Chapter 5: Within the Abyss
"Choose your next words very wisely." Casanova said, glaring at him like a lion ready to eat its prey. "Who told you about me. What's his name, and most especially, how does he look like."
Casanova continued,
"Don't bother running. You know that I have abilities some people may consider…unnatural. And most of all, you don't bother running. I'm able to catch you without any struggles."
Gray felt the air grow colder; his face broke out in a cold sweat as he tried to speak, "Wh-What do you mean?"
The response made Casanova frown lightly. "You know what I mean," his voice was unnaturally calm, and that made it scarier.
Seeing the man's unwillingness to aid him in his and Kathy's survival, he started to plead, "Casanova, please just listen to me. We don't have enough time. Everyone is going to die! You heard Zakaria talk about it this morning, didn't you?"
"He didn't tell me anything. Now, answer my question," Casanova replied, narrowing his deep, green eyes.
"How is that possible…?" Gray murmured under his breath.
"Did something change the future? Did I do something to cause it? Could it be because of the butterfly effect? Does it really exist?"
"Didn't you guys see the sun rising in the west this morning?" Gray asked, growing increasingly frustrated.
Casanova replied sternly,
"We didn't see anything. Now, tell me who gave you the information about me. The only reason I haven't attacked yet is because I have known you for many years."
"This is your last chance. Make things easier. Answer to what I've asked you."
Gray gritted his teeth and started speaking,
"I had a strange dream. It showed me all of the things I told you about."
He continued,
"When i woke up, Kathy told me the same phrase that started the dream. We don't have much time; we need to prepare for what's to come!"
Gray checked his watch and cursed,
"Fuck! It's going to sound at any minute!"
Casanova's coughed lightly. "The sun rose from the east, like every normal day."
The boy's eyes widened as he rebuked and pointed at the sky. "What? Look!"
Gray's confusion then began to grow. The place he pointed at, lacked the presence of the sun.
It appeared that, while being preoccupied about his plan of saving his sister, he had forgotten to check if the sun had actually rose from the west.
"W-What? How…?"
"Did you really dream about me having supernatural abilities? Tell me what I've done, and be specific," Casanova asked, interrupting his chaotic thoughts.
Still extremely shocked, Gray began to explain of how Casanova had defeated the giant mantis, all without omitting any gruesome detail.
The man stared at the boy intently throughout his whole story.
Gray could swear of having seen a faint, orange light flicker in his right eye while he was talking.
Once he was done, Casanova opened his mouth for the first time in minutes.
"Don't tell anyone about the content of your dream. Nobody shall hear it other than me. I know that you don't want to have me as an enemy, and neither do I. However, you must make a vow of silence."
Just as Gray was about to promise, the man produced a yellowish piece of old paper from his back pocket and handed it to him.
Gray, with a tinge of confusion evident in his voice asked,
"What do I have to do with it?"
Casanova took a small knife from the same pocket and handed to him. The knife was pitch black and extremely thin, reminding Gray of a material similar or akin to obsidian.
"Make a small cut on your thumb. If the dried blood was to disappear within the paper, it'd mean you told someone about the content of your dream." Casanova sternly explained.
The man reminded to be quick. After all, his subordinates needed his help.
The realization of having wasted the man's time made Gray apologize profusely. As soon as he did, he cut his thumb, letting a few drops of blood stain the paper. Then, he handed it out with the knife.
Casanova rolled up the paper, making it resemble an ancient scroll and put both of the items in his back pocket.
The man suddenly said,
"You don't have to apologize. Telling me about your dream was a good choice. Had you decided to tell someone about my abilities, then the situation wouldn't have been…this simple."
His words made Gray shiver.
"You know where to find me if you need any help."
He continued,
"Do the same thing if you ever were to get an another bizarre dream."
Gray was a bit confused about the dream part, but still agreed. He was extremely happy about the outcome of this bizarre event.
He had gotten himself a bodyguard!
With supernatural abilities on top of it!
Following the strange conversation, Casanova went back to the house he was working at, while Gray went to the store.
"That was bizarre…" the boy scratched his head.
"Now that I think of it, I forgot to omit the part where I encountered that weird monolith… Well, it doesn't matter now, does it? Or should I tell him to be sure? "
He checked his phone, yawning in the meantime. He noticed that his sister had sent him a text, reminding him to buy toothpaste since they didn't have any.
I was about to forget, Thanks Kathy.
Gray replied that he had just gone inside the store and that he was about to buy what he needed.
The young man went into the home necessities aisle and looked at the many brands of toothpastes, trying to find the cheapest one.
"5 euros? How is that legal? That's a robbery!" he shouted in the middle of the store.
Im glad that there are other cheaper versions…
Gray took the toothpaste costing 1.50 euros and went towards the fridges where they stored the food and drinks that needed refrigeration.
He decided to buy a gallon of milk costing 2.49 euros.
While he walked towards the checkout, he felt an horrid sensation. He felt as if an horrifying, putrid, and utterly evil creature was looming behind him.
He felt as if this 'being' was inspecting every inch of his soul, turning it upside down.
Terrified, he immediately looked behind as fast as he could, but nobody was there.
Am I that sleep deprived? he asked himself, slightly worried.
He gave 5 euros to the lady working at the checkout, receiving 1 euro as change. He thanked her, soon going out of the store.
Gray checked his phone once more and noticed it was 8:12 am.
He then went back home as fast as he could. The exhaustion had taken a big toll on his body, making him yearn for some sleep.
…
"I'm home!" Gray shouted.
"You took too much time!" Kathy hissed from her room.
She's not at work yet? he wondered.
He shrugged his shoulders, going back to his room. Once he was there, he removed his clothes and threw them on the floor of his room, preparing himself for the best sleep of his life.
Now I can really stop worrying about everything…
He opened one eye, and after seeing the condition of his room, he couldn't help but take back his past words.
…Never mind, I really need to clean my room.
His thoughts turned gradually sluggish, and he drifted off to sleep.
…
Monday, 13th November 2023
19:22 pm
After many hours, Gray finally woke up.
Getting out of the bed, he yawned incessantly in his way to the bathroom, like always. Following his answer to the call of nature, he washed his hands and brushed his teeth.
The young man then went back to his room and started to watch a horror movie. The name was: Terrifier 2.
…
Once he was done with it, he wanted to make some pasta with ragú, but once he noticed the lack of ground beef, he settled on making some risotto with sausages.
He took a pot and filled it with water, putting it on the stove. Then, he took a pan and did the same thing. Using a lighter, he lit the stoves on.
He opened the fridge and took 2 sausages. He removed the inedible film, and put them on the pan.
He also broke the sausages into small pieces so his risotto wouldn't have any big lumps of meat.
After some minutes, the water started to boil, making him drop 2 bouillon cubes in the water.
He stirred it with a wooden spoon, so that the cubes would dissolve. Just like that, the broth for the risotto was ready.
Once the sausages were cooked, he added the rice on the pan and poured the broth on the rice by using a ladle. He waited until the rice had absorbed the broth before adding some more with the ladle, repeating the cycle until the rice was fully cooked.
Satisfied with his work of art, Gray called his sister.
"Dinner is ready!"
After a brief moment, he heard the thunderous stomping noises that came from that behemot of Kathy. He was always amazed of how a girl that skinny could make such loud sounds just by walking.
…
Gray stared at his sister while she ravaged on the food like a starving lion. He couldn't help but do that every time he wanted someone to rate his food. He had to scrutinize every fleeting emotion of the people that feasted on his creation.
"Rate it." he asked.
Kathy thought for some moments before saying, "The other times you cooked were tastier. But it's still good, so I give you a seven."
W-What? his lips quivered.
That day, Gray Montoya felt the indescribable urge to jump off a bridge. He stayed unmoving like a statue for 20 minutes, his thoughts chaotic.
That's impossible, It can't be only a seven… This has to be a conspiracy!
After he ate his food with a defeated expression, he sighed and went back to his room.
Tomorrow I have to go to school…
I really want to sleep all day.
I can't help it, though. I have to go even if I don't want to. Plus I can't even remember what subjects I have to bring. I'll check right now…
Gray went towards his black school bag and checked the notebook where he stored his timetables.
"On Tuesday, we have english on the 1st and 2nd hour, on the 3rd we have physics, on the 4th we have philosophy, while on the last 2 hours we have p.e…"
I'm glad we have physical education, at-least.
He then put the books and the notebooks inside his bag, yawning multiple times.
After doing that, he went inside the bathroom and took an hot bath, risking to fall asleep multiple times. Luckily, he never faltered to the temptation.
He dried himself and got dressed, without bothering to match his garments. When he was finally done, he went towards his room and decided to lay on his bed. The young man stayed some minutes on his phone before falling asleep.
…
Gray found himself inside a boundless void, devoid of any smell and sounds. However, he wasn't afraid, for he felt as if he had been there for an eternity.
Even though there wasn't any earth below him, he was still able to walk in the sea of nothingness surrounding him.
At some point, he got bored of walking.
With a thought, he started floating around the place. This sensation was beautiful, as he truly felt as if he could do anything inside this domain.
Yet, he felt lonely.
He traveled within the dark realm, seeking for solace.
Nobody was there, however.
Thinking of the realm as a prison, he decided to move large clumps of shadows to 'see' whatever was hiding behind of them, but he only found other darkness.
He traveled and traveled for an infinitely long period of time, but the void had become the only neighbor he was able to perceive with his senses.
"Is anyone here?" he yelled.
A mysterious voice suddenly resounded across the shadows, its words almost indecipherable.
"—I…"
When the boy heard a faint response, he rushed with all the speed he could muster.
Realizing that the sound came from a large, pulsating amalgamation of shadows, Gray used all of his strength to move them.
At last, he saw something that wasn't darkness.
Behind the cluster, he could see a massive statue, depicting a man.
The statue was naked and had an enormous hole in the place where the face was supposed to be, while his head sported a beautiful crown.
The statue was showing his palms and they were producing a faint white light.
He was amazed, for it had been long time since he had seen something that wasn't the endless amalgamations of darkness in this word.
Then, his amazement turned into confusion as he heard something call his name from the void that was inside the statue's face.
"Gray…"
Suddenly, he started floating slowly towards it, as if gravity was ordering him to move.
The call was getting louder and more inpatient; the once gentle push had turned into a forceful pull, directing him towards the unknown.
When Gray was close enough, he could almost see what was inside the statue.
He gazed at the hole in a daze, trying to comprehend what was pulling him.
Inside the unknown there was a figure with long, jet-black hair and pitch black irises.
Its expression was filled with pain and anger; its eyes were bloodshot and had an endless amount of hate contained within them.
Gray's eyes immediately widened as he recognized the figure who had called him this whole time.
That being was…himself?