Illusion

The water levels are increasing. Alby thought, looking up at the top of the bamboos getting closer as the burning sensation from where the hands grabbed him started again.

I already have a problem with water bodies, now this? I really shouldn't have come here with Toklo.

He touched the gem around his neck that he made into a necklace with twine and some knots.

Alby hid this gen during the mornings but wore it every night when he went out, in case he met Jel again.

But it's been a couple of weeks, three at the most, already and he did not hear a thing about Jel.

He even checks the spot the door appeared in but nothing. No one came or left the entire time he was there, not even once.

That man, he isn't dead, is he? Hopefully not.

Ugh! I should be worrying about myself and Toklo right now! Where is he even? What's taking so long??

I wonder, is he even ok? Or did he die? Am I going to die in a place like this?? With Toklo of all people??

At least let me die somewhere else!!

Suddenly a hand grabbed his leg and pulled him into the water.

______________________

"-lo. Toklo!"

The green-haired man sat up, gasping for air as he coughed, looking around him in a bit of a daze. Unsure of where he is.

"Hey. Look at me." He could see the person in front of him. The person was very familiar but he couldn't put his mind to who this might be again. "Hey!"

He only tilted his head to the side, very, very confused still.

"Toklo!" The person slapped him across the cheek and that seemed to do the trick, snapping him out of his daze.

Hand over his sore cheek, Toklo turned to the man, memory flooding back immediately.

"Roy??"

He jumped to his feet, immediately falling to the ground again, gripping his throbbing head. "Ugh. My head. A hangover does not even feel this bad."

"Toklo! Focus." The man said, shaking him as the two felt the ground under them shake.

Looking behind the man, Toklo saw silver hair dancing around in a whirl of fury as the same silver aura seemed to be consuming a large scythe attacking a clump of bamboos with a clump of bamboos surrounding it.

"What-" Suddenly he remembered, turning to Roy. "Alby!"

"I know," Roy said, trying to calm the man down as his voice turned into a melody of little notes surrounding the man. "Listen to my voice, Toklo. Tell me, what happened?"

"We were ambushed," Toklo said, the throbbing pain on his head disappearing almost immediately. "By a creature. I don't know what they were. I couldn't make out, so they might have been a mixed breed."

"Do creatures like that even exist still?" Roy asked, frowning slightly before shaking his head. "How did you get out?"

"I don't know." He said, looking at his hands. "I just remember being surrounded and then … I woke up here. What about Alby?"

"We heard him shout for help in those clump of bamboos." He pointed in the direction of the woman, leaning on her scythe and breathing hard. "Lily!"

The woman turned to them, dissipating the aura around her as she appeared in front of them.

"What happened?" She asked, wiping the sweat that ran down her face with the sleeve of her cloak. "You're awake, Toklo? What happened?"

"That place is filling with water," Toklo said, getting to his feet. "We need to get Alby out of there."

"How's your progress?" Roy asked, getting to his feet as well, turning to Lily.

"Not good." She said, looking at the bamboos. "I can't even create a crack. The creature in there is not a weak one. I think this one might be … conscious."

"I think so too." Roy agreed, thinking. This is the third time we have met a conscious creature in the past couple of weeks.

I feel like all this happened because of that vampire we met that day. After that … everything has turned south. I knew he was trouble.

UUggggghhhhh. Better to focus on the problem at hand first. We need to get Alby out. He's not good with water.

"Wait, you two said that you came here because you heard Alby call out to you, right?" Toklo said, frowning at them. "Alby never called out to you all."

"We know," Lily said, twirling the scythe in her hands. "Alby would never call for help, even if he is about to die."

"If he is about to die, he will make sure to keep mum. Just so that no one will be at a 'risk'." Roy said, annoyance written all over his face. "Forget that! We need to get him out first!"

"I want to scold that boy so bad." Lily gripped the handle of her scythe, making her way to the bamboos again, attacking it.

"How do we break this? Do you have an idea?" Roy asked, looking at Toklo.

Toklo sadly shook his head, "Unless Lily, the strongest of us, breaks this … the rest of us aren't going to be able to do anything."

They heard a blast and were thrown back by a strong force, knocking them to the ground.

____________________

Unable to stay on the surface any longer, Alby felt himself sinking to the bottom once again, being dragged down by the hands-on his leg.

This is so annoying. Alby thought, looking at the murky waters as he held his breath, trying to struggle out of the hands as well.

"Oh? It's you again." A woman appeared in front of him, seaweed hair floating in front of his face.

Alby noticed that she did not have any hands, the cut looking fresh as blood still spilt out of it, mixing with the water.

"You were a good kisser." The woman said, grinning at him. "I am jealous of your lover."

Lover? Alby thought. What is she talking about? And why does she think that I am a good kisser?

Wait, the illusion-

"Yes, I took the form of the man stuck in your mind." She said, grinning broadly at Alby. "You seem like a good guy, why don't you stay with me here?"

Alby stared at the woman, eyebrows raised.

I can't even breathe here and you are asking me to stay with you? What is with all these weirdos that I keep meeting?

"Wait, you can't breathe, can you?" She laughed, swimming around him. "Shame. It would have been great if you could. Then again. It wouldn't matter so much. I am dying."

She showed her hands to Alby. "Look, look at what your friend did to me! Look! I have lived for hundreds and hundreds of years! Not once have I found someone as prideful as your friend was.

"How can a pureblood like him injure me like this?!? How can I be taken down by a pureblood?!"

Pureblood? Alby thought, struggling against the hands grabbing tightly to his legs. What is she talking about? I'm losing air. I need to get free.

"Aww~. The woman said, looking at Alby frowning as he struggled to hold his breath. "You look so cute when you are struggling. Land creatures like you are funny.

"Unable to go underwater because you lose breath and are not able to concentrate enough to transform.

"The weakness is so pathetic."

You are not going to survive a second on land you overgrown fish. Alby through, swinging his sword at the woman's chest, cutting her open. Don't act like you're so high and mighty just because you are in your domain.

"What?!?" The woman screeched, looking at the cut on her chest, revealing her beating heart under all the flesh and bones scattered all over the water. "How?! I am dying! You should not be able to touch me!"

Even Alby was surprised as he stared at the sword in his hands, glowing red. Along with the gem in his neck.

Wha-

"Y-you! You have a Vampire's gem?" The woman shouted, trying to reach for it but Alby managed to dodge her, still holding his breath.

My lungs hurt.

"Give it to me!" The woman shouted, sending more skeletal hands on him. "I will be able to live with this! Give it here!"

Is this really that important? Alby asked cutting the hands that were grabbing at him. Ugh. I am not going to be able to do this for very long.

Just then, a hand hit his stomach, making him lose all the air he held it as Alby started to slowly lose his vision.

Ugh. Damn. Here? He thought, the hands grabbing and holding him in place, the woman reaching for the necklace.

"Mine." She pulled the necklace from the man with her teeth before letting him sink to the bottom.

No. Alby couldn't bring himself to even struggle anymore. Stop.

As darkness filled his vision, Alby heard a soft voice in his ears and hands around his waist.

"How did you survive this long?"