Marysvale by Jared Southwick

Author:Jared Southwick
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: romance, adventure, action, paranormal, action adventure, monsters, romance mystery, adventure action, romance and adventure, adventure fantasy, romance adventure, adventure fiction, romance suspense, adventure book, romances, adventure mystery, adventure romance, adventures on horseback, adventure novel adventure books, adventurefantasy
Publisher: Jared Southwick

Chapter Twelve: The Mind and the Snake

WE thanked Captain Smith for his help and stole down the steps into the dark, empty streets of Marysvale. Jane led the way. Staying in the shadows, we hugged the sides of buildings and homes, until we came to a back alley. We darted off and, turning this way and that, we continued to wind our way through the maze.

The town itself intrigued me. Houses and buildings were sandwiched together and were in a decrepit state. Some were patched up the best they could with whatever materials the inhabitants could find: rocks, scraps of wood, even sticks. Other homes looked like any attempts of upkeep and repair had long been abandoned. Vacant structures were gutted for any usable material, leaving a well-scavenged carcass. In its layout and construction, the town looked to have been, at one point, modern and more advanced than most. Over time, however, any attempts of organization had been discarded. Streets ran in every direction and sometimes even appeared to go in circles.

I felt thoroughly lost and my special vision was of little use. Occasionally, I could see people in homes and buildings, but unlike the completely alive and living forest, the town was made up of materials that had no soul to read.

Halfway around a corner, Jane desperately sprung back and pressed herself against the building. She held her arm out to stop us from advancing.

“What is it?” I whispered, while instinctively reaching for weapons that were not there.

“Soldiers!”

I crept up next to her and peeked around the corner of the building. Six soldiers marched our way.

Ducking back, I asked, “Did they see you?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know.”

I took another look.

“Hurry, we can go another way,” offered Hannah urgently.

“They’ve stopped in front of a house,” I stated curiously.

One of the soldiers bellowed at the top of his lungs for the occupants to open up. Not bothering to wait, the other men smashed the door open and stormed in.

By now, Jane and Hannah were peeking around me to see what was going on.

With my eyes on the remaining soldier, I asked, “What are they doing?”

“Anything they want to,” replied Jane somberly.

A moment later, screams and yells echoed from the house as the soldiers emerged, dragging a man out by his arms. He appeared to be in his late thirties and was still dressed in a worn nightshirt.

A baby in the house started to cry.

“What am I being charged with?” demanded the man.

The soldier, who had stood outside, replied maliciously, “You’ll find out soon enough.”

Without warning, he threw a punch into the prisoner’s gut. The man doubled over.

His wife rushed out, clutched the soldier’s coat and begged for leniency on her husband’s behalf. The soldier slapped her across the face, and she fell back.

“Get inside,” he demanded. “Unless you wish to share your miserable husband’s fate.”

The man pleaded for her to go back in; but she remained on her knees, begging the soldiers for sympathy—panic and despair filling her voice, and tears streaming down her cheeks.

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