赤裸裸的滑稽故事

Over the next five months, Irina suffered almost daily attacks. So much so that she was bedridden for her own safety.

Her dreams became nightmares. She saw horrible visions of monsters and demons crawling out from the dirt.

She saw wars and battles between friends and families. Men, women, and monsters alike all tearing each other apart.

Every time she closed her eyes, a new horror awaited her.

The nightmares continued even when the seizures finally stopped and the whispers returned.

She heard very little about what was happening in the chamber. She knew that Gorn had visited many times and that he had refused to let Cain return for several months.

When Cain was allowed back, he was allowed to study the chamber, but no samples were to be taken from the tree. He took all kinds of readings and measurements from the rest of the chamber. Eventually, he reported that it was a fae mound.

Gorn seemed pleased by the information while the whispers continued to claw and scratch at the walls of Irina’s mind.

Cain and Gorn were arguing more and more. Irina didn’t know or care what about. She was done. Irina wanted nothing more to do with the mound or any of the research.

She tried to return to her place by the lake, but the sound was corrupted now. There was no quiet, never any quiet. There was always whispering, laughing, growls and snarls, and shrieking sounds everywhere she went.

Irina screamed with angry tears. She scratched at her ears and tried to drown out the chaos around her. But she couldn’t; it just kept growing.

And then silence.

Irina gasped. Her tear-soaked face lifted and she looked all around her. Nothing had changed except for the complete silence.

‘Stop him…’ a whisper came to her.

This one was different. It was one voice, one clear voice, that begged her.

‘Stop him…’ it called again.

Irina spun around, looking for whoever might be near her.

“You must stop him.”

Irina gasped as the voice came from behind her.

It was a woman.

Dark, rich chocolate skin, beautiful green eyes of jade, and a head of golden curls. She wore a sage colored dress in a Greek style that was long and lightweight.

“Who are you?” Irina whispered.

“You must stop him, don’t let him touch the tree,” the woman said.

“Who?”

“Alpha Cain, he must not touch the tree,” the woman said. “No matter what, you must stop him.”

“Who are you?” Irina asked.

The woman did not answer.

A sound from the trees drew Irina’s attention, just for a moment, but it was long enough for the other woman to disappear.

Irina gasped.

“The Goddess…” Irina whispered. “The Goddess must have sent her….”

She took deep breaths and looked up at the sky with her hands held together in prayer.

“I will stop him!” she called out, “but in return, please, stop the whispers. Make the noise stop!”

She whispered a prayer and then turned and ran as fast as possible to the cave.

It didn’t take long for her to find him.

He wasn’t supposed to be there. She knew Gorn had ordered him to stay out of the chamber after their last argument.

“Stop, Cain! You cannot go in there!” she shouted.

Cain turned and looked at her. He smiled and laughed.

“You scared me,” he said. “I just need a few quick samples, no big deal.”

He turned to continue on his way.

Irina growled.

“I said no, Cain!”

“Irina, come on,” Cain sighed. “I’ll be quick.”

Irina ran to the front of the cave entrance.

“You cannot touch the tree, Cain. You can’t!” she shouted.

“Irina… are you ok?” he asked.

“Go,” she insisted.

“Please, just talk to me. Tell me, what is going on with you?” Cain said.

“Go!” she screamed.

“No,” he stated. “I am concerned about you. You aren’t acting like yourself. Please just tell me what is happening to you!”

He took a step forward, and she saw his concern. But the silence around her, the protective shielding she was clinging to, suddenly breached. The loud, twisted call of the chamber, the whispers, and the shrieking all fell over her at once.

And among the voices, she still heard the woman’s voice.

‘Stop him.’

The Goddess would take away all this chaos if she could stop him. She had to stop him.

“You cannot touch the tree; I won’t let you!” she screamed as she flew at him.

Irina hit and scratched him, pushing him further and further away from the cave entrance. He shouted, he tried to speak, but she couldn’t hear him anymore. He wasn’t one of them. The whispers, the voices, the shrieking. His words were lost to her.

***

Gorn locked her away after what happened with Cain. But not before Irina told him that Cain wanted the power for himself. That he planned to analyze the tree to harness the power. It wasn’t true, but she knew it was enough to convince Gorn to keep Cain away from the tree.

She was left in a windowless room for days, weeks, and months. It could have been years for all she knew.

Her mind was going. The endless noise was all that seemed to remain. But every once in a while, there would be the slightest dip in the sound. Just a few moments where the world was just a little bit quieter.

It was in one of these moments that she saw the woman again.

She appeared in her cell, and Irina cried at the sight of her. She jumped to her feet.

“I stopped him!” she said through tears of joy. “I stopped Cain from touching the tree!”

“Yes,” the woman smiled. “You did good.”

“Then the Goddess will heal me now?” she asked with every ounce of hope left in her soul.

The woman reached her hand out to Irina. Her heart raced, and she felt the most remarkable anticipation and joy she had ever felt since the first day she had laughed with Roman by the lake.

But then, nothing happened.

“I’m sorry,” the woman said sadly. “There is nothing I can do for you… I can’t heal what’s been done to you.”

“What..? But.. I did what you asked… I stopped Alpha Cain….” Irina whispered desperately. “Please… please, you have to help me!”

“I can’t,” the woman said, backing up as she spoke. “I’m sorry.”

In the blink of an eye, the woman was gone. And the noise was louder than ever as Irina fell to her knees and cried.