Final ambush

The playground was dark and foreboding. The climber and swings had lost nearly all their coloring. The monkey bars looked fragile. The children lacked enthusiasm. They huddled together to keep warm. It was not cold in this place, but the kids were shivering.

Nepal could see his friends had arrived with him. Breyn, Etten, Jueqel, Dru, and Raymond started to explore, but Nepal stopped them. “Karden is near.”

The kids dropped away from one another like petals of a rose, and Karden rose up from the center. “This is my sandbox,” he warned. “I'm boss around here, now.”

Kelly was one of the children on the ground, and she was looking up at Karden with a fear stricken face.

Breyn plowed toward him. She got close enough to hit him once, but Karden swatted her away with lightning speed. “Kelly,” Breyn cried out. “Get up, sweety.”

Karden swung his legs around and kicked Breyn upside her temple. She went flying back to where her friends stood. “Yes, Kelly,” Karden menaced. “Get up, now.”

Kelly obeyed. The sandbox lost a little color.

“Now, Kelly, we don't like these intruders. It's our playground. It's our sandbox. We rule here,” Karden demanded.

Kelly put up her dukes, ready to fight. Again the playground lost color and the monkey bars gave in and collapsed.

Jueqel circled to the right and Raymond circled to the left. Karden followed the motion of Jueqel, while Kelly followed Raymond. Dru stepped forward and acted as if he would tackle Kelly. When she turned to face him, Raymond grabbed her.

Karden had also shifted his gaze to see what Dru was doing, and left an opening for Jueqel to make his move. He grabbed Karden by the wrists.

Suddenly the world went silver and Nepal thought he might be blinded. No time had passed when his sight returned, but the world he found himself in was changed. He could see Jueqel, still holding Karden, and Raymond had Kelly, but their threads of silver held more significance to his sight.

Jueqel was pulsing with a darker translucent silver that pushed down Karden's thread, and it made them dimmer. Nepal knew Jueqel was trying to cancel out Karden. Removed him completely.

Raymond was there holding on to the struggling Kelly. His bright silver pulse was giving life energy to Kelly's dieing body. A little color returned to her and to the playground. The monkey bars had started to rebuild themselves and the sun gathered strength to come out.

It didn't last long, however. Karden wasn't getting any weaker.

Dru ran up with a martial a kick that hit Karden in the back. Dru's leg appeared to get stuck momentarily before he hit the ground. Karden then grabbed Jueqel by the neck. He pulled him close to his lips and kissed deeply. Jueqel released and slumped to the sand.

Nepal had seen the life force drain from each attack as they hit Karden. Even Raymond's life giving ability was being used by this monster.

Breyn got up from the ground, and readied herself to make another attack, but Nepal put a hand on her. “Get the others out of here. He's feeding on all of us.”

“I won't let him have her,” she said, fury was about to explode within her.

“If you attack, he will be able to kill her. This is her mind. We have to let her fight it. We can be her backup,” Nepal hoped he knew what he was doing. “Now, get everyone out of here.”

Nepal walked over and between Karden and Kelly. He didn't think it would sever their link, but he had to try. Once there his grabbed Dru's hand and flung drew back to the spot where they had entered the sandbox. Next, he flung Jueqel to the same location. “Get them out of here,” he yelled to Breyn.

“Raymond, you have to go,” Nepal demanded.

Raymond stood there holding Kelly, “I can't. She needs this. I can keep her alive.”

A hand gripped around Nepal's neck. Its cold icy grip was familiar enough to bring back his first memories of their encounters. How the monster cam down the stairs and attacked him with crawling bits that froze as they tore into his flesh. Then Cheshin came, looking sickly. “Looking sickly,” Nepal said.

“What?” Ramond asked. “She's doing better, I think.”

“No, Raymond. Make her sick to her stomach.”

Raymond shook his head no. “What?” He asked, clearly not understanding.

The hand around Nepal's throat tightened and it made it hard to breath. He tried to explain to Raymond with, but it was no use. Karden's grip was too tight. He couldn't breath. Why was there so little air?

The lines of shinny gray tendrils appeared before before Nepal. He could see they were the tendrils of Karden. “That's how he imagines his abilities. As tendrils.” They penetrated into Nepal. They were icy, but not as much now. They had a warmth to them that spoke of pain and hunger, and a longing for family.

“Karden, I'll be your family,” Nepal said, trying to appeal to the monster.

The pressure let up, and for an instant, Karden stopped his assault.

“Give Kelly an upset stomach, NOW!” Nepal shouted with such force, he felt Karden take a step back.

Nepal turned to face Karden and found he had gone pale. His strength was diminishing.

Karden turned and ran to the edge of the sandbox. He fell at the edge and climbed over the board that kept the sand in its place. He took off in a sprint toward the small grove of trees.

“Not this time,” Nepal said. He was tired of this monster, and was ready to take him out.

Nepal reached the edge and had to put a lot of effort into jumping out of the playground. He found Karden huddled in and hiding behind a bush and under a tree. “Nice hiding place,” Nepal told him.

Karden screamed and ran toward Nepal. Arms reached and groped for Nepal's neck, but it was no use. Karden was too weak.

Nepal found this silver cords that lead from Karden to the gray grassy earth below him. “Karden, you are a monster. And monster don't exist anymore.” Nepal pulled on the silver cord. It snapped away with an echoing crack.

Karden breathed heavily and groped for air. Nepal carried him to the sandbox. Kelly looked better and the other children were up as well. Raymond looked worn out.

“I'm taking this thing with me,” Nepal said when Raymond looked at Karden.

Raymond nodded, and they left Kelly's mind, taking the monster with them.