Colors Bite Sized Adventures EP7 - Zombie Dance Part III: Sisters At Arms

Here I go, entering the woods, hunting for my master’s little sister and someone who can suck my body dry of blood in seconds, armed with nothing but a simple dagger. I can feel my legs shaking from under me. Even if the fear of death is not applicable, this is all something I am still uncomfortable with and have little to no experience in. I just hope they don’t find me before I find them, or Mandy will be the one to kill me. As I walk, I eventually find someone that looks a lot like Eliza, so I can only assume I found my target. I sneak up to her, getting lighter on my feet so I don’t crunch the leaves as I go. As I get closer and closer, she remains none the wiser, and Claryssa is nowhere to be seen. I poke my head through a nearby bush and get a clear view of Eliza, sitting alone as she sits on the edge of... nothing?

Taking a clearer look, I can see that she has her feet over just a huge chasm of black, almost like she is dipping her toes into infinity itself. Not long after I arrive, a bat swoops in, eventually transforming into Claryssa... should have expected that really. She somehow turns into a strange shadow beast and sinks into the ground like a hostile ghost, hiding from the world. Wait, she is sneaking up on Eliza? Is she in danger there? As she re-emerges from the ground, she readies her hands just behind an unsuspecting Eliza. Remembering my training from the academy, I prepare my dagger and sneak up on the vampire beast as quiet as I can, surprising myself by how quiet I am.

Before I get to her, she puts her hands across Eliza’s eyes, as Eliza looks surprised.

“Guess who.” Claryssa says, giggling to herself, though I can just tell there is some ulterior motive in her voice.

“Come on Claryssa, that’s like the cheesiest greeting in the book.” Eliza says, pulling her hands away, though I can see a small smile on her face.

As I see the false alarm, I become fully aware that I am still out in the open, so I quietly double back behind the bush, as they turn to my direction... crap. Please don’t come check. Thank the stars, they turn back around, and I remain incognito for another moment or two.

For about half an hour, I listen to girl talk, becoming bored out of my mind, just waiting for Claryssa to slip up and declare a dark secret or two, though honestly I have been drifting in and out due to pure boredom. Suddenly, Claryssa starts laughing, startling me back into reality.

“So, let me get this straight, you got dragged around the road in nothing but a chair?” Claryssa asks, giggling a little, as she puts her hand on Eliza’s shoulder.

“It was pretty scary at the time, but now, I would probably do it in my spare time.” Eliza says to her, with a confident expression on her face, as far as I can tell from the side.

“These friends of yours. You talk of them like nice people.” Claryssa says, looking a little downtrodden, thinking about something.

“Oh, they’re the best. And they would truly love you too, I just know it.” Eliza says, putting her hand on her shoulder.

Suddenly, something sparks up in Claryssa’s eyes, as if she has come to a realisation. The air goes a little thicker around them as she stares in silence, before smiling a little.

“You think so? I would love to see them one day. Oh yeah, I almost forgot the reason I brought you here. Follow me.” Claryssa says, getting up from the edge and taking Eliza’s hand to help her up.

They start to walk away, as Claryssa leads her back into the woods, walking past the bush where I am residing next to. I slowly sidle around the bush as they walk by, hoping that neither of them notice or sense my presence, though through held breath and a heavily beating heart, they pass me with no hesitation or suspicion, allowing me to once again breathe easily. The suspense nearly killed me... again. I follow the two from a safe distance to a strange wooden fence at the edge of the woods, held together with rusty bolts and painted with what looks like blood... quite the ominous view.

Claryssa seamlessly lifts a plank of wood up and lets Eliza inside before it falls back into place, as if no one was ever there. With a hint of curiosity swimming in a sea of fear in my mind, I half-heartedly follow their example and continue my pursuit. On the other side of the fence, I can see a huge patch of growing pumpkins, which surely seems to have been grown for the season. Claryssa and Eliza are already down there, looking down at the plethora that slowly grows from the ground. Looking up, I can see that there is a small crack of what can resemble light, not the artificial light that Mandy had bestowed us to show our way, but actual daylight. The light does not touch the ground, but instead cascades through the atmosphere like a constellation in a starry sky. There is not many things here, but I can see that there is a small bed in the corner, made of wood carved from a fallen tree. Just by the bed, there is a small lake, which while the water does not look good enough to swim in, the feel of the air around it and the noise of it trickling is very atmospheric, though it makes me very aware of my need to pee. Taking my chances, I hide behind a tree, just a few feet from them.

“This is the place I have been coming to ever since I arrived here. No one else seems to know about it, so this is sort of my sanctuary.” Claryssa says, sitting on her wooden bed.

“It’s beautiful. You live here?” Eliza asks, looking impressed with her grin.

“Yeah. I used to live in a part of the woods, after I was kicked out of the castle residence, but that house is cursed by memories that I dare not revisit. This place is more my style anyway.” Claryssa says, picking up a small stone as she skips it across the water, sighing to herself. “After this dance, you have to go back home, don’t you?”

“Unfortunately so. But I will make sure to come back every now and then. I always thought you looked special, and I am not disappointed.” Eliza says, pulling out her phone. “Oh yeah, before I forget, can I get a picture of you to show the others back home?

“Oh. Sure, I guess.” Claryssa says, standing up as her dress flows beneath her.

She stands there as a small click of a camera is faintly heard.

“Alright. Now can you give your best sultry pose?” Eliza says, for some reason.

Claryssa starts to shyly giggle to herself, before shrugging her shoulders and showing off a side of her not really seen before. She stand there with her hands in her long hair, winking with a kissing motion on her lips. The camera clicks once again, before a beep can be heard.

“Crap, the phone died. Oh well, I’ll look later.” Eliza says, looking red and flustered in the face as she pockets her phone.

“Your... friends will like that last one?” Claryssa asks, sounding confused.

“Oh the first one is theirs to see. The last one is for me.” Eliza says, nervously and quietly.

“Oh. Oh! You are nasty. Though perverted as it seems, I must say that I don’t mind the attention for once.” Claryssa says, laughing as she pushes Eliza of the bed, but with some crazy strength, Eliza goes flying and slides in the dirt at least a few feet away.

“Even if it’s another woman?” Eliza asks, picking herself up, covered in dirt but with a hopeful look on her face as she walks back with a small limp in her step.

“I take what I can.” Claryssa says, turning around to her.

After a few more minutes of talking, the two finally start talking with some sense of finality... even if I couldn’t find anything really suspicious to report back.

“Well, I’m really looking forward to the dance tomorrow. See you then.” Claryssa says, before turning into a bat, though Eliza grabs her leg and stops her from flying away.

“Claryssa, wait a moment. I’ve been thinking about something.” Eliza says, looking more serious all of a sudden as Claryssa turns back into her normal self.

“Yeah? What’s that?” Claryssa asks, looking a little confused.

“I like you. I really do... I don’t want this to end. What if I could bring you back with me? If the light should ever bother you, we have ways to deal with it. I really don’t want to say goodbye to you.” Eliza says with the biggest... wait, what did she just say?

“Really? Oh... Eliza, that sounds wonderful, but what about Mandy? Your sister of all people.” Claryssa asks, looking away with guilt.

“No need to worry about her. She’ll be fine with the other monsters. She’ll likely hate me, but she probably still does already. You’ll be able to start a new life, a better life, free of judging eyes and rumours against you. What do you say?” Eliza says, putting her hand out in front of her for a shake.

Claryssa pushes the hand away and goes in for the hug, starting to sob to herself in happiness.

“I don’t know what to say, I never thought about that before. Thank you, thank you. I don’t normally say this, let alone mean it, but you have my full trust from now on.” Claryssa says, before kissing her on the cheek, leaving a small mark in its wake, as Eliza touches it smoothly, looking flustered again.

“I- I- I’m glad. Listen, we should do it before you go back to your duties, so it will have to be tomorrow.” Eliza says, likely planning it all in her head.

“What about the dance?” Claryssa asks, still looking worried about the operation.

“Screw the dance. We’ll make our own once we get there. Start getting things ready and I’ll meet you back here tomorrow. With your flight, we can make it out of here through a secret hole without anyone noticing.” Eliza says, probably referring to the hole to Decain from the woods outside.

“See you then.” Claryssa says, finally turning into a bat and flying away.

As I watch Eliza leave through the wooden fence, I struggle to believe that what I just heard was true. Despite everyone’s opinion of her, Claryssa does seem like a down-to-earth person, even though she likely has the power to destroy anything she wanted. Lizzie also means well and cares more about others than I thought, but this still feels wrong, so wrong. What do I do? Should I tell Mandy about this? Or just let things be and hope that they all turn out okay in the end? I suppose I should start by making my way back to the castle.

As I see the castle on the horizon, I can’t help but feel as nervous as the time when I was younger, I broke my dad’s favourite lawnmower and I had to come clean. I doubt Mandy will take this so lightly, but will she shoot the messenger? And what will become of Eliza? With a heavy and guilty heart, I open the main door, hoping that Mandy will have forgotten about the little command, but as I feared, there she is, sitting in her usual spot as she overlooks the finishing touches of those ungodly decorations. Before I even set foot into the room, Mandy slings her gaze in my direction with a hopeful smile curving on her face. With her hand, she beckons the ghouls off the ladders and out of the room, as they close the door behind them.

“Darius, just who I was hoping for. You sure took your time getting here though. Did you at least get some damning information about our little vampire friend?” Mandy asks me, walking over to me and putting her arms on my shoulders.

“...I did.” I respond to her, hoping that I’m making the right choice, hanging my head in shame.

I explain to her the situation as I know it, telling her about their plans, but as to be expected, her once lovely smile crumbles and fades into a hateful scowl.

“What? No. She can’t. Did you find out anything about those people? What about them, huh?” Mandy asks in a frantic, yet disappointed tone.

“People? What people?” I ask, not really sure what she is talking about at the moment.

“Gah, you idiot! Get out of the way, I’ll fix all of this right now. I’ll be back before sunrise. You’re dismissed, soldier. Return to whatever you were doing before, or whatever the hell you want.” Mandy says, pushing me aside and walking out into the courtyard, with more determination on her face than I’ve ever seen, as she goes to “fix everything.”

Leaving Mandy to deal with the rest of this, hoping that the two sisters can come to some understanding, I decide to go back to finding a date for this dance. I’m sorry Eliza, but that vampire chick must be hiding something up her sleeve. There must be some reason the folks around her are told to fear her so much.

Another night passes, as the clock once again reads 9:00 in the morning, though the moon outside will beg to differ. Today is the day, the day I help fix a dying soul, and give her a fresh start. Maybe she can become an official Color, and who knows, maybe even hit it off more than friends, but I’m going to take things one step at a time. I can feel the excitement rattle in my bones and the spring in my step as I jump out of bed and... urrrgh! Strange, I try to get out of bed, but I can’t seem to move my legs, or arms, or anything for that matter. What has happened? Starting to feel a pinching sensation as it squeezes my limbs in a vice-like grip, I turn my head downward to see that I am completely tied to the bed with a strong rope.

“Oh good lord, no, no, no!” I say to myself, getting more and more panicked as I try fruitlessly to shake myself free.

As much as I want to pin this on Mandy, falling back on her dastardly ways, but she really doesn’t have a reason to do this to me now, of all days... unless she knows about my plans with Claryssa already. I should probably forget about the reason I’m here, and look for ways out of this, minus blowing this whole room apart with my ring. Roxy told me she has been in this situation before... I regret turning my brain off as she explained to me what she did. This sucks. Right now, I can only remain here, think of ways to free myself, and hope that Claryssa thinks to come looking for me.

After about half an hour passes, I realise that maybe she isn’t going to come for me. However, in my train of thought, I remember that in my sock, I keep a small pocket knife stored away, in case of sudden attacks. Using my other foot, I manage to push it out of my sock as it... falls immediately to the floor. I can’t help but scream in frustration after seeing that shameful display of pure embarrassment. I try to reach it with the same foot, but it is too far away. As I breathe a sigh of defeat, the door starts to creak open. Darius enters the room, looking uncharacteristically upset about something. He walks over to me, sighing to himself.

“Hey Lizzie. I was wondering where you’d got to. What happened here?” Darius asks me, sitting down on the edge of the bed by my feet.

“Darius! Oh, what a sight to see. Listen, could you please be a dear and hand me that knife so I can cut these ropes? Pretty please?” I ask in my sweetest voice, weirdly making myself feel sick just to hear it come out of my mouth.

“Before I do that, I have a small confession to make. I know you will likely hate me for it, but I have to come clean before it eats me alive... I saw you with Claryssa and I accidentally let it slip to Mandy.” Darius says, sharp and fast, like ripping off a bandage directly on my heart.

“You did what? So Mandy knows? Because of you, our plans are ruined? Is that what you’re telling me right now?” I ask him, pulling my head up, as my ring starts to react to the pure anger inside my soul right now.

“I’m sorry. I know it was stupid, but you have to trust me. Mandy tells me that she is dangerous. She had even evacuated most of the troops so she can deal with her herself. I didn’t mean to-“ Darius says, trying to calm me down, but in reality, it’s only making me more mad... wait, Mandy is going after Claryssa?

“You know what? Screw this, I’m taking the easy way out. Feu!” I shout as my ring starts to glow red.

Succeeding in even frightening myself, it takes a second before the room is swallowed by my fire. Darius ducks and dives for cover behind the door as the flames narrowly miss him. As the ropes that was once bound me now fizzle away, along with the rest of the bed, I finally get up onto my feet, pick up my trusty knife and rush out of the room, pushing the door into Darius who is still hiding behind it.

“Eliza. I’m sorry. I really am.” Darius says, sounding genuinely sorrowful in his voice.

“You will be sorry when I prove her innocence somehow. You’ll see.” I say, really hoping... no, knowing I’m right. I have to be.

With no time to lose and even less time to get out of my pyjamas and find my spidery party dress, I walk down the stairs, hoping to all the gods that I’m not too late.

At last, I have what I’ve been looking for all this time. To be honest, I wasn’t so sure what I would find, and where I’d go about finding it. I am more than a little peeved that it was right under my nose, and even using something that was once so dear to me. There is unfortunately no way around it, she must pay for her crimes... her and her enabler. Ditching my crown back in the main room, and wearing Eliza’s chosen dress, I go out into the woods to meet at their predestined meeting spot. Hopefully, with this stake, she won’t know what hit her until it’s too late. Doing this makes my human side cry inside a little, but what else can I do besides sit back and let this continue?

As I enter the deep part of the woods, I see Claryssa, dressed in her best clothes, looking around for Lizzie... for someone who looks like her at least. I approach her casually from the clearing.

“I’m here Claryssa. Shall we get started?” I ask, trying to sound vague enough to get the point across without knowing both sides of the story.

As she notices me, she runs up and hugs me as tight as she can... she is making this way too easy for me.

“You might be a little late, but I don’t care, I’m finally getting out of here. No more needless hate, no more ambushes, no more unfair slave-driving bosses. I honestly can’t wait.” Claryssa says, laughing to herself on my shoulder.

“Of course. You’re going to love it.” I say, preparing the wooden stake I had in my pocket, aiming it just so that it will penetrate her vital organ from the back with enough force.

Here we go. I’m sorry, Claryssa. You’ve had it coming for a while.

As I run though the woods as fast as I can, bumping past the ghouls in strange monster costumes as I go, I open up the passageway to our meeting point, hoping that I’m not too late. As I reach Claryssa’s part of the woods, I can see her holding Mandy in a loving embrace, but after a small moment, I can’t help but notice the sharp object that Mandy is clutching and holding behind Claryssa’s back. With speeds I didn’t know I could reach, I run over to them and slap the object out of Mandy’s hands as it rolls onto the floor. Claryssa breaks the hug and backs away, taking looks between the two of us.

“Claryssa. Run!” I say to her, holding Mandy’s neck to cut her movements off.

As she runs away, heading back towards the castle, Mandy pushes me away looking annoyed.

“Lizzie. My dear sister. If I may ask you a quick question, one most concise, cool and collected... what the hell is your problem with me?” Mandy asks, sounding calm, which honestly is scarier than if she was shouting at me.

“My quarrel with you ended a while ago. However, I am stopping you from spilling innocent blood once more.” I say, readjusting my ring that still burns red from earlier.

“Oh Lizzie, how you slay me. Rushing into a matter they know nothing about, with a sense of righteousness like you can do no wrong? That colour doesn’t suit you, sister.” Mandy says, laughing to herself.

“Right or wrong, Claryssa doesn’t deserve this abuse. She could be happy living a normal life, but even though you and the others all hate her, you still keep her here. Why can’t you just let her be happy?” I ask, getting ready to act at any moment.

“I do it for protective purposes only. She would not fit in your world. People of her kind do not fit in any world. But enough of this drivel, it’s time I show you what happens to people who disobey my orders. No special treatment for family members, I’m afraid.” Mandy says, taking her gloves off and throwing them aside to the ground.

She comes at me, as I protect myself with my fists embedded with fire. In the flow of battle, we seem to be on equal footing, thanks to my experience in enchantments, though it doesn’t do much good to the scenery around me.

“I’ve been with her for the past few days, if she was going to do anything sinister, she’d have done by now, wouldn’t she?” I ask as the battle rages on.

“A foolish statement. There may not have been any activity from her in that time, but that’s not to say it won’t happen again very soon. Maybe even you too will be a victim one day.” Mandy says, overwhelming me with her strong cold fists, breaking through my fire, and managing to land a blow to my face.

“She would never do that. She has been getting by with just the animals, she tells me.” I say, wiping off the blood that now paints my face, using my white pyjama top sleeve, which now has a big red stain on it.

After I finish my sentence, the battle falls motionless and quiet, as Mandy looks at me, stunned with a big smile on her face like she has me cornered. Like a record scratching to a halt, I feel judging eyes on me, like I’ve missed something important.

“Animals, you say? Oh, this is outstanding. You idiot. Come with me.” Mandy says, pulling me by my ear out into the main area of the woods, hurting a little as she does so.

She pulls me to look into the wilderness, as the castle remains ever present, just looming over the entire kingdom like a watchful eye.

“Take a big look, and remember back to when you first arrived here. In the past few days, and when you were here before. Besides Aera, who I wouldn’t let anyone touch without permission, have you ever seen an animal here?” Mandy asks, talking directly into my ear.

I rack my brain for the time I saw another animal, but as I go deeper and deeper into my memories, my heart sinks into my stomach as I finally realise something strange.

“Oh my, would you look at that. There aren’t any animals here, and there hasn’t been since I took charge here. I suppose she never told you why she was so hated here in the first place either.” Mandy says, seemingly enjoying every moment of this.

“She- she told me that people were scared of her because she was different.” I say, trying to keep true to my beliefs, but honestly, I’m become less and less certain in myself.

“She was different. When I said I kept her here for protection, did you think I meant protection for her?” Mandy asks, with the biggest and proudest look on her face, as mine gets more upset by the second.

“No. You’re obviously messing with me. If you’re accusing her of something, just come out and say it. I’m sick of these mind games.” I say, starting to lose my patience.

“Alright then. Why don’t I rather show you? There’s a shed on the furthest eastern part of the woods, directly right of here. Take this key and open the door. I’ll join you in about ten minutes, then we can discuss what you see. Go ahead, go!” Mandy says, pushing me off as she returns to Claryssa’s part of the woods, leaving me completely alone.

Confused and terrified, I walk back through the woods and once again come across the creepy shed that I came across before. The door is covered by a plank of wood, so I don’t see how a key is going to help me here. That’s what I thought, until I lifted the plank up to see the keyhole. Flipping the plank of the wood so it locks in place just above the keyhole, I insert the key and slowly open the door, unsure of what exactly I’d be getting myself into. Walking into the pitch black room, my senses are invaded by the foulest odour ever smelt by human nose, leaving me morbidly curious to see what the hell is wrong with the room... until I find the light switch. Conflicted between my desire to know the truth, and wanting to believe that Claryssa is innocent, it seems I have no choice but to flick the switch, and as I expected... I immediately regret it.

As the ominous red lightbulb flickers on, I see that I am in a room filled with blood-riddled chairs, most of which still have lifeless bodies on them. I take a look and see that most of them have been butchered to an unrecognisable mess. It looks as if the bodies were professional sliced from the stomach, and though the organs are all where they needed to be, the blood has been completely siphoned and drained. As if that wasn’t enough, I notice that the bodies are also mostly naked, besides black cloths to conceal the censored parts, and their skin have mostly been peeled off, like animals.

Looking at their exposed flesh and muscles, it makes me sick to my stomach. There’s no way this can be Claryssa’s doing. She is much too sweet and innocent to pull off something like this. Wanting to get out of here as fast as I can, I make it to the end of the shed, where there is what looks like a studio, complete with a sewing table, also covered in blood.

“Quite a nice set-up, don’t you think?” A familiar voice calls to me from just behind me, ever so close to my ear.

Shaking uncontrollably, I slowly look over my shoulder to see them, hoping that I’m wrong, but before I can take a good look, ding, smash, I can feel something metal crashing into my temple, making my body feel colder than ice. I fall to my knees in pain, and as my vision starts to fade, I can only see a silhouette in the blinding red light. As I feel myself start to get dragged away, I try to scream before one last-

Ding! Smash!