The Legend of Silver and Gold Book Two The Old Ones
Chapter Three

Out in the parking garage, the two were running to Carver’s car. Carver was certain that whatever the tree thing was, it wasn’t about to let them escape. He looked over his shoulder at the walkway that connected the apartment building to the parking garage. The lights were flickering. He had a feeling that the tree thing was causing the lights to flicker.

“What is going on?” Tora asked as Carver got into the driver’s seat. “Why were there wooden things coming out of my home?” She felt her heart racing. “Carver, what happened to my mom?”

Carver started his car up. “I have no idea but we’re not sticking around to find out.” He drove his car down the ramps to the entrance of the parking garage. Seeing that there was no sign of the tree thing, Carver revved his car up. They sped out of the parking garage before going to the left, away from the apartment and the parking garage.

Carver looked at Tora. “Has Cassidy been to the park across the street from your apartment?” He asked.

Tora thought about it. To the best of her knowledge, her mother had never gone to the park. “No. She’s usually at home when I get back from school or ballet practice.” She replied. “I thought it was because of those tree creatures you guys faced when she was my age.”

Carver thought about the Treoras. He hadn’t seen one in years. Not since the he had killed Zelcro. The tree creature he saw didn’t look like one of them though. “Tora, think. Did your mom mention anything about trees the last few days?” If Nichallo and Cassidy were really gone, than Tora and Elizabeth were the only leads to finding out what was going.

Tora shook her head as she felt her heart racing. “I don’t think so.” She replied before she started shaking. She leaned over and closed her eyes tightly as she shook.

Carver realized that Tora was having a panic attack. He looked in the rear view mirror. They were far enough away from Cassidy and Tora’s home. He pulled over to the street and parked his car. He got out of the car and went over to Tora’s side. He opened Tora’s door. “Hey, it’ll be okay.” He told Tora. “Take a deep breath.”

Tora got out of the car and hugged Carver tightly. She was still shaking.

Carver hugged Tora. “We’ll find your mom and Nichallo.” He told her. “I promise.”

Tora looked up at Carver. “Promise?” She asked. She couldn’t lose her mom. She had no one else.

Carver nodded. “I promise. After all, what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t try to help my friends with a problem?” He said. He looked around before he smiled. “Besides, we won’t be alone.”

Tora frowned. “What do you mean?” She asked. Who else could they go to for help?

“Elizabeth’s martial art school is close to here.” Carver explained. “If I know my old friend, she is most likely there.” He helped Tora get into the car before he went over to his side. He got in and started the car up. He pulled out of the parking spot and drove away.

A few minutes later, the two reached a one story building. There was a large business sign over the entrance to the building. Carver grimaced a little when he saw it. He forgot that Elizabeth really liked showing off. He looked at the entrance. Seeing the light that was on on the other side of the door, he smiled. “Looks like she might be here still.” Carver told Tora.

Tora looked at the place. “What if whatever you saw was already here and took Elizabeth as well?” She asked.

Carver smiled. “Then it would be dead.” He told Tora as he opened the door. “Elizabeth isn’t easy to defeat. It’s what makes her so lethal and a dangerous enemy.” He looked around the large room that they entered. There were rows of chairs to the left. The right side had mats on the ground. To the far right, punching bags hung. Just as he expected, there were broken punching bags on the ground.

“Well, well, well.” A female voice said from behind the two. “Carver, as I live and breathe.”

Carver and Tora turned around. A pale woman with wavy brown hair was standing there in black clothes. She had a knife in her hand pointed at Carver. She had a very serious look on her face.

Carver looked at the knife. “A knife? Really Elizabeth?” He asked as he held his arms out. “Is that any way to treat an old friend?”

“Old friend?” Elizabeth asked before she smiled. She sheathed her knife. “I’m a lot older than you Carver.” She reminded Carver before she hugged Carver. “It’s been too long.”

“I know and I’m sorry for that.” Carver replied. “Ever since what had happened to Skye, I kept to myself.”

Elizabeth winced a little when Carver mentioned Skye’s name. “You know what happened to her wasn’t your fault.” She said. She looked at Tora. “I’m surprised to see you.” She told the young girl. “I thought that she had gotten you just like she had gotten your mom.”

“You know about the tree thing in the park?” Carver asked. That was good. They were one step closer to finding Cassidy.

“I know about it alright.” Elizabeth replied before she went to the entrance of her school. She locked the door. “I saw it a few days ago in the park. It gave me a bad feeling. I warned Cassidy that Tora and she should stay at the school since there was still no sign of Nichallo.” Elizabeth turned to the two. “When I saw it yesterday again after getting Cassidy’s call, I knew I had to get away from the apartment and that park as quickly as I could.”

“Do you know what this tree thing is?” Tora asked.

Elizabeth nodded. “Follow me.” She told the two before she started walking to the far side of the room. She led them through a door and into a closet. She pulled a trashcan to the side, revealing a tunnel with a ladder that went down into the ground.

Carver looked at the hole. “Seems like you’ve been busy.” He said.

“Well, after the battle against the Dark Ones, I figured it would be safer to have a safe room built.” Elizabeth said before she climbed down the hole.

Carver looked at Tora. “You go first.” He told her. He looked at the entrance to the closet. Even though it looked like locked doors didn’t keep the tree thing out, he still locked the door. He turned back to the tunnel. Seeing that Tora was far enough in the tunnel, he started climbing down, stopping long enough to pull the trash can back over the entrance to the tunnel.

Elizabeth dropped from the tunnel into a large room that had iron walls. She looked up in time to catch Tora. “Welcome to the safe room.” She said as Carver dropped in.

Tora noticed that even though the room was small, it was large enough for just one person to live in. There was a bed in one corner. Next to the bed was a bookshelf. There was a fridge and a small microwave on top of it in another corner. Sᴇaʀch Thᴇ (ꜰind)ɴʘvel.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“Cozy.” Carver said. He looked at Elizabeth. “So what exactly are we dealing with?”

Elizabeth went to her bookshelf and removed a book. She opened it, flipping through the pages before stopping at one. She looked at the two. “What do you know about the Cthulhu?” She asked.

“Nothing.” Tora replied.

“Just that some author guy made them all up.” Carver replied. “They were his deities in his books.”

“You’re mostly right.” Elizabeth told Carver before she showed the two the page she had stopped on. It showed a giant monster with bat wings and a head that looked like an entire octopus with several tentacles for a beard. “The Cthulhu was what Lovecraft called them but he didn’t make them up. He actually served them and wanted to release them.”

“What does this have to do with the tree creature you and I both saw?” Carver asked. “It didn’t look anything like that.”

Elizabeth flipped to the next page. “Most of the Cthulhu that Lovecraft drew or described had tentacles but that was just him being an author trying to hide the ones he served.” She showed them the painting. It was of a large wooden looking creature in a dark forest. It had white bark that made up most of the body. One branch that was an arm was just hanging next to the create. The other arm was raised so the creature was pointing at the reader. The creature had a scary face and what looked like two horns coming out of it’s head.

“That’s the creature I saw.” Carver said. “It’s horns looked more like a fancy hat but that’s definitely it.”

“I thought so.” Elizabeth said. “It’s the same thing I saw. She’s known as Shub-Niggurath, the Black Goat of the Woods.” She looked at the painting. “She’s the inspiration for the Dryads from mythology, Mother Nature and even Gaea, the Primordial Being.”

“What does this have to do with my mother though?” Tora asked. “Why would some fictional character want my mother?”

“Tora, the Cthulhu, or the Old Ones as they are sometimes called, aren’t just fictional characters.” Elizabeth told the young girl. “They’re quite real and very dangerous. They predated the Dark Ones by about two thousand to three thousand years.”

Tora looked at the painting. “Did my mom defeat the Old Ones when she was younger?” She asked. She still wanted to know how these creatures were connected to her mother.

Elizabeth closed the book. “The Dark Ones didn’t have any of the Old Ones in their ranks even if they were worshiped as gods alongside the Old Ones.” She replied. “Your mom must have done something to get their attention.”

“We need to go to Nichallo’s shop.” Carver said, causing the two to turn to him. “We all know that he has relics and artifacts from all around the world that are old. Tora, you said that your mom and you were there a few days ago after Nichallo had gone missing. It’s possible that Nichallo was taken by Shub-Niggurath or another Old One and there might be a trail we can follow from there.”

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