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Printed from https://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/2001078-Benevolence-The-Journey-2014
Rated: 13+ · Short Story · Action/Adventure · #2001078
On His Birthday A Young Boy receives a Compass. And with it the Journey of a Lifetime.
Shiloh just an Ordinary 9 Year Old Boy wishes His Father would Be with Him and His Mother to Celebrate Shiloh's 10th Birthday However after Promising His Son that He will Be there Dave's Boss tells Him He must take over a Former Employees place or Risk Being Fired Dave Writes a Letter and sends it To Shiloh it arrives on His 10th Birthday after School Shiloh Rushes Home to See His Father but as Luck would have it Shiloh's Father is Nowhere to be Seen His Mom Gives Him the Letter and a Gift Sent from His Dad. Inside the Letter Read's:

"My Dearest Shiloh I Am unable to come Home for Your Special Day, However I am Entrusting You with a Special Gift. I want You to Take Extra Care of This for it means a lot to Our Family. Be good Shiloh I love You a lot Your Father Dave".

As Shiloh Reads Tears pour down His Cheeks, as He goes to Open His Gift inside is a Compass made of Brass with the Letter D engraved on the Top. Angrily Shiloh Sneaks out of the House and tells Himself,

"Certainly if Father can stay away from Home so can I"

And with that He heads Downtown Towards a Pawnshop, in Hopes of Selling the Compass for some Pocket Money. However as the PawnBroker looks at it He refuses to Accept, stating the Condition of the Compass is to Worn for it to be of any Value. And with that Shiloh heads Out towards the park throwing the Old Compass into the Trash and sitting on a Swing. (Thinking to Himself)

"I would do anything if I could just have one great adventure like My Father".

And with that soon He gets up out of the Swing, kicking the Dirt from Beneath His Feet the Sky becomes Incredibly Overcast with Dark Clouds. Shiloh Starts heading towards the Parks Pavilion but seeing a few of the Children with Their Fathers bring a Tear to Shiloh's Eye's. Shiloh leaves and makes Haste for the Nearest tree, taking Shelter from the Now Pouring Rain under the Tree however Lightening Strikes the Tree's Branch causing it to Knock Shiloh Unconscious.

After awaking from being Hit Shiloh Realizes He is no longer in The Park and seems to Have Lost His way in some Thick Woods as Rain continues to Pours Shiloh gets Soaked and soon begins Hearing Voices echoing the Many Leaves of the Trees with Weakness from Hunger soon Setting In Shiloh insists on Finding Shelter and some well Needed Food, After a Bit of Walking in the Woods Shiloh's Knee's-soon give in Tumbling Down the Fresh Muddy Hill. He insists to keep going and Spots an old Cabin with Night approaching and His Stomach growling Shiloh makes Haste to Enter in search for Food and Shelter. After Helping Himself to some Cake and Milk Shiloh Stumbles Upon a Flashlight in the Cabinet and trips Over an Old Worn Book-bag Which He gladly also Takes, Soon He hears a Young Girl Crying She had been locked away in the Closet Shiloh opens the Door and the Two converse Her Name is Destiny a Rather Shy 6 year old Girl with long Straight Blonde Hair, blue Eyes and a few Freckles. She tells Shiloh She's been kidnapped by a Crazy Man soon The Man comes Home in His Truck rifle in Hand Shiloh and Destiny sneak out of the Cabin undetected. Shiloh see's a Police Car pulling Up and Grabs Destiny By Her Hand Hiding behind some Bushes as The Cop Vanishes out of Sight a Bit later Gunshots are Heard by the Children. Several Hours after Having left the Warmth of the Cabin Shiloh and Destiny find to Their surprise They are now lost within the Forest Not only Cold but also In complete Darkness scared and frightened Destiny Take's Shiloh by the Hand as They Make Their way Through the Forest with only The little Flashlight that Shiloh had Taken from the Cabin.

Shiloh decides this just could be His Chance to Embark on a Journey just like His Father, So He Agree's to Help Destiny Find Her Missing Family and return Her to Safety While Evading this Mysterious Killer.

The Storm Returns at Full Force Once again, Forcing the Lost Children to seek Shelter within an old Long since Abandoned Cavernous like Mine, with only the glow of the Flashlight as light However a Mysterious Demonic Creature known as Deimos Supposedly Haunts the Site Devouring all who Enter the Mines Deepest Dark Belly. Destiny and Shiloh use the Flashlight that Shiloh had taken from the Cabin Earlier in Hopes to get to the Other side of Town from within the Mine after awhile of walking Shiloh Gets a sudden Sense of Dejavu which result's in Him nearly falling to His death, Dropping the Flashlight in the Process this commotion in turn attracts a Wild Beast to Their location. Thinking the Legends are True Shiloh and Destiny Make Haste running out of the Mine after realizing the Compass seems to be Glowing leading Them towards the Exit, However The Children must Cross a Narrow Rickety Bridge to get towards the Light leading Out of the Mines. The Light from the Moon Outside Peering in through a Crack in the Ceiling of the Mine Reveals the Mysterious Creature to be that of a Black Bear, as the Bear crosses the Bridge after the Children however the Bears weight breaks apart the Bridge Sending the Bear to its Doom and Shiloh and Destiny Hanging on for dear life Eventually Climbing out and Exiting the Mine. They soon Sigh in relief realizing that the Stories in Urban Legends don't always Mean they are Real.

After Evading Certain Death and Exiting the Cavern the Storm Slows Up a bit looking out over the Hill They can make out what appears to be a lit up City in the Distance given How high up on the Mountain They are They spot a Small Town Where They Trek down the Mountain and Enter stocking up on Supplies as well as meeting with kind Folks that wish to Help Them. the Two are ready for continuing the Journey much to the displeasure of the Clerk who catches Shiloh Shoplifting His Wares using a Backpack and Confronts Him but the kind Elderly Stranger pays for the Stolen goods asking the Clerk to forgive the Young Man and leaves with the Two Children the Clerk however writes down the Elderly Mans licenses plate and Phones the Police anyway.

While inside Paul and His Wife Cheryl's Car They are talking to the Children about Wanting to know why They need to go into the City as its a Dangerous Place for those of such Young Ages Sparky the Elderly Couples Brown Dog seems quite content with the Children, Destiny in particular its as if He's wanting to protect Her just then a Car with a blue light on top pulls the Elderly couple over "Man it's the Police I told that there Manager not to Phone Them" Says Paul Sparky begins to show His teeth and Growls Destiny whispers to Shiloh realizing They both had seen that Police Car Before a gaunt looking Man steps out its the Man from the Cabin Now disguised as a Police Officer He approaches The Couples Car and Threatens Them to Give up Destiny the Children Demand the Couple to drive away The Elderly Man Refuse's to Give up the Kids and are Shot and killed by the Officer who tells Destiny and Shiloh "there You runts are, Come Here look what i have stolen off of the Dear old Sheriff" (Laughing) "Who's Your friend lil Girl?" Grabbing the Girl and getting ready to shoot Shiloh the dog However Shows its Teeth to the Killer as The Crazy Man Opens the Door Sparky attacks Him giving the Children enough time to escape the Shiloh trips with Destiny and They slide down a mudslide from running hearing gunshots Followed by whimpering its not Long before Destiny Realizes Sparky had Been Shot "That ought-a teach you Doggie not to mess with an Officer of the Law now to Find and kill them Kids" says the Officer in the Distance laughing wildly Destiny looks down a little ways pointing Towards a Raft They get onto the Raft made of logs and head further towards their destination steering clear of the Officers long Range Spotlight in the distance with dawn soon approaching in 3 hours it isn't long now until the city still at least 20 miles away however as they drift away by way of the raft soon Shiloh Jumps off the Raft landing on solid Ground and Destiny Begins to follow however a giant alligator catches sight of Her and desperately runs into the raft causing it to start Moving again with Destiny trapped Shiloh races to recover Destiny before She Goes over the Upcoming Waterfall as time Starts to run out the alligator is about to grab destiny However the officer Sees Shiloh about to pull Destiny out of the raft and shoots towards them with a shotgun blast causing some rocks to shift weight and fall on top of the alligator killing It the raft however now dislodged from the fallen tree seems to pick up speed from the wave of the collapsing rocks and heads closer towards the Waterfall while destiny is still on board just before going over however Shiloh convinces Destiny to drop the Backpack and lodge it under the raft to Stop it for a bit giving Her some time to jump and grab His hand the Crazy Man begins Crossing the River on His way to Grab Destiny However She manages to jump on the opposite side of the River and Shiloh helps pull Her Up as She does this the Raft Breaks apart Hitting the crazy Man He takes notice of His Book Bag hanging on a log and begins to Grab Hold of it in an attempt to not Fall over the Edge but Destiny and Shiloh work together to loosen the Backpack with a Stick Which in turn Sends The Crazy Man as well as the Backpack with the Supplies plummeting into the watery depths Below the Waterfall.

Shiloh Steal's a Ticket and the Two board a Train however Destiny soon Discovers Her Compass is Missing and Races out of the Train in search for it. Thinking They may have dropped it around the station Shiloh and Destiny search a few minutes the train starts to leave the Station and they quickly hop aboard the back of an open storage-train cargo.

Aboard the Train inside a Cargo storage container Destiny and Shiloh stumble upon an Old Man with sickly green skin replying

"have Ye been looking for Tis"

Holding up the Compass from around His neck laughing.

"You have something that belongs to Me"

The Old Man Demands His Ticket back in return for Destiny's precious Compass Shiloh Searches His pockets and Realizes He lost the Ticket and Responds to the Man

"I lost it Sir, i am very Sorry"

The Old Man angry with the answer demands

"well if You want thy Compass Then Give Me the Girl"

And Shiloh and the sickly man fight aboard the train just as it looks like Shiloh is about to lose and be tossed out the back Destiny finds the ticket and demands that He let Shiloh alone or She would toss the Ticket out of the Train this makes the man think he drops Shiloh down and heads over to destiny and (Pats Her Cheek)

"why thanks little sweet girl"
(Laughing)
"Why now that I have my ticket this Garbage Compass is of no use to me" As He holds it Out of the Train and starts to laugh Shiloh runs towards the man and grabs the compass that was attached to some string around The Mans Neck ripping it off sending it Hurtling to the Floor of the Train this makes the Compass start to Light up and a light shines brightly blinding the stranger as He stumbles back and falls off the train into the Mountain pass below Shiloh fixes the broken String and places it around Destiny's Neck once again it is Here where They can see the Upcoming City getting much closer from a distance just before sunrise.

After exiting the Train Just 10 Miles outside the City Shiloh and Destiny are confronted by a man telling them They are Forbidden to Enter the Neon Glitz City of "Benevolence" as The Prosperous Lord Barnes has deemed it Unsuitable for those of innocence and demands any Children who are caught be sacrificed at the alter of the Serpent for this City is known to be part of a Cult Shiloh informs the Man that They are Searching for Destiny's Parents and that They Must Get into the City the Man Makes an offer to Sneak them into the city but in return They must be Completely Silent and remain Hidden in the back of his Wagon at all Cost. The Children Agree and They Learn the Mans Name is Luis. after awhile Luis tells them They Must stay In the Wagon until He comes Back! Then He will Take Them outside the City walls. They Agree but soon While Hiding in the Wagon, Destiny spot's a Woman who looks like Her Mom and Eagerly asks Shiloh if They could Check it Out.

Destiny: "Hey Shiloh I think that I just saw My Mom, Do You Think We could check?"

Shiloh: "OK Destiny but I wanna make sure Were not seen Remember What Luis Said Children Aren't suppose to be Here".

And with that the Two Exit the Safety and Warmth of the Wagon, and go in Search of the Woman in Hopes that Their Journey may be at an End. Entering a Bar Filled with People Dancing and Drinking, It is Here where thing's soon are about to go Horribly Wrong. Shiloh Becomes more worried about The Entertainment within the Bar, Instead of focusing on Destiny, He Ignores Her Desire to Find Her Mom Completely. Destiny follow's the Mysterious Woman all By Herself as She wander's off She tugs at the Lady's Skirt and Calls Out Mother. As the Woman turns around She Smiles. Meanwhile Shiloh is Enjoying the Dancing Woman at the Bar slipping Him a Tablet and mouthing the Words "Take it Dear, It'll take Your Breath Away". Shiloh Swallows the Pill and soon a Strange Sensation Stumbles over Him, Heading to the Restroom and looking at the Reflection in the Mirror to His Horror He realizes He has now become an Handsome Adult Man. "What is this, Whats happened to Me"? And runs out of the Restroom the Woman that was Dancing Recognizes Him telling Him that He is Looking much better Now and Tempts Him to go With Her to the Back. Shiloh Refuses asking Her if She had Instead seen a Little Girl just awhile ago and that its Important that He find Her? She Explains to Him that She Saw Lord Barnes Woman take off with Her just Five Minutes ago, Shiloh Demands She take Him to Her And She Accepts as They head to Lord Barnes Estate.

Destiny alone and scared, after having thought that The Woman was Her Mother tries to escape by trying to open the Door to the Woman's Car. However it will not budge the Woman asks the Girl what was She doing in Benevolence? As this place is very strict in allowing Children to enter. Destiny bursts out Crying tapping on the Car window just as Shiloh and the Woman walk-by, "Destiny" Shiloh shouts and with that They enter the Woman's Car the Woman introduces Herself as Sierra and They soon chase after Destiny and Lord Barnes Girlfriends Car, evading obstacles in the way of the Road. However soon Barnes Girlfriend enters the Manor closing the gates and Shiloh and Sierra are forced to make a tight turn to avoid hitting the gate which causes Them to go down a hill and hit a tree. Destiny witnesses This and Soon believes They are Dead She loses all Hope and the Woman addresses Destiny to get out of the Vehicle and into the Manor quickly Destiny comes face to face with the Lord Barnes a Man who appears to be in His Sixties,medium length Grey Hair and a slight Mustache wearing a Business type Suit.

"Hello there My Dear? What is that fine Jewel around Your neck? May I see it?

Destiny looks down for a second and gets ready to take off the Necklace from around Her neck to show to the Man when out of nowhere Lord Barnes hits Her in the back of Her Head with the end of His Pistol as Her vision goes black She hears Lord barnes Girlfriend scream "No what are You Doing"

Destiny awakens in a strange but non the less beautiful Room, Pink Walls, Carpet, and the Bed filled with stuffed Animals. She notices that Her Compass is not around Her neck anymore getting up out of Bed She searches for it to no avail. Soon She hears talking and puts Her Ear to the Door and overHears the Lord Barnes and His Girlfriend Natalie talking about how Natalie is to get rid of Destiny, As Lord Barnes no longer has any need of Her now that the Compass is in His possession. Natalie insists They keep the Child as She could prove rather useful But Lord Barnes is not so eager He demands Natalie if She wants to keep the Girl She must force Her to take the Tablet in which will turn Destiny into an Adult. Only then will She be Accepted into the Covenant of the Serpents Natalie heads up to the Room in order to force Destiny to swallow the mysterious Pill and become whole as Children are worthless in the futuristic City of Benevolence. Destiny hides behind the Door as Natalie opens it and begins searching the Room for Her as Destiny moves out from behind the Door and begins to head out towards the Hall She gets caught by Natalie as She squeezes Destiny's Cheeks and Puts the Pill into Her mouth Destiny Feels a Shocking Sensation Which Quickly makes Her spit it out In Natalie's Face, Angry By This Natalie Slaps Destiny across the face making Her land on the Floor. Destiny a bit dazed by this struggles to get Up crawling on the floor towards the Door Natalie quickly closes the Door and kicks Destiny in the face Destiny spits Blood out of Her mouth as Natalie gets on Destiny's Back and tries again to put the Pill in Her Mouth but Destiny bites down on Natalie's finger She screams and quickly gets Up.

"If You will not take the Pill You leave Me no Choice" Exclaims Natalie

As She pulls out a Revolver and gets ready to shoot Destiny in the Head Shiloh kicks in the Door a startled Natalie shoots Shiloh in the stomach and He falls to the Floor Destiny screams out "Shiloh" and Natalie quickly turns around and points the Revolver at Destiny "be quiet little Brat" Sierra runs towards Shiloh to Comfort Him as Natalie laughs and now points the Gun at Sierra and tells Her

"Things didn't have to be this way, if only You Two would've stuck Your noses outta My Business"

As Natalie is about to pull the trigger on Sierra a Gunshot is heard but it didn't come from Natalie stunned Sierra looks around and Notices That Natalie's Chest has been stained in Blood as She falls over Sierra realizes that Someone is outside with a Sniper Rifle trying to pick Them off one by one Sierra crawls towards Destiny and helps Her Destiny quickly searches Natalie while the Sniper nearly hits Her and Sierra Insist that She come over and help Shiloh She and Destiny help up a now wounded Shiloh as They make Their way upstairs an explosion is heard from within the Kitchen.

"Lets get Them We know You all are in there come on out or We will be forced to burn this place down"

It seems the entire place is surrounded They enter The Lord Barnes Bedroom and notice Books of Dragons and sacrificial Artifacts on how to resurrect the Dead into a mind controlled state littered on the Desk. Though The Lord Barnes was nowhere to be seen its assumed He was there not that long ago and seems He left in a rather a hurry. Sierra and Destiny make haste to stop the bleeding caused by a Revolver Sierra is shocked to see that Shiloh wasn't in worser shape than He is as the Bullet had exited the wound. Sierra and Destiny wrap Shiloh's side and spot a Few bulletproof Vests putting Them on under Their Clothing and heading towards Natalie's Car after its revealed Destiny managed to Steal Them off Her Corpse however it is not safe to go out in the open while a Sniper is in the area, And goons have broken into the Manor setting fire to it Shiloh tells Sierra to take Destiny with Her to the Car while He holds off the Swarm of Poachers inside the Manor as They close in and start blasting the door apart with Their Guns Shiloh Shoots at the Snipper up on the Roof sending Him hurtling over the Balcony giving Destiny and Sierra enough time to get Natalie's car. As Sierra starts up the Car and parks it next to the Window for Shiloh to jump onto Shiloh runs and Jumps onto the roof of the Car just as the Poachers break down the Door.

"Whew that was Close" says Shiloh after having nearly been face to face with Death. However a Vehicle begins gaining on Them it appears to be More Poachers Shooting at the Vehicle They are determined to send the Car off the Road Shiloh takes potshots at the vehicle hitting its tires and stopping the poachers in their tracks soon Shiloh realizes that They are lost and needs to take a Glimpse at the Compass to help guide Them to Their Destination, However Destiny informs Shiloh that Barnes has Taken it from Her while She was Unconscious and that They have to find Him if They wish to get it back. Sierra mention's an Establishment known as maple pines to the North which is where the evil Lord Barnes regularly holds His meetings. "So what happened to You Shiloh? At first I didn't recognize You?" Asks Destiny "And seeing You kill that Guy back there Shiloh What have You become?" A quiet Shiloh soon discovers what it means to be Speechless only saying that He wants nothing more but to protect Her in this Harsh World and that by doing so means that sometimes it leads to bad things happening. A few hours later while Driving past the Main Road at Sunset leading out of Benevolence Sierra looks towards the backseat of the Car and catches Shiloh and Destiny sleeping calmly in the Backseat "So sweet" thinks Sierra to Herself. Destiny awakens from Her sleep as She opens Her Eyes a Giant Birdlike Creature is seen in Her eyes She Shouts "its the Hollow watchman" a Giant Winged Creature Swoops down towards the Car and scratches the roof. "What was that?" Shiloh responds "The Hollow watchman He protects the Roads to Benevolence with His life" Explains Destiny. "Step on the Gas Sierra" Shouts Shiloh "Im trying this Vehicle only goes so Fast" Replies Sierra. The hollow watchman moves in for another attack this time removing the Roof of the Car. "We're completely sitting Ducks down here Sierra" Screams Shiloh. "Hold tight back there let me Try something You prepared to Jump"? Explains Sierra "what!? Are You Crazy Jump?" Responds Shiloh "It's either that or Die unless You have a better plan Shiloh Explains Sierra" the Hollow watchman makes one last attempt to stop Them and heads straight for the Car as They quickly jump out and the Car smashes right into the Birdlike Creature now on foot and alone Shiloh must find Sierra and Destiny and fast as the 9 foot tall Birdlike Beast known as the Hollow watchman is still alive and stalking Them in the Forest. Shiloh limps through the thick woods of the forest Whispering "Destiny ,Sierra" the Bird like creature stops suddenly next to Shiloh and it begins sniffing the Air soon it spots movement and reels back its feathery feet as it spotted Sierra and Destiny Shiloh takes a Branch and whacks the Bird in the feet and it begins making a sudden loud noise as Shiloh, Destiny, and Sierra Regroup the Bird runs after Them cornering Them and gets ready to Strike with its thick Sharp Orange Beak but Shiloh Remembers His Gun and Shoots the Bird in its body 2 Times as its Hide is so Thick it has on affect on the beast as it takes a Jab at Sierra and Tears Off a Piece of Her jacket giving Shiloh enough time to Shoot it in the Only weak point on its Body it's Eye Blinding it as it lets out a Horrible Shriek in agony it claws at Sierra slicing Her Open with its Poison "Shiloh" She Screams as She falls to the Ground "Sierra" Cries Shiloh as He angrily reloads the Gun and Fires off Shot after Shot into the Chest and Eyes of the Beast and Finally cutting into the Beasts Chest with a Sharp Branch killing it. Shiloh soon rushes towards Sierra and puts Pressure on the Cut using His Jacket "Come on Sierra Your going to be Fine please be fine" Shiloh says To Sierra in a teary eyed state, the Noise from Earlier however attracted some unwanted attention however as Poachers head to Shiloh, and The Group "What are You Doing Here? We don't take kindly to Strangers Boy" asks the Poacher with an Ak 47 pointed pointed at Shiloh head He Responds "Please Sir show Mercy My Friend here She needs Help Man" "oh I remember You Three You disabled our Car You got Alot of Nerve coming to Our Camp" Responds an angry Poacher. "All We need is someone to help Cure my Friends Poison then We will be on Our way" says Shiloh "What You got a little Girl" Exclaims a Shocked Poacher "A rare Commodity in these parts do You realize how much She could be worth to Us Man" Explains a Poacher "worth enough for Us to negotiate a Deal with You and Your Friend there Sir" "I can Help remove the Poison from Your friend there in exchange for the Girl"says a Meek old Man Poacher. Destiny Frightened by the Deal replies "please Shiloh Don't let Them take Me" and begins to Cry "No Deal man" Replies Shiloh "She is under My Care You People are not to Touch Her" this angrily makes the Poacher Upset and pulls out a Magnum "Wrong choice of Words" responds the Poacher "We Could have made things much easier for You and Your Friend" says the meek old Man as His friend begins to laugh and Shoots Sierra in the Chest. "She was going to die anyways nobody ever survived the poison associated with the Hollow watchman" the meek old man says Angrily Shiloh gets up and is about to Shoot when His Gun is smacked away by a long rope one of the Poachers has used. "Tie up the Girl and get Her ready to Ship off to the King for a Fancy Reward and the rest of Youse take care of Him" responds the Meek old Man poacher to the Others and They pull out their guns and begin shooting at Shiloh as He hides behind cover and glimpses up towards Destiny He Spots Destiny get caught in a net attached to a Blimp as She is getting carried away to the King.

(To Be Continued)
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Printed from https://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/2001078-Benevolence-The-Journey-2014