The Chase

They piled into the truck and looked at the map. A girl stepped out of the truck and everyone followed her. That was beginning to become a bit annoying, she looked around and the storefronts appeared normal and so did the people and traffic. There was something wrong; she just couldn't put her finger on it. Not all of the people were normal though; those who seemed to be following her were like drones surrounding the queen bee. It was creepy, and very irritating. Their glassy eyes staring at her and they smiled when she stared back at them.

            “In the car, I’m driving, we go down this street and we should come to the spot on the map.” She climbed into the driver’s seat and everyone piled in like mindless zombies. She looked in her rear mirror at them and shrugged it off. There were four blank puppets and then herself, the cab of the truck felt cramped with the blank drones just staring at her. They drove down the street and pulled in front of a large wooden structure that looked like a broken down parking garage. Something pulsed in the air around the structure, the zombie brigade ran inside the building, and she followed fingering the pentagram at her neck.

            The inside of the building looked like a junk store there were stairs leading to somewhere on the right hand side of the room, at the back were rows and rows of cans stacked upon one another and spilling over the shelves. The left side had garbage in one quadrant of the room and as she walked down a slight hill, she noticed an open room with lots of light, there were children’s things on display, and that chilled her even more. She watched the people she was with go up a middle staircase and disappear, it was really dark on the right hand side and smelled of gas and burnt wood, and the rest of the building smelled like mildew and wet decaying garbage. A platform was on the other side of the stairway leading up and that was where the smell was coming from.

            “I wouldn’t go in there unless you have the proper protection; the evil still lurks there in the gasoline soaked rug. There was a horrible fire and they rebuilt it the way it was before the fire.” The man stepped down off the platform, walked back toward the entrance, and locked the door. There was a red glow coming from the platform, she shuddered then felt something tugging on her shirt. She looked down and saw a little girl with a smudged face and brown eyes staring at her. The girl handed her an intricately carved knife and then disappeared towards the brightly lit room.

            “I need to find the people I was with how can I do that?” she walked towards the room with the girl and stopped. The girl was staring at her but her eyes were bright red. “Her eyes are red what’s going on here?” She turned towards the man who was back on the platform, his skin was like paper and his hair hung in strings, he was a walking corpse that has been in the ground for a few years.

            “When Gail’s eyes are red that means everything is ok, when they turn all white with a little brown then worry. Gail will show you the way won’t you?” he gestured toward the little girl then laid his hands on his chest; she nodded then grabbed the other woman by the hand and led her up the stairs.

            “Choose your path carefully and don’t be afraid as long as Gail isn’t afraid.” She looked back towards the man and he was gone, all that was left was a pale wisp of smoke. Gail was beckoning to her and she followed the raggedly dressed child. The girl was practically skin and bones and her tattered sundress was stained with mud and some other stuff. When she followed Gail to the top of the stairs it was like being in a completely different world, her surroundings looked like a renovated church the walls were smooth and wooden, but there was a sickly glow outside the painted windows, and the figures on the windows were not the saints that you find on regular church windows. The whole room smelled like cedar but was as cold as a tomb; she breathed and could see her breath hanging in the air.

            “This way, watch out for the grieving mother.” The cedar room led into another wooden room, this room was round, dimly lit, and scattered with baby items. The little girl disappeared through a door and then there was a click. The room smelled of bitter herbs and baby powder. A slight haze hung in the room giving everything a surreal feeling.

            “Great now what?” she tried the door but it was locked and she went back to where the other door was but it was nowhere to be found. There was a scraping and rolling noise behind her. She turned to see a blond woman in a white dress rolling a baby bassinette towards her. The girl gripped the knife and it glowed. The mother floated along the wide plank board floor and her eyes had heavy black circles under them. The eyes that stared at her were hollow and sunken into the porcelain skin.

            “Look at my beautiful baby, she was born yesterday but she is so beautiful.” Then the woman pushed the bassinette towards the girl, she gripped the knife for dear life. The smell of death and decay emanated from the bassinette, she looked in to find a dry husk of a child in swaddling clothes with its mouth open in a pathetic o shape. She backed away from the baby trying to regain her composure. She clapped a hand over her mouth and swallowed the bile that made its way into her mouth.

 “Isn’t my baby beautiful, we named her Annie, she will be the pride of the county.” The woman picked the dead baby up and started to breast-feed it, there was a change in the woman too, the soft roundness of her body became jagged and sharp, her hair was falling in clumps, and the soft fingers that once caressed a living baby became gnarled and bent. The woman before her turned into a skeleton and let out a pathetic mewing sound, as the baby husk lay lifeless in her arms. The woman let out a wail and the other girl covered her ears and cringed.

“Why isn’t my baby eating? Please can you look at my baby I really think there is something wrong with her.” The woman pushed the husk baby towards the other girl and let out another wheezing gasp of air, surrounding the room with the smell of fresh death and blood. The metallic smell of the blood stung the other girl’s nostrils, as she made her way towards the only way out in the room.

            “You have a lovely baby and I wish you luck but I must really be going.” She reached behind her for the doorknob and it clicked open. She saw Gail on the other side smiling and then beckoning her towards a darkening hallway. Following the little girl she could not get the vision of the dead baby out of her head, she felt the hair on her neck prickle and she hugged her arms around herself, more for comfort to help her feel something solid.

            “What is here, may not be what it seems, tread carefully, try not to step on the symbols it releases them from their prisons.” Then Gail ran off leaving the other following her, mystified and more scared than she would admit to being. Fingering the pentagram on her neck she was enveloped by darkness, the smell of charred wood, flesh assaulted her nostrils, and her shoes felt wet. She started picking her way through the room and was hit behind by something heavy and meaty, turning she saw a shape hanging from the rafters by a rope. She cringed and turned around; she kept walking looking down and pulling back because she almost stepped on a wriggling black hand. Things kept swinging at her and hitting her trying to get her to step on the glowing tiles in the floor. Finally, she made her way through the funhouse maze from hell. She was assaulted by things, which could not be fully seen, scared witless, and nearly fainted from the scents. Rea was glad she finally made it to the end and saw Gail waiting.

            “This is where I sleep; tomorrow we will find your friends.” The girl’s eyes were smiling and bright red then she patted the stone slab that she was sitting on. It was a sarcophagus and it felt warm to the touch as if it was sitting in a baking sun all day.

“What is your name?” they stared at each other and it was hard to believe the little girl wasn’t normal. She had her head tilted to the side as if trying to figure out a puzzle that was too hard to solve. She climbed up on the sarcophagus and laid down next to the figure, the girl smelled like dirt and garbage but there was an undertone of something else like fresh water and wildflowers.

            “Rea but people call me, it’s pronounced Ree ah, it’s kind of funny though it is a girl’s name but it means, manly, warrior. We should be safe now right? We can sleep through the night?” Rea watched the girl, but the girl lay petrified beside her, Gail started whimpering and staring at the emptiness where Rea just stood.

            “No, we should be safe, I’m not sure, but we won’t sleep through the night,” the girl started crying and her eyes went white, Rea knew something was lurking in the darkness now and she rolled over to see a face of smoke leering at her.

“No momma please don’t hurt her she’s done nothing.” Gail was sitting now with her arms around her bony little knees rocking back and forth. There was a scratching noise in the surrounding darkness and the smoky face smiled a wickedly.

            “Gail, go play you have done well.” Rea looked at the little girl and she was crying, then Gail scurried off to the playroom. Rea felt herself become chilled and anger started to worm its way through her body.

            “What do you want from me? You took everything I have; I just want to find the people I came with and leave.” She was sitting upright grasping the knife in her hand and felt fear tighten in her stomach and mingle with the anger that flooded her blood.

            “Oh you haven’t given us everything there are still some things that we can get from you.” The smoke formed into a woman, she had white skin and black eyes, her hair was as white as her skin and it spilled in waves down her body, she looked like a marble statue. Her dress was made of black velvet and didn’t cover much of the skeletal body, the teeth were pointed and yellowed, and she smelled like a sewer and like the dead deer that have been sitting in the sun during the summer.  Rea stared at her horrified and tried slashing at her with the knife but it went through the insubstantial air. The figure in front of her laughed, it sounded like bones grinding against one another.

“Your little knife can’t hurt me, now I will take that pretty necklace of yours and your soul then you will join us.” The corpse like fingers came toward the necklace and Rea cringed back against the sarcophagus, there was crying coming from somewhere but she was focused on the horror in front of her.

            “Oh don’t be afraid of the Queen she doesn’t play fair and I was told that she would.” Another voice drifted from Rea’s right and it was smooth, it reminded Rea of the small stream by her old home. It was cool and smooth but inviting. The Queen hissed and drifted back towards the platform of charred wood and gasoline.

            “You promised you wouldn’t interfere with me, you broke your promise.” The woman climbed on the platform and curled up her eyes full of terror. Rea felt a presence on her left and saw that Gail had come back to her side. The girl’s eyes were red, she had tearstains on her grubby cheeks making little roads in the dirt on her face, and she was staring at the man with love in her ruby eyes. The man came towards Rea, but he was still a dark smoky blur in front of her eyes. He went from a shadow to a solid being, his eyes were a fiery green and his hair was the color of the deepest blue of twilight. His outfit looked like it was from the Marie Antoinette era and it was a deep blue trimmed with gold. He bowed to Rea and the little girl went running towards him.

            “Gail will take you to help find your people later, now you must sleep, and you shall sleep with my protection.” Rea felt her head droop and fingers gripped her chin, she stared into the eyes of the man and he smiled, she saw he had fangs and his skin looked like fine china. It was so pale and his fingers were soothing and cool, he took a breath and continued speaking “If you need me all you have to do is tell Gail and she will find me or just think of me when using my knife.” He smiled and then disappeared; the queen still glared at Rea from her perch on the platform, Gail saw the woman’s look and hid behind Rea.

            “You may have the King’s protection but even he can’t protect you all the time. Gail I thought you would have been more loyal to your mother but I was wrong, you will pay later.” The woman dissipated into smoke and they were left alone. Gail started crying and clung to Rea’s waist.  

            “Gail who was that man? And was that woman really your mother?” Rea disengaged the arms from her waist and stared into the girl’s face. It was heartbreaking to think this sweet little child, was related to that awful woman. She sat back down on the sarcophagus and inhaled the air it smelled of the woman and of the woods. Gail climbed into Rea’s lap and she leaned back into the girl who was holding her. There was a shimmer, movement by the door into which Rea came through, the old man was back, and he was carrying a bundle under his arm.

            “The child is indeed related to the Queen, but it isn’t the way you believe that she is related. It is hard to explain and I am forbidden to speak of it but the King ordered me to bring some blankets for you and bid that I watch over you until you awake.” He handed the bundle to Rea and she grabbed it reluctantly and then opened her mouth but closed it again. The man nodded his head as if understanding.

            “I shall explain everything when you awake or what I can explain, as I said I am limited as to what I can reveal.” He smiled and the patted Gail on the head, Rea’s eyes felt as if weights were attached to her lashes she curled up with the child and slipped into a deep sleep. Rea’s dreams were restless she kept hearing screaming and then she dreamed of the handsome king, there were times where she blushed at the mere thought of what she was doing with the king in her dreams. She slept restlessly on the sarcophagus, it wasn’t the fact that it was stone; it was the horrors of the labyrinth and the torrid dreams of the king that interrupted her sleep. She woke up a few times to find herself covered in sweat and panting because of some dream she had about the king, other times she woke up cold and stared into the darkness. Rea believed she could see the outline of the Queen lurking in the darkness but then her lids would grow heavy and she would fall back asleep.

            The room remained dusty and dark but for some reason Rea knew it was daytime, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and rubbed her neck, it hurt for some reason she guessed it was because of the way she slept. She looked over at the child who looked normal except for the fact that she was filthy and was softly growling in her sleep. There was a smile tugging at the little girl’s lips and then she growled again. Rea raised an eyebrow and suppressed a giggle, the sleeping child reminded her of when the dogs at home had a dream in their sleep. She slid off the sarcophagus and inhaled deeply, there was the smell of woods and fresh rain in the air. That was strange she thought, she looked around and felt disappointment sinking in her stomach, she was hoping it was all a dream but the place was still surrounding her, the stairway between the area of the burnt platform and the back wall with shelves, the demented play area lit by the sickly fluorescent lamps. She looked towards the door and sighed that was the same as well and she knew she would not be able to walk out that door and just leave. Rea surveyed her surroundings because she was trying to grasp the reality of it all and she really needed a bathroom, these creatures may not do the normal functioning human things, but she really needed to use the facilities. If she didn’t she was going to have to find a bottle and do it how her male friends did on long road trips, that was something Rea didn't want to do. Pissing in a bottle was not high on her list of things to do.

            “I was hoping you would be awake before the child come I shall take you the facilities you seek then we must talk before Gail wakes up and takes you to find your friends.” She followed the papery-skinned old man and wondered what his role was in this little kingdom inside an old abandoned building and parking garage. He stopped in front of a door that was on the far side of the play are where she saw Gail earlier.

            “In there now please be swift about it there is much to discuss, and please do not look into the mirror bad things happen to those who stare in vain at their own reflections.” He stood in the middle of toys and garbage. Rea stared at him then made her way through the pitted door, she stepped inside and looked at the dirty tiles, stained brown and yellow. A cockroach skittered from the stall and she cringed again. Rea took a deep breath and relaxed she was cringing a lot during this surreal adventure. She pushed open the stall door and inhaled sharply at the grotesque sight awaiting her. Maggots clung to something in the corner by the back of the toilet, the tiles were stained with what looked like dry blood, and the toilet seat was cracked and had a wicked looking fungus growing on it. Things were seeping out of the back of the tank and the water in the toilet was black as the shadows that surrounded her when she slept. She felt like she was in a bathroom at a gas station and gingerly squatted over the open bowl careful not to touch anything. When she was done she pushed the handle to flush the flush, a loud bubbling sound came from deep in the tank, followed by a loud whining noise. She cringed at the whine it reminded her of nails on a chalkboard. The water made a loud sucking noise as the bowl emptied, the tank rattled, and a fouler smelling liquid replaced what was in the bowl. She kicked the stall door back and scooted past a roach the size of a small dog. She looked at the sink and nearly caught her reflection in the mirror.

            “Come now you know you want to look, don’t you wonder how you look? I can tell you that you look horrible.” The voice came from above the sink, which looked much better than the toilet. Rea shook her head and took a rain check on washing her hands that was why she carried the small bottle of hand sanitizer with her. The voice chuckled and she could feel herself being unable to resist the temptation to see how bad she really looked. Gritting her teeth, she pushed herself to walk past the sink and mirror with her eyes on the filthy floor, she checked her foot to make sure there wasn’t any toilet paper clinging to the heel of her boot. Rea stepped over a pulsating lump that appeared out of nowhere and stood outside the bathroom, exhaling a breath she didn’t realize she was holding.

            “I’m glad you resisted temptation, now please have a seat somewhere and listen carefully to what I am going to tell you, my time is limited and I can feel the Queen growing restless to get on with her game.” Rea looked around the mounds of trash and dust and decided to sit on a stack of newspapers, a cloud of dust enveloped her and she started coughing. She didn’t want to inhale any of that dust, after seeing the bathroom she wasn’t sure what exactly lay in this place. Her stomach growled and she put a hand over it and chuckled, well now what was she supposed to eat, the pulsating blob or one of the dog sized cockroaches. Oh the choices were wide and varied and neither one appealed to her. The man held out a wrapped parcel and she looked at him warily, he smiled and undid the wrapping, inside lay a glowing, green fruit. “It may not look appetizing but it is a gift from the King he wishes he could give more, but these fruits are the only things that will be edible once you start the quest for your friends.” Rea took the fruit and felt its smooth skin, she bit into it and the juice was sweet, it tickled her tongue and fizzed like soda. What an interesting fruit, now if these only existed in the real world!

            “This is very good what are they called?” Rea wiped the juices from her chin and then groaned, she didn’t have any clothes and she must have looked like a horror. This was turning out to be more of a nightmare than she thought; she heard Gail whimper in her sleep and then the old man cleared his throat. She turned her attention back to him and realized she didn’t know his name. “Excuse me but what is your name?” he smiled and nodded at her.

            “My name is Eilam, pronounced ay lahm it means word, eternal; hidden. The Queen is named Celeste; the King goes by many names but this century he goes by Melanthios pronounced mel AN thee oss. His name means dark flower and in a way, he is. Now you are probably wondering about your clothing, hygiene, and what your hair looks like, well you look a fright. The king has supplied an outfit for you but I found attire that is more suitable in the mortal realm for you. I would thank the King when you see him again and maybe wear the outfit when not in Gail’s presence.” Eliam looked uncomfortable and Rea raised an eyebrow he shook his head and gave her a pair of jeans, heavy boots, and a hooded sweatshirt, there was also a t-shirt under the sweatshirt. “Our realm may not have seasons but sometimes there are drastic changes in the temperature, the sweat shirt will suit you once you start your quest. Please change and then meet me by the sarcophagus I will have some last words before you set out.” Eilam bowed to her and disappeared, Rea couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched. She slid her dirty clothes off and wondered where exactly she should put them and just let them fall to the cluttered floor. She felt a cool breeze on her naked back and looked over her shoulder, no one was there, and she was just imagining it. She put the sweatshirt on and took off her jeans.

            “Such a pity, I was hoping that you would wear the outfit I had given you?” the silky voice came from behind Rea and she yanked up the clean jeans and looked around, there wasn’t anyone there. She raised an eyebrow and shook her head, maybe she was just imagining it after some of those dreams, she blushed and turned back to pick up her clothes, she was face to face with the king and he was dressed in black leather pants and an open shirt that exposed his exquisite chest. Oh how she remembered seeing it last night in the dream, bare, glistening with sweat. She blushed and bowed to him.

            “Your majesty I thank you for the outfit you have given me and your hospitality, Eilam suggested I wear this when starting out, he did say that I should wear your outfit sometimes too and I will thank you.” A cool hand touched her chin and she looked up into his eyes, they were two different colors, one was bright turquoise green and the other a deep sapphire blue. They were bottomless pools and she felt herself start to fall into them, to drown in their depths, she felt cool soothing breath on her face and warmth on her lips. She realized that she was kissing the king and she pulled back and fell over the stack of newspapers she was sitting on. She didn’t look at him but felt his laughter caress parts of her that mere sound should not be touching. She looked at him again and noticed his hair was black but had some green streaks in it; kind of like some of the Goths, she saw hanging out at the mall. He certainly was interesting; she studied him but avoided his eyes.

            “You are most welcome Rea, may your journey be prosperous and we shall meet again and next time I would love to see you in the outfit I gave to you.” She felt the breeze again and he disappeared in a scent of Egyptian musk and sandalwood. She sighed and set out towards the sarcophagus, eventually she is going to have to wake up from this dream and she was hoping it happened before the wicked witch of the sewers woke up.

            “Daddy visited you didn’t he?” Rea looked at Gail and wondered how the kid knew that, did she have some sort of weird hickey or was there a big sign on her forehead that said I have had lewd thoughts about your daddy. Eilam was smirking; it suggested he knew more than he was letting on. Ok what was it with these people?

            “Yes he did. How did you know he visited me sweetie?” she really hoped there weren’t any obvious signs, nothing that would give her lewd little thoughts away. It was the girl’s father and she needed to focus on finding her friends, not thinking about a fling with a hot king.

            “Oh well he bit your lip it is bleeding it is his mark and his scent is all over you. That’s ok I know he likes you and that is a good thing you will need his protection for the trek into the woods.” Rea put her fingers to her lips and they came away stained crimson, well damn, she didn’t even feel him bite. She ruffled the girl’s hair, tucked the dagger along her back and handed her clothes to Eilam, he handed her a backpack and smiled.

            “The outfit is in there, also there are some other things you will need along the way.” He patted her hand and she hugged him, he smelled like the library and she really didn’t want to leave him. Gail was tugging on her sleeve and she looked at the girl.

            “We need to go, mother stirs and I want to enter the woods before she awakes. If she wakes up before we enter the Nothingness will prevent us from trying to find your first friend.” Gail led the way to the platform where the queen was last seen and Rea hesitated, she didn’t want to get on to that charred, blackened platform of death. Gail looked at her and stuck out her lip, “Come we need to go through here to get to the woods, don’t worry they aren’t awake right now, let’s go.” Rea looked back at Eilam, and he nodded, she saluted him and climbed up on the blackened wood. The smell of gasoline and burnt wood surrounded her. She took a step and everything disappeared into white mist.