.

Tarja got to her feet, looking around. "Why?"

"They're back!" Aatu roared. "The snakes are coming back!"

Tarja stared out at the water, no believing that she hadn't noticed it early. There in the water was a ripple. She couldn't make out what it was, but she had a sinking feeling that Aatu was right. The way the water moved did remind her of a snake. It moved from side to side in a deadly force, moving faster than any snake that she had ever seen.

She started backing up with her gun out. It wouldn't do any good, but it was a nice comfort touch. She kept backing up further and further, until she ran into someone. Aleksander smiled at her as he took some steps backwards.

The thing in the water was still racing toward them. The closer it actually got to them, the faster it seemed to go. She held her breath; this was not going to end well.

"So much for everything getting okay," Tarja snapped. "This does not look like everything is going to be okay." No one really responded to her-not that she really expected it.

The water rippled around the monster, creating a series of waves that threatened to bring the water right onto the shore. A pair of yellow eyes stared out at them, unblinking and determined to take them down. Closer and closer it got. Tarja could feel her heart racing in her chest. This was it; this truly was how they were going to die.

Floor's ring kept getting brighter and brighter. It was almost blinding. Tarja stared out into the green light.

Aleksander grabbed her. "Come on, we have to keep moving."

"Look!" Anneke exclaimed, pointing out into the water. "It's stopped moving!"

Tarja looked out into the water. Sure enough, the monster had stopped moving. It was staring at Floor's light, almost like it was hypnotized by the light. It's head bounced back and forth as the light moved.

Frowning, Tarja looked at the newcomer. "What is this all about?"

The newcomer just stared at the monster, then at Floor's light. "I don't know. I've never seen anything like it."

"Great," Tarja muttered.

Floor kept her ring out, wiggling it back and forth so that the monster's eyes kept following it. "The moment I take this down, you know what's going to happen, don't you?" she said to Tarja.

Tarja nodded. "Yeah, I know." She looked at the ring. "I don't think this is the ring's only propose though. I think it's supposed to serve a bigger need."

Floor looked at the ring. "I do too. When we went to go get it, there was something there trying to keep us from getting it. It was strange. I just can't make myself believe that this is its only propose."

"So, what do we do?" Tarja looked out at the water. The monster was still watching them. "The moment we start to run again, it loses the ring and will come after us."

"I know," Floor said with a sigh. "I didn't almost die, only to lose it now."

Tarja looked at the monster's haunted expression. She just didn't like how it was always staring at them, as if it was daring them to defy it. Now, that she could actually see it in the light, she could see that it was far older than anything that she had ever seen. Its skin was so worn and broken that she didn't see how it was still being held together. Its age along was enough to make her want to run. Something that old was sure to be very powerful.

"We'll just have to hope that its slow on land," Tarja heard herself saying, not believing her own words. There was no way that thing was going to be slow on land.

"You guys start running," Floor said to the group. "I'll try to buy you as much time as possible."

"What about you?" Kendra asked.

Floor gave her a small smile. "Don't worry about me. I'll be long gone before that monster even has a chance to react to me."