Ardring - Chapter 2
#2 of Ardring
As he ran through the fields, the whistling slowly got louder. It was like something ominous, a warning of sorts, pushing him to go faster. His tail whirred behind him, panicked, mad, confused, scared. What the hell was going on, and why was he scared of a noise?
As he passed fields, he warned his siblings to go back to the house; Stel was calling them for some unknown reason. Most of them went, but when a couple of the elder ones decided to ask why, Zerrif just pointed up. They heard the whistling too, and nodded, heading back.
He cursed Daemeon for having to work the furthest field with him, and stared down the path. It was lined with trees, and not paved; only really defined by carts running back and forth over the ground. He ran, his chest heaving and panting for breaths, never having felt himself push his body this hard before. He just felt like... no he knew. He had to hurry.
"Daemeon! Daeee!!" He shouted, as he approached the last field. It was meant to yield a variety of vegetables, having been constructed on the most fertile land they had (and thus, Daemeon was one of the children meant to look after it). "Daemeon ya gotta--"
"Zer, what the bloody hell is all the commotion about?" Daemeon asked. He set down the rake he was using and leaned on it, as the younger ferret stopped to catch his breath. "What the hell, Zer! I thought Mom 'n Dad got you new overalls! Why you still usin' these ones!?" Daemeon said, to the bent over ferret. He grabbed Zerrif from where the straps met the main part of his overalls, and hefted him up easily. Daemeon had been conditioned from the hardest labour on the fields, strong and large, compared to the rest of his brothers.
" 'S still good, see? Ain't naked, and it ain't falling down. But that's not why I'm here!" Zerrif said, squirming. His brother grumbled and let him drop to the ground. "We gotta get back, Dae. There's--" He was quickly hit over the head with the shaft of the rake, and let out a hiss and a curse in response.
"Don't be stupid. The work ain't nowhere near done. Though, ya did do a lot extra last night. Thanks. Saves us a lot of time today--" Daemeon started, and Zerrif clambered up to his feet, rubbing his head. Not having much time he growled, and cupped a paw over his elder brother's mouth. There was a little scuffle, but then without their bantering, Daemeon heard the whistling. He dropped his rake, and looked up.
"That's what I've been trying to tell you about!" Zerrif said. "Stel told me to get everyone back home. Including you." He lied. Daemeon looked down at him, and seemed to contemplate whether or not he should leave the field. He was snapped out of his thoughts when Zerrif pulled his paw insistently. "Daemeon, come on!" He said, as his eldest brother just nodded and followed him.
They had almost made it back, when Stella ran up to them. She was out of breath, and her face looked flustered. "Stel, what's wrong?" Daemeon asked, worried. She was hunched over, grabbing her thighs. She'd run hard, and she'd run as fast as she could; not exactly the most fit of the children but still--
"Craig! He's... not home..." She huffed, catching her breath. Zer's tail curled up a little. Without a warning, he bolted back the way he'd came, leaving the way he'd just ran with Daemeon. "Zerrif!" She shouted, and the eldest stood her up straight.
"It's okay. Zer knows the fields as well as I do. He'll find em." Daemeon said, a little unsure of himself. He watched as the smaller ferret dashed out of sight. "How's everyone else?"
"It's all my fault, it's all my fault, I told Craig to find that stupid cow..." Zerrif mumbled to himself. He dashed down another dirt road, much like the one that led to the furthest farm. Instead, however, this was more jagged, barely used at all. It was kind of unknown to the family, only known by the younger kids, really, and he soon reached the reason why.
At the end of the unused path was an old shack, abandoned and old. The red paint was stripping off the wood, not having been taken care of. A couple planks of the wood had fallen in, or been blown away, a small hole in the top of the shack apparent. There was one window, covered in dust and grime, on the shack's door, and the glass on it was cracked.
Zerrif ran up to it, and knocked on the door, hearing a faint squeak. Then a moo. He smiled, and quickly pushed open the door, hearing some sort of further movement. There was a great rustling, and he could see something inside scurry, the rear of a cow facing the door.
"Craig, you're okay, thank god!" Zerrif said, beaming. Inside, his little brother sat, the dried up traces of his tears running down his face. He stared up, and just held his hands over his ears, and Zerrif stared up. The whistling had gotten loud, now. Deafening almost. So high, he could barely hear it. He stared up, and noticed something he didn't see.
He couldn't have seen. The path was covered more with trees than the ones that led into the fields. But here, the shack was in a small sort of clearing. The sky was a dark red, almost crimson, like blood. His ears drooped instrinctively, his heart seemingly stopping. It was obviously not natural, but there was something more to it. It... called him.
"Zer, there's no room!" Craig shouted, his voice weak with sobs. Zerrif looked inside the shack, broken apart from whatever reverie he was currently enthralled with. His brother was right. Especially with Alexis in there, he was amazed Craig had managed to move some old junk aside to make room for her. The whistling grew louder. Craig said something, but Zerrif couldn't hear him, and the little ferret just pointed.
Zerrif whirled around. It should have been morning, but the dark red sky made it seem like some macabre sunset. But that wasn't what Craig pointed at. In the sky was a small flicker of light that plummeted to the earth. It disappeared behind the trees, and Zerrif just waited.
The whistling stopped.
There was a chest-resounding boom, and instinctively, Zerrif shut the door to the shack. He heard Craig scream, run up to the door, and bang on it. He turned around, wiping grime away from the window, and smiled down at his brother, who returned the look with tears.
"It's okay." He mouthed. Craig just shook his head. The shack started to rattle, and it was like some gust was whipping through the farms. Zerrif was pushed against the door, held off the ground by the fierce winds, trying to look back. It was... uplifting, almost. He turned his head to look, and had done so just in time to see an orange, red cloud violently whip towards him, carried by the gale.
It stung his eyes. He screamed. He could feel Craig pounding on the door, but the Goddess forbid it if he were to open it, and let it hit him too. There was the faint ringing of a bell, Alexis was probably shifting inside, unsettled by the sounds and the battering of the wind.
Then, the wind died down. He fell to the ground, his legs shaky and his face still in pain. He rubbed at his eyes, as his legs gave way. He fell to his knees, hands falling to the ground to help steady himself, and he painfully forced his eyes open. He looked up to the sky, and his eyes widened, before he fell to the ground. His eyes shut with relief, and he faintly heard the door behind him open. Alexis stamped out of the shack angrily, and he felt Craig push him, trying to make him wake up.
He slipped into the warm embrace of the unconscious, Craig's insistent pushing rocking him to sleep.