Lareth paused upon reaching the end of the ramp that lead to the safety of the buildings. In his right hand he was clutching the long metal rake that he had picked up along the way. They no longer had the weapons that they had brought with them. Most of them had been destroyed in the crash, though in the beginning the remaining few that they did have had made no difference. Those who were armed and stepped into the puddles were pulled under too quickly for them to respond.
Armed with only a makeshift weapon, as much as he wanted to know the truth, Lareth was still terrified. But he had to know; it had rained six times since Christine had been in the fields with him. She was not supposed to be there, but Christine had excitedly run out to show her papa the new drawing she had made for him. Before he could do more than scold her and pick her up to head back to the buildings the rains had come as they always came; swift and without warning. Within minutes of their appearance the black clouds had quickly begun to dump their cold burden upon the flat world they now inhabited.
Clutching his daughter tightly in his arms, Lareth had run for the safety of the buildings, avoiding the puddles that had begun to form. He was almost there when someone bumped into him, causing him to go sprawling. Christine was knocked from his grasp only to land right in the middle of one of the puddles between them and the ramp leading up to the buildings. Before he could barely register what had happened, like the others, Christine was swiftly pulled into the water and vanished. Only the intervention of others who knew him kept him from attempting to enter the puddle to find her. They had grabbed him and dragged him screaming and kicking from the field to safety, only waiting until it was obvious he would not head back out before letting go.
That was six rains ago, even more of an eternity than the ten years they had already been in this strange place. Lareth gripped the metal rake tightly, holding it before him as if it were a shield and then stepped onto the rain soaked ground. He shook with fear as each step brought him closer to one of the large puddles. Would he find out what had happened? Or would he merely vanish like the others? Hesitantly he thrust the rake into the small pool of water, dragging it along the bottom. But nothing happened and when he pulled it clear the rake was unchanged. He took another step closer, careful to avoid actually stepping in the water.
Something was shaking the world with tremendous force and Lareth froze in panic until a moment later he realized that it was his own body that was shaking. He took several deep breaths to steady himself, and then, raising the rake high above his head, he swung downwards with all his might. He struck the puddle with all of his pent up rage and frustration, sending water flying in all directions; nothing happened. A terrible rush of grief overcame him and he sank to his knees overcome with hopelessness as his tears mingled with the rain that was pouring down. Why did I even come out here? No one ever returns. I should go back. The metal rake dropped from his nerveless fingers to fall to the ground, resting partially in the water. Why? Why did it have to be Christine?
Lareth was too overcome with grief to notice the tiny stirring near the center of the puddle or the ripples that moved in his direction. He barely had time to realize that something was there when metal ropes an inch thick, moving like live snakes, shot out of the water. They wrapped themselves around him tightly before dragging him under. Lareth was already engulfed in darkness by the time he attempted to respond. Pure panic and fear struck instantly, sending adrenaline rushing through his veins as he tried and failed to free himself.
He opened his mouth to scream only to choke when water rushed in. He opened his eyes to see where he was, but darkness met his gaze. Whatever had grabbed him was pulling him downwards at a terrible rate and he began to feel faint from the effort to stay conscious. My God! Christine! Saria! Just when he would have lost consciousness, whatever had him let go and he felt himself tumbling as if in free-fall. Unable to hold his breath any longer, his body forced him to take in deep breaths of air. Wait… What happened to the water? Terrified, he opened his eyes.
