making a gut-wrenching sound that signaled the serpents to remove us from the gaping hole. In a lurch, Sophia and I were sucked down the blackness without another sound. My worst nightmare had been realized.
General Love was back, and this time, I didn’t have the power to stop him.
LEVEL 27
SEND THE PAIN BELOW
The Nest reeked of mildew and the sweat of a thousand teenagers. The domed room was now at its capacity and covered in horrific threads of slime and snot that cocooned everyone we knew. Some kids hugged the walls in their oozing blister prisons that breathed in and out with growing energy. Other kids looked like sick mummies wrapped for eternity in filth and spit. Sophia and I were already stuck waist deep in the three-feet of muck built up along the floor of the Nest. Our arms tied to our sides with rubber-like bands from another dimension. They pumped with red veins just under their surface, and felt as strong as steel, even though they seemed to adjust their shape with the fluidity of water. If we moved at all they would tighten around us and burn like a hot iron. I think they were draining our energy, too. Sophia sat only inches away, still unconscious.
I slowly tried to focus my eyes on the darkened prison and get my bearings. “This sucks.” General Love appeared from above me and smashed to the ground with a splash of the black sludge all over my neck and face. I swallowed back a terrified scream.
“Ahh, you’re finally awake, Mr. Ryan. Good, I didn’t want you to miss this,” he said, morbidly. One of his clawed hands swiped at the nearest cocooned student, ripping open a long gash in its side. Green ooze spilled down its wounded surface. He leaned his head down in front of mine letting his ancient breath choke me. “This is the best part.”
Violently, his jaw stretched open, doubling in size and he violently bit down on the bleeding cocoon like a vise. A repulsive sucking noise filled my ears and I had to turn away.
“You’re a monster,” I declared. General Love ripped his mouth from his human juice box and licked his lips.
“Thank you,” he smiled, wickedly. Queen Strickland emerged from a dark corner with all her ravenous serpents in tow. They growled and hissed with hunger. She slithered past us stopping only long enough to lick some of the excess life force off the General’s chin. With a bionic laugh she launched forward, embedding her fangs into another egg. General Love followed close behind, chomping down on every energy sack he could. They both seemed to lose track of me as their hunger overwhelmed them.
In a panic I searched the darkness for Olivia and my friends. That’s when I remembered that Roland and Felicity were dangling from the ceiling, at the back of the dome. Fortunately, that’s where the rest of my team had been strung up. Taylor, Morgan, Roland, Felicity, and Olivia, all of them wrapped in a giant wad of nightmarish gunk and fast asleep. Olivia’s hair hung in her face hiding the fact that she looked skinnier than normal. They all did. Probably from their essences being absorbed by this disgusting pit.
“Olivia,” I whispered. Just a few yards away the General and his Queen ravaged through their buffet of humans. There was still time to get out of this mess. I held my breath and tried with all my strength to loosen at least one of the mystical ties that bound me, but it was useless.
~ Lucas. ~
“Ripley?” I choked. “Where are you?”
~ Look down. ~
My eyes fell to the floor and there lay the stick that used to be Ripley. Ripley’s shriveled head barely peeked from the black sludge, but Ripley’s eyes were alive with golden light. “How are you talking to me? I thought you were gone.”
~ I was. ~
“What changed?” I asked, urgently.
~ This room. It is filled with enormous amounts of energy. Apparently there’s enough here to wake me from my slumber. The power seems to nullify the effects of Queen Strickland’s toxins. ~
“You’re using these innocent kids life force? They’re my friends.”
~ No, not their life force…I’m just using your energy. ~
I smiled with relief. “Oh, okay. Is that why I feel weak and strong at the same time?”
~ Yes. ~
“Awesome. Can you change back to your dragon form yet?”
~ No, I’m still too weak, but I am trying. ~
“Good, cuz you look like a piece of