I was drowning
I realize too late
The water dragged me down to its bottomless embrace
The white ball of light I dare to hope
Blurred into my sights
I raised my hand
Trying to reached what was beyond me
But no one reached out
I was falling
Deeper, down
Everything came to a standstill
As I continue my way down
A human trying to pass as a fish
The unforgiving water killed all her dreams of swimming with it
How naïve
How sad
The fate of the little human girl
The humungous door in front of her was intimidating. She cranes her neck upward, following the trail of line, disappearing into the high ceiling. She blinked once, then twice. No wonder Ivo refused to escort her here. Simply the size of the door was imposing, yet nothing compares to the dark aura clinging to it, a warning to the intruder. She shivered from the malevolent feeling it emits. The whole place screamed power and death. Where did they get the money to build this place anyway?
She started when the humongous metal door creaked open. She inhaled sharply. The place was dark itself. She hesitated. The voice of warning came unbidden. When you are permitted to enter, do not show any fear. They will feed on your weakness. They will sense it. Cloak your scent. Go straight ahead. Do not wander. It will appear. Wait. That is what he advised me to do, but how can a person not be intimated in this situation? Well, it can never hurt to listen to reason. Indeed, she did everything that he told her to do. She walked straight ahead, unhurried, concentrating on the pulsating energy surrounding her. The place was cold. The heavy feeling of being watched prickled insistently, goosebumps flushing her skin. She swallowed hard. Suddenly a small light flickered in front of her. She stops. Walk! His voice echoed inside her mind, which her body followed. A light flickered after another. She followed it, gazing at them with apprehension, yet her body seems not to mind.
The light circled her. Beyond the wall of shiny flickering lights is the darkness that stretches to infinity. What the hell is this place supposed to be? She returned her gaze to the luminous objects around her, squinted a bit from the glare of it, standing stiffly, waiting for something.
Suddenly there was a zap of electric sensation flowing through her entire being, forcing her flat to the ground. The feeling got strong when a voice echoed from afar.
"Mortal."
The voice ricochets to every direction around her, sending her frenzy mind to utter chaos. She tried to look up, fighting the power that forces her to remain in a docile and submissive state. She hated the feeling of helplessness, of being under that power of an entity she has not seen. She clenched her teeth, grinding.
Her body lost its fight. She was down like a bullet forced out of the safety of the gun, embedding hard on the target. Slowly cold sweat run down on her neck, her heart palpitating as if running in a marathon. The light suddenly went out. She felt suspended, breathing coming in gasps.
She is going to die here. Is she going to die?
Then, she heard that voice again, rumbling and droning.
"Mortal."
"Y-yes." Her mouth replied before it registered on her mind, stuttering. She was shaking like a leaf, afraid like a child. She felt threatened that her body readily submitted to something greater than her. It stung, pricking on her pride. She's hardened by dire circumstances and forged under extreme pressure, taunted by a powerful individual as a weakling, escaped death, yet she never was afraid. Never showed such weakness. However, in this position, fear slithers and crawled up to her spine rendered her helpless and trembling from the volatile and violent pressure surging from afar.
"To think that man would send a weak girl, it was beyond our comprehension."
Athy remained immobile. Her throat tightens, constricting her ability to speak.
"Tell us, mortal, did he put you up on this?"
Him?
Who?
"Answer us."
"I….... I c-can't," she whispered weakly, in a strangled, brittle voice.
"Are you having difficulty....? Yes, of course. How negligent."
Suddenly her body felt lighter. The suffocating feeling was up and gone.
"Are you able to answer us now, mortal?"
"Ye-yes." She croaked like a frog. She cleared her throat and answered again in a measured tone. "Yes. I am." She does not know where to look. Their voices reverberate inside the empty black hole. She fixed her eyes on where the sound merge in the far right corner of the room.
"Did he tells you why you are here?"
"I…..Yes. I-I was brief about a long mission. That was all."
"Mortal."
"Y-yes."
"Are you ready to take this mission?"
"Yes." Clipped and precise.
"Remember this------your failure will equal to your death. We hardly give this to anyone. Look up, mortal." And she did. "Take this." An object fell a meter from her. Her eyes fixated on the rebound of up and down movement. The hypnotic golden glow pierced her eyes, but they remain focused on the object. Whatever it was,
she needs to pick it up and leave this place immediately. She scrambled up to her feet, grabbing the now subdued thing.
And the light returned.
In a blink, they are gone.
*************
She dragged herself outside. She felt drained: she did not know why. Swaying, she leans her back on the wall, arms listless: she spied the object still on her hand. She pries it with her fingers, trying to make a feel of it, intricate designs and symbol thrum with a faint trace of electric sensation she felt earlier. She clenched her hand around it as pinpricks of electric shock flows through her. What is this thing? She asked herself. Her brows came together in a frown, contemplating.
"What are you doing there, Athy?" Startled, she almost drops it.
"For the love of old and dusty and your face..... Ivo, stop sneaking up on me!"
"I was already here. What is that?" He asked, eyes zooming on the object in her hand.
"Nothing," and shoving it into her pockets."
"....."
"What?"
"Nothing."
".....right" She looks at him for a minute, opened her mouth to say something but shut it. Athy walks past him, determined to escape his "friendly inquiry" to put it blandly. He is a pain the arse if he wanted to, and he got the look on his face. A speedy exit is her only escape if she does not wants Ivo hankering her.
"Athy?" Ivo's singsong voice reached her ears. Damn it to hell. Athy turned right when a corner came into view. She half ran-walk the straight pathway to the, dodging Ivo's attempt to detain her. Can't he get the hint, can he? A warm, big hand snags her wrist in a soft grasp. Pivoting, she stares icily at him. He released her wrist and holds his hands up, a show of surrender.
"Okay. It's not what you think it is.'
"I highly doubt that.'
"Come on, Athy. It's not like I harass you with endless questions.....' she gave him a withering gaze. "I... I think I asked you... Ummm... few questions here and there-----" Her glower deepens, eyes throwing daggers at him. He closed his mouth promptly.
"You are scary." He lamented.
"Not my problem. I am going." She spins around but stops. "And do not follow me or else....." and walks out.
"You being ridiculous. I just pestered you with 20 questions after arriving from your long term "vacation". Don't be too prickly." He shouted after her, but she drowned them out. She missed how Ivo's eyes dimmed and the slanted way his mouth curls up in a sneer.
The warm breeze stroke her pale face. The meeting was exhausting but meeting Ivo took the cake. She clutches the tiny object in her pocket. It has gone cold. No wilder electricity shocks shoot out whenever her hands graze its surface.
Now she needs to prepare.
Whatever it is that awaits her outside, Athy needs to prepare.
To be given this obligation, she needs to succeed. A failure is never an option, and she never fails. She will never start now.
A purposeful stride eats the distance to her destination. Before that, Athy needs to talk to him about something.
That man needs to stop meddling with her life.
**********
Author's Note:
It's been so long. Finally, I found my muse. I apologize it took me a long time to update. Even though it's only one chapter, I was happy. I hope that this will continue.
As usual, please comment and like this story.
See you soon in the next chapter, hopefully by this May too.
Azrik