Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Prism of Winter ❯ Travelers ( Chapter 1 )

Travelers

 

Why did Mom and Dad have to live on his world? Why couldn't they have just gotten an apartment downtown like everyone else? Yuki knew the answer, even as she complained to herself. The broken, rock-strewn ground and fantastic plants fed something in her father's soul. His relatives were also less likely to complain about his more unusual hobbies. And so Yuki had to hike through this alien landscape every few months.

 

That's odd. No one ever comes here. Well, almost no one. Two people were sitting beside the road ahead of her; the sun reflected harshly from their silver hair and Yuki had to squint to make them out. They were packing up the remains of a picnic lunch when Yuki passed them and offered her a ham sandwich. `What are you doing here?' she asked between bites.

 

`We're on vacation. It's been a long time since me and the missus got to go somewhere without business to take care of,' the man said in a slow drawl. He and his wife looked no older than forty despite their hair. Yuki thought their answer was odd, since the area was so inhospitable and said so. The man smiled and said, `It's all in how you look at it. The woods are probably more interesting, but it's too easy to get lost in them. Oh, I'm Alex, by the way, and my wife's name is Amanda.'

 

`Nice to meet you.' Yuki bowed to each in turn and added, `Mind if I join you? My parents live a few miles from here and I could use some company.'

 

The three set out once Yuki finished her sandwich. The older couple told stories about places they had visited: Pisa, Rome, Yellowstone, Cairo, Moscow, and others. The student traded gossip about people they had never met and stories about courses they would never sit. Alex laughed after one and said, `Ah, I suppose college will never change. It was the same when I was a student, though I was at school in-'

 

A bestial roar cut him off. Half a dozen tentacles seized Amanda by the waist, arms, and legs, and pulled her back towards a monstrous demon who towered over the rocky plain. Alex turned away and pulled a pair of sunglasses from a trenchcoat pocket. He held one out to Yuki, who goggled and asked, `Aren't you going to help her?'

 

`Oh, no. It's been months since she's gotten to do something like this.' Alex shrugged and tucked the spare glasses away.

 

`But you're her husband!'

 

`Don't move and don't turn around. She'll go off…now.' A fierce red glow enveloped the rocks and twisted cacti around the pair. Then the boom hit, a deep shuddering sound that ripped plants from the ground and threw shreds of flesh far down the path. Little puddles of blue ichor soaked into the sandy dirt where they landed.

 

Amanda rejoined them a moment later. Her coat was a little charred, but she seemed fine otherwise. She held a chunk of charred tentacle in either hand and held one out to Yuki, assuring her, `It's a little tough, but it tastes just like squid or octopus.'

 

The younger girl pulled away and Alex demurred, as well. Amanda shrugged and tore a piece from one tentacle with her large, sharp teeth. She continued down the path, chewing happily while Yuki demanded, `How can you eat that?'

 

`She is half-demon, like you,' came the reply beside her.

 

`How did you-'

 

`Who else would have parents here? But her heritage is wrath, not lust. She doesn't get many chances to blow things up back home, so we were going to her father's place where she can let loose on her cousins. The idiot mage we paid to send us there got us lost.'

 

 

This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person, place, or events, living or dead, past or present, is entirely coincidental. This is my original work. These statements apply to all the little pieces in this volume.