The Coming From the Shadows Series
The Hellish Crossroads
The world was ablaze; not the comforting, contained blaze of a hearth – but the roaring chaotic inferno that painted the sky with hues of blood and sulphur; thunder, a guttural growl from the pit of existence, ripped through the air, punctuating the landscape with violent lightning that momentarily tore the sky apart bleaching the scene before it would plunge into an eerie and terrifying darkness.
Raven stumbled; her feet sinking into the ash that was still hot enough to sear – this wasn’t a dream, dreams were ephemeral; fleeting and easily dismissed upon waking up; this was different.
This was visceral; she could taste the acrid smoke, feel the oppressive heat against her skin and hear the sounds of screams that echoed in the distance.
This.., this was hell.
She barely had chance to register all of the horrifying reality of her surroundings before it descended; a hulking monstrosity, its form vaguely humanoid, but twisted into a grotesque parody of life – it materialised before her, reeking of decay and brimstone; it’s eyes were like pits of burning coals – they fixed on Raven with a predatory hunger.
She was terrified as she stared; her body wouldn’t move – before she could utter a sound, before her thoughts could fully process; she felt it; a clawed hand seized her throat; she felt the force behind its grip as she felt herself lift upwards from the ground, her legs now kicking uselessly in the air.
The grip tightened; she felt herself choking as it began to strangle her.
“It is time to surrender” the Entity rasped; its voice a chorus of tortured souls “Just accept this fate; it will be easier”
Raven kept kicking her legs uselessly as she started frantically using her hands to claw at the gripping fingers around her throat; she choked, her vision was blurring at the edges – terror was seeping in, it was raw and primal desperation she was beginning to feel.
Then, a searing pain penetrated through the Entity; a loud chocked gasp escaped its lips; Raven felt the pressure around her throat lesson.
A glint of steel; a sword protruded from the Entity’s chest; the point just visible below its sternum; finally it let go of Raven as it turned to face its attacker “Lydia!” the Entity raged; the ground shook with its violent roar of rage
Raven, now gasping for air scrambled away, instinctively putting distance between herself and the two figures; her mind was struggling to process everything that was going on; then her eyes landed on Lydia – her Great-Grandmother; long since dead, but she was here, in this strange world when she needed her most.
Lydia narrowed her eyes as she kept her sword at the ready; her stance radiated power.
The Entity; now ignoring Raven, lunged for Lydia, its clawed hand swinging in a wide arc; Lydia repositioned herself, taking a quick step backwards with a spin as she moved; her sword arm moving up behind her as she span the sword around behind her; the movement was fluid and graceful – the timing of the movement lined up perfectly as the sword sliced through the Entity’s wrist with effortless precision – the severed hand dissolved into shadow before it even hit the ground.
As Lydia once again faced the Entity she brought the sword up in front of her; she maintained a rather neutral stance with her sword in front of her, raised partially in preparation to defend.
Her silvery-Grey eyes fixated on the creature “Leave!” she commanded, her voice ringing with authority “She is protected” she states firmly
The Entity hesitates; its burning gaze flickering between Lydia then to Raven; finally, with a low growl, it dissolve into shadow leaving a lingering stench of sulphur and fear.
Lydia turned her gaze towards Raven; her features softening as she moved towards her, kneeling down – Lydia’s touch was surprisingly gentle, Raven stared at her, she was speechless, but she could feel an overwhelming torrent of emotions “You recognise me” Lydia said, a hint of sadness was present “Good; there isn’t much time”
Raven could only nod; her eyes welling with tears.
“I need you to wake up Raven” Lydia told her; her voice was soft, but there was an urgency to her tone “This…, this place isn’t meant to be somewhere you can just come and go; you’re here because of the ‘Box’, I have experienced it during my lifetime; it can amplify feelings of dread and sadness; and if your already struggling with your emotions, it’ll make it worse; it will draw you here more and more”
“But…, were am I?; this feels real…, I feel like I never went to sleep” Raven whispered, her voice hoarse
“A Place between worlds; your not asleep, but your not awake either” Lydia told her “This place is dangerous; and your emotions effect the environment”
Lydia reached her hand forwards; taking Raven’s hand, her grip surprisingly strong as she locked her eyes onto Raven’s “Wake up Raven; I need you to wake up”
Lydia’s features began to flicker; the edges of her form blurring – then, she was gone.
Raven gasped; she jolted awake, the sensation of falling making her panic despite laying on the bed, she realised were she was after a brief moment, the familiar comfort of the bedroom slowly came into focus, the soft glow of the bedside lamp – she didn’t remember that being on before she had gone to sleep, nor did she remember the sound of the fan as it blew a gentle breeze – there was a scent of lavender present, it was far more noticeable after the stench of the hellish landscape she had just witnessed.
The fear lingered; a cold knot in her stomach, the memories that flooded her head sent her emotions reeling.
Tears began to stream down her face as she laid in silence – this had been worse than any nightmare she had experienced, but then it crossed her mind; it wasn’t a nightmare ‘She was somewhere between worlds’ as Lydia described it.
Her fear so far had kept her completely isolated within the moment; she hadn’t noticed Yasmin above her; it was only when she felt the gentle fingers against her face that she finally took notice “Raven” Yasmin whispered gently “Raven; Ravie; talk to me, please”
As Yasmin’s face finally swam into focus – she realised that she must have been trying to get her attention since she woke up, perhaps even before that.
There was a moment of processing before Raven suddenly moved, she moved quickly as she launched herself up into Yasmin, wrapping her arms around her and clinging to her as if she was a lifeline, she released a torrent of emotions as she buried her face into Yasmin’s chest, her body trebling as she sobbed.
Yasmin was caught by surprise by this sudden movement that it momentarily jerked her body; but she managed to retain her position, and shifted carefully to bring Raven up to a more comfortable position; her hands reaching up, gently stroking Raven’s head as she began to whisper soothing words of comfort – she didn’t need to know the details, she just needed to be there for her girlfriend in that moment of desperation, it was becoming more and more common for Raven to be in this state, ever since the ‘Box’ had been given to her by her Grandfather.
Yasmin’s eyes drifted a moment; they landed on the box that had been placed on one of the shelves; its presence was ominous as it simply sat on the shelf.
Written By: Westley H.
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