19. After life.

Over the foggy terrain filled with trees and green vegetation on the outskirts of Softdale, the atmosphere was as silent as a grave yard. Even the usual morning chirps of birds and sounds of animals could not be heard. The freshness of the forest air was conjested with a terrible smell of burnt flesh, blood and death mixed with dirts.

On the opposite side of the lake which divided the forest into two, one side leading to the city while the other was stretched with an unending dense forest, the tall green trees that formed a canopy over the forest ground were knocked up.

Piles upon piles of burnt dead bodies were buried by the trees clearing a circle in the middle of the forest. It was a scene that resembled the aftermath of a meterior attack.

In the indented potion of earth in the middle, the body of a girl laid there unmoving, her white shirt covered in blood and dirts and torn in several places. It was so that she was covered in rags and even the color of her skin cannot be differented from dirt.

On the edge of the circle, a lady in black armless with equally black pants and heavy boots casually drapped a birbed hammer over her shoulder looking down at the girl.

"Found her," she called the attention of her colleges, all equally dressed in black welding various weapons.

Putting two fingers to his lips, Zed whistled loudly.

"Over there, get the girl out. You, you, and you," He pointed at Maya holding the hammer over her shoulders, Jay and her partner Leo, the guy Que met in the room with Jay. "Our job is done here. Head back straight to the field. The rest of you, wipe the area clean. And for God's sake do a good job." He barked, sheathing two long dual swords across his back.

"Warlock, what about the humans on the other side?" Shaggy head Chris came running over. Damn humans and their inquisition.

"Wipe out their memories Chris, don't ask questions you already know the answers to. Now move!" They all set to work, digging up a deep hole into the earth and piling up the dead fiends inside as the four arch demons left.

"Pst," Chris whistled to the guy next to time. "I say, it wouldn't be bad if Amaranth joined our side. Look at all the hellhounds she murdered in a span of 15 seconds. I bet even the Lord himself would have nothing on her."

"That's none of our business. We are not allowed to talk about such things. Don't let Lord get a wind of this." the guy grunted and return to his task ignoring him.

"Coward." Chris muttered. Even with no one around they still refused to talk anything. They all purposely ignore her just because they were told to do so. He kinda liked the girl, she isn't all that bad as they made her to be.

In a far away land, filled with bright light and a flowing river, children ran happily about in a beautiful garden filled with flowers of beautiful colours. The rising sun was warm to the skin and Que sighed in content, watching from a far. She was standing in the shadows under a wishing she could step into this blissful life but anytime she stepped forward, she was stopped by a force pushing her back.

She had no idea how long she had been standing there unable to move forward or backward. When she first came here, she was estatic. Finally away from the shackles of life, where people would no longer run from her. She would finally get to meet her parents and Nana and live happily ever after together forever. But as time goes on she realized that even in the after life, the curse seemed to not spare her. So she resort to glaring daggers at those running around happily not even sparing her a glanced.

Laying under the tree, she draped her arm over her eyes wondering what had happened to the dragon guy, Draco who had shielded her from the claws. Is he alive or is he dead too. He sacrificed his life for her but she still ended up dead. What a waste of life, she wished she could repay him, she owe him her life but she was dead.

That is until she felt a strong pull sucking her life force. She gasped for air but her air supply was cut off. The feeling of death suffocating her that even when she first died it didn't feel that way. Do people die twice? After much struggle she was able to breathe again blinking away the tears in her eyes she sat up right.

"Meow," The blissful scene shattered away and was replaced with large slanted green pupils blinking back at her. Her black cat was sitting on her face tilting it's head to the side.

"Achoo!" She pushed the cat that had cut of her air away from her face. She looked around the room, she was in a cream colored room on a bed in the center of the room. The room was small with a bedside table to the left, a closet against the wall and two doors. A bathroom and an exit to the room.

Is she back from the dead?

Que sighed plopping her head back. "What a way to wake an unconscious person bubblegum." It meowed rubbing its body against her. Her voice sounded strange to her ears, her throat hurting.

So she wasn't dead, and back into this cruel world. Well, if that was heaven, she wasn't sure if she want to ever go there. There seems to be no hope for her even in the after life.

The door was opened and Chris entered holding a tray in his hand.

"Que! You are up!" He chirped meerily plopping right next to her.

"You were starting to scare me! You've been out for 48 hours straight."

She blinked at him licking her lips. "Ops, sorry." He brought the water to her lips supporting her head up. The cold water soothed her dry throat and she gulped it down.

"So...we meet again."

"Told you we would." He grinned.

" I might not be best when it comes to cooking, but I made this for you. Here, have a sip." He brought the warm soup to her mouth, almost force feeding her.

Que blushed as she struggled to stomach the somewhat salty soup, but she was grateful for his care. His warm and kind smile made her at ease, not to mention the soup warmed her up.

"You know I sort of envy you. Even as an intermediate de..., ahem, intermediate fighter, my recovery speed isn't as good as yours. Your injuries recovered in less than a day!" He chatted.

Talking about that, she raised her hands and truth to the his words, all the cuts were no where to be found, gone without even traces. And apart from the soreness in her throat she was as healthy as a horse.

"What the hell."

"I know right." He chuckled. "You are so amazing! You should have seen the battle ground after you unleash the beast within you. All the hounds drop straight to the ground. It was like...."

"Let the girl rest, chipmunk. Go finish your job." Jay banged the door opened from the hallway.

"Yes, sir I mean Ma. I'm through with today's job."

"Then go join Leo on the training ground. He needs more hands if you have time to kill." Her voice was cut and sharp ever after her first glance, she didn't spare her another glance. With that she turned around and left.

Chris groaned and got up. "I'll be back Que. Finish this up." He left after that. The girl really dislike her.

Left to her alone, Que's thoughts wondered about. What was that Chris talking about again? Her memory of that night was blurry and she couldn't remember clearly. What beast was he talking about, she only recalled feeling on the brink of death making her scream then everything was over and she woke up here. Her memory was filled with blood and strange tattoos littering Draco's skin like tiny snakes.

Draco!

Que dropped the bowl and rushed out holding Bubu in her arms. She had completely forgotten to ask Chris about him. Had they found him? She needs to know if he is okay.

She ran into hallway pausing when she was out. It was quiet and there wasn't any door leading outside. The hallway was bright covered with a brown wallpaper and a huge chandelier hanging overhead.

Where had they disappeared to?

"Hello?"

She walked down tracing her finger on the wall. Up ahead a deadend looming at the end.

"Is anybody out there?" Where is everyone?

Her finger bumped an edge into the wall. It was the outline of a door but lacked a doorknob. She pushed hard against it banging on it when it opened sending her in. It closed back on it's own locking her again.

Why on earth do they need to have trap doors in all their homes!

"Meow,"

"Yes bubu, we are trapped again!" She hissed. The last time this happened, she was trapped in the tunnel. Luckily this time around it looked like a living quarters. She had walked, or stumbled into a living room. To the left was a kitchenette with a bar to the side.

"Hello?" It was quiet and...Empty.

She trudge towards the bedrooms, she could stay here before they find her and unlock the doors. It wasn't that bad. Scratch that, the place was grand. She only hoped the fridge isnt empty. She's not about to be starved again.

Pushing the bedroom door open, she entered a white bedroom with a large bed in the middle. On the bed laid a figure laying stock still.

"Hi," she said then chidded herself. What if he is sleeping. She walked in and the closer she got the familiar the person became. She could recognize that ombred blonde hair anywhere.

There on the bed laid Zeus. He was covered with white sheet from neck to toe leaving only his face visible. His skin was sickly pale and his long hair was sticking to his forehead.

He looked peaceful and... Celestial.

But his sickly color and stillness made her sick to her stomach. He looked almost as if he was dead. With a shaky fingers, she moved the sheets from his body moving down wards. Que gasped at the claw marks scattered all over his chest.

Did he went up against them? Even Draco, who was not human didn't stand a chance against them, how could he a human survive. The more she looked the more it reminded her of the cuts on Draco's body and she couldn't help compare the two. They had similar built and even the cuts they sustain was the same.

Absentmindedly she ran her hand across his chest down to his waist when something caught her eye. It was a similar tattoo she had seen on Draco's where his shirt was torn and he was bleeding and she had put her hand over over it. It was a red flame tattooed across his skin.

Looking careful at his skin, she realized that the white ting circles covering his skin was exactly the same as she black tiny circles on Draco.

Her gaze wandered back to his face as realization dawned on her.

Karl Zeus is Draco.