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10-03-2009, 08:31 AM

10. Chain

"Do you hear that?"

Immediately Aaron fell quiet and stood just as still as Daniel. For a second the waif stood there, head tilted upwards, hands cupped around his ears in a faint hope to hear the sound better. It was familiar. A light jingling sound, slowly growing louder and louder. Eventually it was loud enough to be accompanied by a very, very light shuffling noise.

And then it hit him exactly what it was. His skin went dead white, and his expression froze with fear. "We're dead." He said, his voice quivering with fear for the first time since the young mage had met him.

"What is it?" Aaron asked, suddenly feeling as if the air were crowded with dread. Maybe it was Daniel, but he felt as if it were instinct. He suddenly didn't like this place. "Hey...what is it?"

"It's the chain. That's how you recognize it. No scum is stupid enough to put on chains, because they know how horrible it is. They know not to even pretend that it's nearby. You wouldn't understand. You've never seen it."

"But what is it?" There was a pause. "Why aren't we running?"

In all honesty he wouldn't have known how to answer that. He felt as if his feet were glued to the ground and all his joints were gone. Stiff as a dead man. He thought bitterly to himself, realizing just how accurate a metaphor that was. Soon he would be that dead man he compared himself to.

The shuffling kept on growing louder and louder, accompanied by the tinkling noise. It was drowned out in their minds by the powerful beat of their own hearts, but still it was obviously getting closer. It was so close the air felt thick with the stench of death.

Aaron began to move.

After only a few feet he turned around, looking at Daniel. "What are you waiting for? Come on!"

This was enough to snap him out of whatever spell he was under. As if some mysterous force took over, his body began to run. He had no control over the fact that he was running, it just happened. His legs moved like pistons, faster than he had ever gone before, and somehow Aaron managed to keep up. Fear pushed them faster and faster.

Soon the chains and shuffling began to fade. Turning his head out of curiosity, Aaron saw a twisted form - silohuetted so he couldn't see the detail - too tall to be a man, but definitely in the shape of a human. Even though there was no way to see its features, he knew its eyes burned into him with longing and hunger. Giving a shiver, he put on an extra burst of speed.

After over an hour of running purely on terror they finally took a rest. Panting, leaning against a pile of rubble, the would-be-mage decided to ask his question again.

"So...now are you going to tell me what it was?"

"Nope." Daniel looked smug as he spoke, a big grin on his face. He was still running off the adrenaline high.

"Smartass."