We step out of the Hub’s park and directly into the creepiest woods I’ve ever imagined. Like flipping a switch from happy-go-lucky woods, to 'Sleepy Hollow', where I feel like I’m being watched. The change is drastic and gives me a sensory overload. All the joy I was just experiencing is sucked out of my soul, while a cold numbness seeps through my pores. A chill burrows deep into my bones despite the hot humidity that creeps around me. Hugging myself tighter, I look around.
I notice dark gray tendrils of smoke floating towards us along the ground like boney fingers beseeching my presence. Moving away as fast as possible, I back up, not looking at where I’m going, and I step into some bushes. The small vines start to move and wrap around my legs as the fog comes crawling out and up from the brush.
“Shit!” I yell and move out of the bush.
‘This isn’t good,’ Lynx whines.
Moni reaches for my hand and pulls me after her while she guides me towards our left and brings us to a street that appears out of nowhere.
“What the fuck was that?” I yell, trying to calm down my breathing once again and look over at Moni. Lynx is pure white, and I can see the white of his eyes as he claws his way higher until he’s perched on Moni’s head. I would laugh if I wasn’t struggling to find a coping mechanism for this episode.
Those woods felt alive, like eyes were everywhere, and… things were moving around my ankles. It was a living nightmare.
“Oh, sorry about that.” Moni blushes, lowering her eyes, and twists her hands into a tight ball. “That’s the Ever Woods. They’re constantly changing with their temperament—grumpy little bastards. A couple of my cousins are on the board that regulates the moods, and let’s just say; I wouldn’t visit the council even if my life depended on it. They are pissed off on a good day and downright hostile, almost manic on their worst.” Moni shivers.
‘Fuck that shit! I say we just take a match and burn that place down. No one should experience that EVER!’ Lynx shouts and leaps off of Moni to land onto the ground, shaking out his coat as if to wipe away the encounter.
‘Okay, Lynx, you survived, and we’ll never go back there again.’ Looking at Moni, I pointed back at the dark hole we walked out of. “They should put up warning signs to keep people out or something,” I say.
Moni just shakes her head, chuckling, and points at… the damn sign that says ‘Danger. Keep Out.’
Well, beat me with a flaccid dick.Come on, Rez. You used to be so observant.Maybe that was my superpower and I had just lost it. Would they keep me here if I never receive powers like they think I have?
“Come on, let’s get to campus. The transportation ward is this way,” Moni tells me as she gestures ahead of us, and I shake my head as I follow her. She leads me down the street and back towards the park and into a glade. Standing in the middle of the clearing is a set of tall, dark, cast-iron gates. In the center of them is a crest with Double P’s facing inward from each other and four horses that look like they are prancing out of the sides. Nothing is holding them up except for thick vines entwined into the bars. Scrolled across the top and bottom of the crest is Purgatory Prep and wrapping around the shield’s edge is the motto.
Veni, qui redemptinum quaerere.
Huh?
‘What does that mean?’
‘It means, Come, those who seek redemption,’Lynx says.
Moni must see the confused look on my face and takes pity on me. “This is the ward for the campus. It’s attached, but not on this plane.” She grins and leaves me even more lost. I take it back, she’s not an excellent guide, I want a new one.
Rolling her eyes like she can read every thought in my expression, she takes my hand to pull me closer to the monstrosity that seems to loom over me. She squeezes my hand for reassurance, then brings both of our hands up and places them on the gate’s crest. My palm begins to heat up as I touch the double P’s and the four horses seem to shift. The gate starts to glow a bright yellow, and the horses begin to gallop and move out from behind the shield exposing riders upon them and their heads swivel my way.
Holy shit!I try to pull my hand away, yell for help, or even turn my head, but I’m frozen in place.I can’t move my body!My heart is pounding, and I know it’s going to explode. My muscles bunch as I try again to pull myself away, yet it’s hopeless. Mentally I try to reach out to Lynx, but it’s like a shield has been locked in place, and I find myself alone for the first time in ages.
The riders start to move their bodies, and the horses shift along the gate. Instead of them taking up the four quadrants, they move into a straight line and are now inches away from our hands that are still pressed to the crest. The only thing I can move is my eyes, and out of my peripheral I notice Moni is frozen as well, but unlike me, she’s not breathing. It’s like time has stopped, and I’m the only one unaffected. A cold breeze starts circling my body, blowing loose strands of hair around my face, and again I look over at Moni where her entire body isn’t being affected in the least. I can’t see Lynx at my feet, so I don’t know how he’s handling this. As the wind picks up speed, goosebumps pebble along my skin, and one by one, whispers reach my ear.
‘At last…’
‘Finally!’
‘Redemption…’
‘You’re here.’
The gate opens, and I feel a falling sensation right as everything goes black.
Chapter Five
Home Sweet Home
Rez
Ihave always thought the speed of light clips in space movies were kind of cool. I retract that statement now. I can’t make out one blurry image that flies past me. Voices jumble together until everything stands still. Squinting, I shield my eyes from the blinding light for a few seconds. Out of the silhouette, four figures appeared in front of me in all their glory, and the light fades behind them.
