Chained Souls: Night Six {Book Two of the Chained Duet}

[Katherynn]

Night Six “Where exactly are we going?” I asked tentatively as Talisen led me through the thick undergrowth. He looked at me inquisitively. “To my home,” he said calmly. “And then to town tomorrow.” “But I thought you said there weren’t any towns for miles?” “There aren’t.” I gave him a confused look but I guessed he didn’t see since he turned and walked forward. His 'house' was unlike anything I'd ever seen. Talisen had pulled together tree limbs to form a sort of barrier against the world. Though it looked awkward, it fit very well. Not to mention it was larger than most houses. It spanned twelve trees. "This is you home?" I asked incredulously. "Did you make it?!" "Of course," was his only reply before he pulled back some of the leaves and motioned me inside. Inside was dark with very little light shining into it. It was an understatement to say it was bleak. "So we're staying here for tonight?" I asked, glancing around at the varies pots of different sizes standing around the lone 'room' made up of the trees. "Yes," he said calmly, pulling down some branches. They fell like a wall. "You can stay in here. The bathroom is outside but I advise you don't go outside after dark without my company." I blinked and nodded reluctantly. It was an odd statement but, then again, I was in the Amazon Rainforest. What worse could happen? I git bit by a giant misquito? I shuddered. It was probably best not to think about the hundreds of different species of animals patrolling the rainforest. There would be no way for me to sleep otherwise. Tonight I would sleep. Tomorrow I would go into town. And, tomorrow, I'd hopefully figure out what the Hell was going on with this time travel escapade!! The town wasn't so much a town as a collection of small buildings lined up in a row. It wasn't even a village. At tops there were probably seven buildings. On the left side of the one road was a bakery and meats store, a clothing store, a weapons and tagging--for any kind of animal--store, and a single residency house. The opposite side was the polar opposite. On the right side of the road was a research lab, a hospital, and a library. The two sides seemed to be clashing against one another, as if they were their own world. It was kind of interesting to see. "Go where you like," Talisen said calmly, "but stay inside of these buildings--don't wander from town. It's not a smart idea." I nodded and glanced at the buildings as Talisen left me to fend for myself. Something about how Talisen acted now made me wonder if he regreted how he'd acted as a human and why he'd become more caring as Death. And, maybe, it was just because he was Death. My first trip was to the library to see if they had anything that could help me. They were scarcer than a newly started library. All they owned were medical studies books given to them by the hospital and researched documents given by the lab. Neither were helpful in my situation. Going to the hospital seemed pointless so I skipped over, instead, to the laboratory. They had an 'everyone welcome' policy since they were so light on workers. It would've been helpful--if they'd have any info on time travel. "Sheer the fur," someone said from one of the testing rooms. "I want to see if it affects the animals skin." There were noises that I took to be an electric razor as I walked in. No one paid any heed to me as I walked up and observed. The male in charge was dressed all in white save his shoes which were black and thick rimmed glaces which bore the same color as his shoes. He wore a lab coat and his shoulder-length hair was pulled back into a ponytail though some had fallen out. He was slightly tall and more slender than lean or skinny. It was almost as if he only worked and never ate. His silver, shoulder-length hair was pulled into a ponytail with pieces hanging out, though it was all the same length. Dark chocolate eyes stared at the animal--a tiger--in front of him as he worked with a needle. He looked sure and focused. Aside from that, he was nearly as pale as the white he wore but his skin seemed to have an appealing ivory tone to it. He pulled back, his apparent job done, and the tiger growled at him. "Siera," he said calmly, soothingly, "it is all right--no one will harm you." The tiger quit growling but her tail began to twitch as the man faced me, face placid as he gave me a once-over. Nothing in his eyes or stance gave hint to what his mind was thinking. "How may I help you Ms..." "Avalon," I replied. "Pandora Avalon...and you would be?" "Cult Oullette," he said calmly, extending a hand. "I am head researcher of R.A.I.N." "R.A.I.N.?" I asked curiously. "I take that it's an acronym for something--perhaps the lab itself?" "Correct," he said as I shook his hand. He dropped his arm and I echoed the moment. "R.A.I.N. stands for Research of Animals In their Natural setting. "R.A.I.N. is a bit of a pun seeing as we're in a rainforest." I nodded. "I'm sorry for interrupting your research," I said as I turned to leave. "I have to leave but would it be alright if I came back another time?" Cult nodded and I turned and walked out. I found Talisen at the library, sifting through piles of research notes and medical books. He finished minutes after I arrived. About twenty minutes later, we were back at his home. "Did you find anything you needed today?" he inquired, placing the food he'd bought in a make-shift storage unit that he'd most likely created. I shook my head, frowning. "No," I said slowly. "I was hoping to find out something about my mother or even my father...but I there aren't any books in the library or even research studies that have anything to do with the Avalon family." "Brother," someone called, walking into the house. "I plan--" The male stopped and I met chocolate eyes. We all froze as we assessed one another. Talisen was the first to act. "Cult," he said calmly. "This is Pandora Avalon. She's staying with us temporarily." "Us?" I echoed as Cult said, "Staying?" Talisen nodded to both of our questions. He responded to me first, though. "Yes," he said calmly. "Cult is my brother, after all."

[Aristaeus]

Interesting chapter. I think this one is the best so far, next to the first chapter. I am particularly interested in this Cult character. A few mistakes I spotted: Spoiler for Typos: "This is you home?" I asked incredulously. glancing around at the varies pots I git bit by a giant misquito? The male in charge was dressed all in white save his shoes which were black and thick rimmed glaces which bore the same color as his shoes. (Sentence seems a little awkward. Could use a comma or two.) He wore a lab coat and his shoulder-length hair was pulled back into a ponytail though some had fallen out. He was slightly tall and more slender than lean or skinny. It was almost as if he only worked and never ate. His silver, shoulder-length hair was pulled into a ponytail with pieces hanging out, though it was all the same length. (Nothing grammatically incorrect here--except there is no comma before the word "though"--but you described the character's hair twice. I just found it slightly redundant--but do not mind me.) "I was hoping to find out something about my mother or even my father...but I there aren't any books in the library or even research studies that have anything to do with the Avalon family." Hope to see the next entry.