I felt a little sorry for her and crossed over to her.
‘How are you feeling?’ I asked.
Caroline looked at me and smiled. ‘I’m okay. Just a little cold.’
‘The night’s on Xanji-For are cold, unfortunately. Warm days and freezing cold nights.’
‘What’s that?’ she asked, nodding towards the distance.
I looked. Beyond the trees was what looked like a white-blue glow illuminating the night sky. It was coming from City Nazar and I knew exactly what it was.
‘It’s the Festival Of Life,’ I said, shuffling a little closer towards her. ‘Once a year we - or rather, the people who believe in Ireel - celebrate our God. They throw parties and have carnivals. It’s nice, if you like that sort of thing.’
‘It sounds like you miss it,’ said Caroline, noticing the nostalgic tone to my voice.
I smiled, remembering the last festival I attended almost six years ago. ‘I used to like going as a child. Before I realised what it was all about.’
Caroline shook her head. ‘Why are you so against people believing?’
‘I’m not against people believing. What I’m against is the council making people believe. Why not allow people to follow their own beliefs?’
‘So what do you believe in?’ she asked.
‘I believe in the here and now. I believe in celebrating the life you have, not giving it all up on something that may or may not be real.’
‘But your council claim that Ireel is real, yeah?’
I nodded. ‘They claim to have contact with her, yes.’ I shook my head. ‘But there’s no proof. Every year we would hope that they’d bring her down from the Afterlife and show us that she was real. Every year they promised for it to happen and every year Ireel failed to make an appearance.’
‘And what were the excuses?’
‘That it wasn’t our time.’
Caroline laughed. ‘It really does sound they’re conning people.’
‘Maybe they are. Maybe they aren’t,’ I said, ‘but I’m not willing to dither about, wasting my life waiting for something that may or may not happen.’
There was an explosion from somewhere behind us and Caroline jumped. I could hear cries of some of my people in the distance. I helped Caroline to her feet and pulled her over to a bush.
‘Hide in here,’ I said.
‘But-’
‘Just hide in here,’ I said, a little more sternly.
I grabbed my bow and ran into the trees, searching for the source of the explosion.
‘Jettel!’ came the terrified voice of my friend, Pitt.
‘Pitt, what’s wrong? What is it?’
‘You’re not gonna believe this,’ said Pitt.
‘Just tell me, idiot,’ I said, looking at the fear in his eyes.
‘The ground opened up, just over there,’ he said, pointing down a steep hill towards a ravine.
‘And?’
‘These…things just crawled out of the hole.’
‘What kind of things.’
‘What’s going on?’ said Caroline, as she came rushing up.
I was angry. ‘I told you to hide!’
‘No time for that, mate,’ she said, trying to look towards were Pitt was pointing.
There were more cries and then the sound of a thousand, wailing creatures from down the dark ravine.
‘What is that?’ I said, never having heard a sound quite like it.
Three dark shapes shot up out of the ravine and flew over our heads. They were too quick to identify and myself, Caroline and Pitt began running back towards the campsite to investigate.
‘What on Xanji-For…?’ I said as I saw the creatures slowly floating down to surround the fire we had been sat around just moments before.
‘It can’t be…’ said Pitt.
‘What?’
‘Look at them, Jettel. What do they remind you of?’
I ducked down behind a tree as I moved in a little closer to get a better look. The three creatures were big and fat. They looked like some kind of Earthen cow made out of clay, except their faces were like snarling, Humanoid faces. From either side of their heads were horns. From the horns dripped black blood.
The creatures rose on their hind legs and snarled at the fire.
‘They can’t be!’ I said, realising why Pitt had been so concerned.
‘What are they?’ asked Caroline, scuttling over to me.
‘They’re Denta Dogs.’
‘Dental what?’
‘Denta Dogs. They are from the Underworld.’
‘You mean, like Hell?’ said Caroline, wide-eyed.
I nodded slowly. It seemed almost impossible. None of this was true, surely?
‘So it’s all real?’ said Caroline, trying her best not to turn and run away.
‘I don’t know,’ I said, really not knowing what I felt or believed anymore.
The three Denta’s howled in unison and slowly the fire in the centre of them began to spark and spiral upwards. The flames grew tall and began to form into the shape of a woman. A flame-filled woman. Soon the flames began to die away leaving in their place the smouldering, red form of a naked woman.
She looked just like one of us, except that she was red and had two small horns on either side of her head. She smiled, her teeth gleaming white, and her eyes were inky-black.
‘Thank you, my loves,’ said the woman, patting each of the Denta’s on their heads.
‘Who’s the red one then?’ asked Caroline.
I sighed, trying to stop myself from shaking.
‘That, Caroline, is the Non-God, or, what your people may call…the Devil.’
The Non-God began chuckling to herself and sat down on the log that Caroline and I had been sat on only a few minutes before.
‘Come out, my children,’ she smiled.
‘Does she me you?’ said Caroline.
‘Probably,’ I said.
‘Come out and play, children,’ she said in a sing-song voice.
‘I’ll go,’ said Caroline.
‘Don’t be so stupid!’ hissed Pitt, grabbing her arm.
‘She’s not from my religion,’ said Caroline with a shrug of the shoulders. ‘I’ll go speak to her. I’ll be the messenger.’
As I watched Caroline step into the clearing I was amazed at her bravery. Whilst myself and the others cowered behind pathetic bushes, here she was, heading out and doing our job for us.
‘Ah, an alien child,’ said the Non-God, as Caroline stepped into the clearing.
‘Hi,’ she said, extending her hand. ‘Caroline Fieldgate. I’m not from Xanji-For.’
‘No,’ said the Non-God.
‘What’s your name? Surely you’ve got a better one than Non-God or the Devil?’
The Non-God smiled. ‘What a polite thing you are,’ she said. She took Caroline’s hand and kissed it. ‘You may call me Deela.’
Caroline smiled. ‘Nice to meet you. Now, what the bloody hell is going on here?’
Deela smiled again, refusing to let go of Caroline’s arm. ‘Wouldn’t you like to know?’
And before any of us could do anything a blast of flames erupted from Deela’s arm, engulfing the screaming Caroline. Then, with a click of her figures, the flames disappeared and Caroline was gone, leaving nothing but a pile of smouldering ash.
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