Colaborative Story - Fantasy

[DamaNegra]

She felt the cold water seep into her nose, freezing her insides. She had always been a lousy swimmer, and could do nothing but let the current carry her as she flailed her arms, trying to get to the surface.

The sun seemed like a tiny dot of light, swaying in the murky waters, far out of her reach. Gwen cried of anyone, even Dannel, to help her, but only bubbles came out of her mouth, letting too much water into her throat and stomach.

Gwen felt herself lose consciousness, and fought to regain control of her body and swim anywhere. Someone shoved his arm into the water, Gwen could barely see the ghastly white fingers close around her arm and pull her out of the dephts.

She coughed and sputtered when she reached the surface, hugging whoever had saved her as she tried to get air back into her lungs.

"Thanks," she said, looking at her saviour. She gasped, jumping back. She'd rather go back into the water than confront the vision that stood in front of her.

"Janis!"

 

[nandu]

For a moment, it looked to Gwen as though Janis had a second grinning mouth below his chin. The she realised it was his throat, cut from ear to ear. Gwen suddenly felt faint. Standing before her was a man who had no right to be alive...

As if reading her thoughts, Janis spoke in her head. That's right, girl. I am not alive. At least, not in the way you mean.

Gwen looked at him in shock. Did she see a glow of triumph in his glazed eyes?

The one whom the Governor is trying to destroy has given me life, girlie. Everlasting life. Now I'll die no more.

It suddenly came to Gwen in a flash. Janis was one of the Evil One's minions. One of his horde of Undead, whom he used to carry out tasks which he could not do himself. And he was here now -

To take you to the master: Janis completed the sentence. He has been trying so hard, and you keep on slipping away, my pretty. But not this time. Not from old Janis...

The innkeeper suddenly took hold of her shoulders in a vice-like grip.

 

[nandu]

Suddenly everything clicked into place for Gwen.

Somehow, she had become the pivot in this grim drama: the events of the night before had been nothing but a preplanned script. The thugs of the Governor had wanted to destroy her: of course, they had no clear instruction, but they had been guided that way. And the evil one wanted her. Alive.

Dannel, Janis... nothing but tools...

But Dannel had tried to kill her -

Her mage-mind worked rapidly. Two forces at work here. One wants her alive. The other, dead.

Why?

What was special about her?

 

[DamaNegra]

Gwen pushed her mind to the limits, trying to remember any relevant element of her early childhood, but she came up with nothing. Not that she hadn't expected it, she had somehow blocked every memory prior to her fourteenth birthday for reasons still unknown to her.

Maybe the loss of her memory had something to do with the hoardes now pursuing her. Maybe someone had been desperate enough to posses her only son to ensare her.