Chapter 46: Chapter 46

Dear Calla and Ethan.

You have to go to the fea land where you will find a lot of innocent people being used by the fea. They are using them for their benefits. But especially you have to go and find a young girl named as dilana. She is special, and they got her heart, the fea population would be unstoppable. Go find them and kill them all so they no longer hurt innocents. Good luck

Dalton.

I've seen darkness before, the kind that makes our street like an old fashioned photograph, everything a shade of grey. This isn't like that. This is the darkness that robs you of your best sense and replaces it with a paralysing fear. In this darkness I sit, muscles cramped and unable to move. I only know my eyes are still there because I can feel myself blink, still instinctively moisturizing the organs I have no current use for. I can't hear anything either. I guess that should bring my heart rate down below the level of “rabbit in a snare” but it doesn't. By my genes I am a predator, I have the front facing eyes and brain enough to hunt, but I feel like prey in this utter black.

When I was brought here I did not know that I was being brought here, lured like a child with candy to the abandoned camp of a mad psychotic clown. There was a slight sense of magic in the air which would take you to the place where they exactly wanted you to be. Once you stepped in this land you would not know that there is something called free will or independent thinking. You think what they make you think and you see what they want you to see. Once all my senses were absolutely disoriented and I had no control over myself any longer, I started moving again, crawling this time. They told me to come to them and all will be fine, you see!!! I went to them….and then…I don’t really remember….

“This one really needed some time to be broken Sister,” said Tahira as she smiled at the semi-conscious adolescent male prostrate before them with a vacant look before their eyes.

“Ah!! Is that so? Strong one, is he?” asked the Eldest as she grinned at the boy. This one was supposed to be the one who had come of his own volition in order to find his missing sister. Strange circumstances to be united with one’s sibling though, getting trapped yourself. Tahira was still controlling his thoughts when Eldest said,” Queen Mother has said that we need a few more like him, you know Tahira? You can let go of him now…”

“But he will then….,” started Tahira but Eldest shut her up in the middle of her sentence with a sharp look at her.

“Of course we know what he will be doing, what he will try to do and we want him to do that…don’t you see? We have been showing that our land is the one of the greatest pleasure to all those who are staying here with us but now we need to make things a bit stronger, you see dear,” said the Eldest as the vacant gaze was moving away from the boy’s eyes and he was taking in the scene before him, trying to figure out what he should be doing at this point of time.

“Ahhh!! There you are sweetheart,” said Tahira with a soft smile on her face. Well even with a soft smile her face looked a lot more beastly than friendly. The Fae were nothing like humans, nothing remotely humane was inside them or you could not even imagine the viciousness that they were really capable of. They were only a particular fable and no one ever came to see the world as it is after seeing them. They were and have been on this Earth far longer than us. It was a matriarchal race who did not have any males…

“Who are you? Where am I?” asked the boy as he looked at the women standing before him. And strangely he could not move from the position that he was in.

“Ahhh!! You are just exactly where you wanted to be. The one place where your sister is…would you like to see her?” asked the Eldest with a kinder smile which scared the shit out of the boy. Their eyes were absolute green like those of snakes and there was no ounce of warmth in them. They had rows of teeth which were sharp like those of the sharks and noses were long and slightly crooked like that of the beak of a vulture.

The boy could not answer, he was trying to understand what exactly he was seeing before his eyes. His brain was not exactly adapted to see something like this at all. He did not even know or understand what he was seeing because these were supposed to be found in your worst nightmares, not standing alive before you.

“You must be tired, I shall take you to her. You will see that she is so happy here,” said Tahira as she again held up her hand in a slight movement and the boy started crawling again. He was trying very hard to resist but both the Fae smiled.

“You see my dear boy… men in this world are not welcome at all. But since we are so pleasant and we want to be the best hostess to you we always welcome you with open arms, but you can never rise up on your feet in this land. That is the clincher, you see?” said The Eldest as she touched Tahira’s hand and the boy fell on the ground absolutely rigid with shock as if electricity had jolted across his body.

“Monsters!!!!’ he stuttered as both the women smiled.

“Human beings!!! Insolent and stupid creatures…they have this tendency to label anything as monsters what they don’t understand,” said the Eldest as she added,” Tahira, make sure that he is not given anything at all retains his senses completely. I think I am going to take particular enjoyment with this one.”

And Tahira smiled as the boy crawled into some other corner at the back of the places which were designated for their human Guinea pigs.

“The Mother Queen has said that it has been enough time that we have been playing with the docile stock….and it is good enough for now but later on it might not be so we need a few more of good strong stock like this one,” said the Eldest as Tahira nodded in understanding. She left the Eldest alone with her books and parchments and her research which were going to be used later on and she moved to see what was happening in the production center today.

The Fae world was unseen by men and would remain so but that did not mean that they did not have any connections with the vile creatures. They were the only people who needed drugs to keep themselves happy and also forget all that they wanted to forget. The Fae were the only people who were able to create something so pure like the synthetic endorphins that the humans were so crazy about. It was a synthetic purplish colour crystal which had to be either dissolved or injected into the bloodstream or you would also snort it up through your nose.

The Fae women were powerful creatures who could create this sense of fulfillment and happiness in the state that would be almost permanent. They remained locked virtually in a world where they were the most happy. Some wanted flowers and gardens and meadows and some wanted to kill other people. Strange things made the humans tick, but when they were locked in the virtual world and were the happiest, their bodies produced copious amounts of endorphins which were the reason for their happiness. They were trying to synthesize the dopamine as well, which would produce and emit the feelings of love but that was a much more complicated and difficult task.

These endorphins were extracted from the humans continuously till they were able to produce it. And once they could not any longer they were allowed to shrivel up into husks of what they were and changed into plants in the live greenhouse that the Fae maintained so carefully. Every single human had the positive power of becoming something far more basic and since their evolutionary powers were gone, it was just a matter of time before they changed into plants.

Tahira reached the production centre and smiled at the one who was overseeing the production today.

“How is the stock functioning today?” asked Tahira as she watched the rows of delirious kids in the glass cubicles and then her eyes stopped at one of them where she could see that a strange pair of blue eyes was looking straight in her soul.

“What is the matter with that one?” asked Tahira, and she had a strange sensation course through her body for the first time in decades. And as she tasted the acrid taste in her mouth she could understand that it was fear.

“I don’t know Sister. She is producing chemicals alright but that is not endorphin or any other thing that we need. I have made a different section for what is releasing from her body and she is conscious the whole time.

“Do we know her name?” asked Tahira as she stared back at the cold flinty blue gaze.

“Dilana,” came the reply.

Tahira smiled wickedly and went to the little girl. She grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the examination room to get her examined. She laid the little girl on the table and tied her with leather ties. The little girl shivered, when she saw sharp instruments and dried blood everywhere. But all she could do was try hard to free herself. She wasn't strong enough to break the ties. Water started flowing from her blue eyes. Tahira picked up a sharp knife and her eyes glowed.

She was about to make a cut on the elbow of the little girl when she froze in mid air. Something stopped her. It wasn't someone. It was magic that she couldn't overcome. A blondy came in front with a mischievous smirk on her face. She untied the little girl and carried her like a baby in her arms. Little girl quickly wrapped her tiny arms around her neck and hid her face in the crock of the woman's neck. The woman snatched the knife from Tahira and stabbed her throat. Gagging loudly, Tahira fell on the ground with blood pooling out of the wound like a shower. Humming a lullaby, the woman carried the little girl out of the room.

Outside, she saw a graveyard of feas. Little girl was now on the ground, holding hands with the blonde woman. She looked at the monster, who was huge with sharp fangs and claws. His pitch black eyes made the little girl shiver in fear. She quickly hugged the woman's leg and shut her eyes tightly. The monster came close and the blonde woman picked her up again and carried the little one in her arms. "Don't be afraid sweetie. He is a savior, not a killer." Said the blonde woman with a cheeky smile.

"Are they all dead Ethan?" Asked the blonde woman to the monster.

" Yes Calla, and all the hostages are now free except for her brother who is waiting for her." Said the monster. Calla nodded her head and kissed the little girl's cheek.

"What's your name sweetie?" She asked in a honey sweet voice.

"Dilana," said the little one. Ethan took the little one to her brother while Calla searched for what she was looking for. After a few minutes of walking aimlessly, she finally stopped in front of a huge room. She pulled out the glass tube from her pocket. She opened the door and stepped inside. She found a hideous creature sitting by the end of the room on a throne. Without hesitation, Calla walked further into the room. She stopped in front of the shelf where she saw a beautiful crown, locked into the shelf. Calla swung her leg and kicked the glass hard. The shelf broke down and calla picked up the crown. She smiled and in a second, she turned around and threw the glass tube on the queen. Burning into an invisible fire, queen fea died crying crazily. Calla threw the crown on the floor and it shattered into pieces. She knelt down and pulled out two envelopes. Putting them in her pocket, she went back to Ethan who was done with freeing the hostages. Scoping her up in his arms, he carried her bridal style and took her away from fea land. Standing on a safer distance, he started reciting a spell and snapped his fingers twice. Everything started burning. The fea land turned into ashes and the couple went back where they came from.

The story credit goes to Shreya Chakraborty.