“You’ll find no reprieve here, only your worst nightmares. Some might be lucky; some may perish. Only those marked to grow will suffer my hand. May you make it to your next safe house in six hours, or your soul will be mine.”
“Oh, doesn’t Purson soundlovely!” Rez sarcastically exclaims as she fakes a swoon. “I am so beyond these Princes of Hell. Don’t they have better things to do than run an ancient crucible for their twisted pleasure? I mean, they have demons to rule or torture on their normal levels or uprisings, plus planned summonings and human sacrifices or whatever else they do. Just leave us alone and allow us through. We wouldn’t be here if we weren’t coming here to help you, YOU…DEMONS!” she shouts into the void, but we all jump when a voice calls back.
“Are you done throwing your fit, or can we begin?” a creaky, fragile voice rings out behind a dead withered tree.
I stifle a laugh as Rez looks back at us with wide eyes and motions for us to do something.
“Well, you’re the one that said something. What do you want?” Levi whispers hurriedly to her.
She blanches before turning and shouts, “Who are you?”
An older woman in her late eighties approaches us as a grayed-out spirit. She has no distinguishing characteristics, but she smiles warmly.
“My name is not important, but what I have to show you is.” She turns slightly and beckons us to follow. “This is the way to your safe house. See up there.” She points to the sky, and in the faded white light is our countdown clock. “That is how much time you have here. I had a friend who once traveled this trail. She was much older than you. She’s on level two. Never made it past the first building,” she giggles. “At least she’s enjoying herself.”
“How did you end up here?” Levi asks. I on the other hand, wonder if this old woman can be trusted.
“Oh, I died young, but when I was alive, I wasn’t completely pure,” she hints with a teasing smile before
“What do you mean, not pure?” Chester pushes.
“Have you ever heard that if you pass on rumors or lies, you can darken your soul?”
“YES!” Rez shouts. “Sorry, I mean, yes. I just learned that, actually,” she conveys shyly, lowering her voice.
“Well, when I died, I came directly here and aged. Normally when you die, you stay the same age. Not me. I’ve lost count of how many times my body has rotted and fallen apart, only to be brought back to do it again.”
“Oh, that’s horrible,” Chester comments, looking a little green.
“You think that’s bad? Look at this,” she says, stopping in front of a wooded place I immediately recognize, and a cold sweat hits me.
“What is this place?” Rez asks, looking at the woods before us, and while the others talk, my surroundings disappear as I’m transported back in time.
The woods morph into a small clearing where there’s an old tire swing to the left, a trail to the right leads to a shack of broken limbs that make up a secret fort, and wildflowers to the south that, when laying down and looking across them when the sun hits it just right, makes a rainbow.
“Zeke?” Levi’s voice filters through suddenly, and I look over slowly, afraid to know if he can see what I can.
“Do you see what I do?” I ask, but it’s not Levi who answers.
“Yes, Ezekiel. This trial is yours. They are able to see all your secrets, everything you’ve hidden and even buried from your so-called best friend, even yourself. Can you survive your guilt? Or will you succumb to your despair?”
I look up hesitantly as I notice the spirit’s voice changing, and my stomach knots at what I might find. Instead of the grayed spirit, in her stead, there’s a young red-headed girl in pigtails with tear-filled blue eyes standing before me.
“Why, Z? I trusted you.” Her voice cracks with accusation. She wipes at her tear-stained cheeks before blood starts to trickle from her eyes. Her legs give out as she falls forward into my arms before everything goes black.
Blinking my eyes rapidly, I see her once again, but now she’s in front of me in the tire swing, laughing as she kicks her legs out and leans back. Rez, Reaper, Levi, and Chester are next to me but only as spectators, banging on invisible walls as they try to get to me. The others are gone and must be in their own versions of Hell while I’m in mine. I can hear my family clearly as they worry and send me encouragement, but it’s no use. They have no idea what’s about to happen, and if they did, I doubt they could be looking at me like that. I’m a monster. Even my crimes as a Necromancer raising a Deathweaver would be better than what they’re about to witness.
“Zeke, you’re right. This is fun!” Trin giggles, pulling my attention away from my family. She twists her body, and theswing spins out, causing her to scream as it goes faster than she expects. “Ahh! Stop it, Z, please!”
Horrified of the coming events, I try to keep my arms to my side with all my strength, but it’s hopeless. My body moves uncontrollably towards her on autopilot, my past already dictating what will happen. She smiles up at me, hopping out of the swing, and loses her balance immediately as vertigo hits her.
“Oh man, my head is wobbly,” she admits as she blinks those baby blues at me and blushes.
“Come here and sit,” I tell her while guiding her to the nearby log out of the sun. I have some control of my body because tears start to form and slowly tumble down my cheeks as I help her sit down.
“Thanks,” she whispers before looking up and shrieking. “Z! Your eyes!” she squeals. I lean away from her, and I take the opportunity to will my body to keep going, to run, to escape as far as I can so I can run away from this nightmare, but my arms and legs are frozen solid.
“What? What’s wrong with them?” fear evident in my younger voice.
