I climb down the side of the wall, crawling further and further into the dark abyss. My leg from Kaida’s bite is still weak, and so I have to over compensate with my arm which causes me to get more tired. And then suddenly, from among the abyss, I see large leaves that illuminate the darkness- giving off a very faint yellow light that broke apart the blackness of the night.
Instead of seeing only the brownness that was Nicolai’s compound I see only dark greens and reds in the flora near the ground. And as I kept climbing down, I could only feel more and more nervousness in my stomach- this is the first time that I will experience the true savageness of this world.
Then I reach the end of the ladder and I take a step onto the floor, I turn around and look upon the night. Though the leaves brought light, it only magnified the darkness that crept in between the large trees which causes chills to fall down my spine. The trees themselves look like their alive and they hum almost an inaudible hum as the wind sways. Animals too, make sounds in the distance- insects buzzing, frogs bellowing, and birds calling for one another.
And again I think, this is the first time that I will experience the savageness of this world. The savageness that Nicolai spoke about, and the vileness and evilness that comes along with it.
And then there is movement in the bushes, with a growling that grows louder as sticks crunch beneath the weight of the monster. Then another, and then another, and yet again another; and I know, it must be a pack of animals.
Then they emerge: Mouth snarling, hunched back, and ready to pounce, yet unlike anything I have ever seen in my world or this one: their fur was thick and white, completely pure of any imperfections; yet their eyes bear a stark contrast, a blackness devoid of all things good. Wearing two tails and walking on six legs, they only slightly resembled the wolves of my world- yet carried the same ferociousness.
The most troubling part however was not in their growls or even what I think is surely my demise, it was the fact they didn’t bare any mechanical features. They were normal, or as normal as they could be in this world; they hadn’t been touch by experiments or made into the sick and twisted mechanical hybrid that I saw when I first got to this world.
I’m terrified as the beasts inch toward me, and then finally one of them pounce and I throw all of my weight towards slicing it, my weak leg causes me to fall with it on top of me, it whimpering as we go down.
I shove it off of me in a hurry.
Barely holding my ground, I put my fist and sword in the air as if I were a boxer and the wolves, my opponent. Their growls grow louder as they approach me. I spit and blood spews from my mouth. I put more weight on the balms of my feet which causes my leg to shake in agony, yet I stiffen my jaw to prepare for their attack. The wolves start circling me as they move in.
I try to spark and a weak blaze lights my arm. The wolves back up a few steps in curiosity and then they come closer, the fire lights their eyes in a beautiful array of browns and grays-lighting it from the pitch darkness it once was to something less intimidating. I limp towards one and fall back onto my knee, the wolves start to howl as they move in. In a panic, I summon every part of me to combust everything around me- the trees, the grass that circled me, and more importantly the wolves’ fur themselves. They start to whimper as they run from my burning body.
“That’s right, you better run.” I yell arrogantly into the air as I limp with fiery zest: this zest engulfing everything I walk past. Everything I could see danced in orange and red as branches burned and fell off the trees, almost as if they were showing which path I should take.
Snake like creatures slither away from me, cowering from my power. The wolves too, still on the run. Bearlike creatures with beaver tails, crawl away in a hurry. And that’s not mentioning the endless amounts of birds, insects, and flying lizard animals that flee from the fire.
“Bring it on savages!” I scream into the fiery wilderness. “Try and kill me, I dare you!”
“To what end?” I hear a woman’s voice echo from within the flames. “What will that teach you?”
“Why does that matter, I would be dead at that point?” I shout back into the fire.
“Very true, but that’s only if we’re talking about this reality.” Her echoes bounce around in the smoke. “For all you know, your soul could live a million times over: what would killing you now teach you about empathy or love?”
“I have a ton of empathy!” I scream, offended that someone would question my kind nature. “I would prefer to not have this moral quandary asked by some stranger. Show yourself.”
“Turn down the heat.” The woman whispers in my ear.
I turn around and she’s gone.
“Where are you?” I yell, my fire starting to calm.
“My wolves were scared of you, not trying to hurt you. We’ve had a million of experiments done on our brothers and sisters by people like you. Show a little understanding in their distrust in your kind.” Her voice bounces on the emptiness of the burning trees. “Besides, their young ones were pretty close to where you landed, they were just protecting their own.”
“Show a little understanding? They were about to eat me alive. It’s a dog eat dog world out here, I’m not going to die because some animal thinks I’m a mad scientist.”
“But you come from his land. As did the millions of men before you.” Her whispers are again behind me. “Forgive our misunderstanding. Now turn down the flames.”
“No. Not until you show yourself.” I say as I continue with an aura of fire still surrounding me.
“As you wish.” A quiet blow flows through a flute and I feel a pinch on my neck. And then the world starts to go dark as the flames starts to fade out.
And then, so too does my vision.
Writing For SB Michaels 