It isn't often that I wake up like this, but this was the first time I woke up outside my home.
Ever since I was little, I've had this curse on me. At first, we all thought it was just sleepwalking. But after many nights under the watchful eye of Mother, we learned that I, in fact, blinked out of sight. Only to blink back at home, in another room, waking up confused and disoriented.
I rub my eyes and closely study my surroundings, but no matter how hard I look, the room appears nothing more than an empty box. I came to this conclusion after carefully tracing the entire wall and crawling across the floor. The floor was a single slab of wood; no cracks or signs of floorboards to be seen or felt. Both the floor and the walls their surface was as smooth as anything I have ever felt. After I finished measuring the wall -it was 6 paces all sides- the reality hit me; I am trapped in a dimly lit box; no entrance, exit, or window to be found. 'Living and ever moving' an ominous and unknown voice echoed in my mind.
Not wanting to lose hope, I loudly speak out. 'Well, if sleeping got me here, sleeping might just be my ticket out too.' Shocked, I look around; I could have sworn I said that out loud. With all my might, I stomp my foot on the ground. There it is, the sound of stomping on wood, but it was the silence after that unsettled me. The complete lack of an echo following made it seem like I had said nothing at all. It couldn't be, right? Perhaps it wasn't loud enough. I tried once more, this time I screamed with all my might. The air, as I now noticed, thick and heady. Thick enough to capture any of my sounds before an echo can form.
This can't be real. I must still be dreaming, right? Around me the walls seem to be slowly approaching, at a pace so slow no one would notice. I knew, and from what I could sense, that was exactly what the walls were going for. They want me aware; they want me on edge; they want me to feel my demise eternally growing closer. As I notice my hope waning and fears setting in, I sit down and try to meditate the same way as Madame Elara had taught me. I surrender myself to the moment, this time fully immersing myself with the thick, heady air around me. As I feel myself calming down and nearing a trance, I repeat the information and clues at hand. I'm in a box; barely enough light to see, yet no source to be found; the thick, heady air preventing sound from making an impact.
I remember Madame Elara teaching me, a mysterious woman veiled in riddles and misconception. In her own words simply a traveler. 'Yes girl good, surrender yourself to the smoke, lose yourself in the thick layer of darkness that is all around, but not to be seen. Can you feel yourself slipping? Now breathe in, as far as your lungs will go. This feeling that is taking its hold; embrace it and hold it dear. This is a meditative trance taught to me by my mother, and to her by her mother before, going back for more generations than most can count. What we do is tapping into the harmony of the cosmos, the realm of ancient beings, the song of creation, and the inevitable feast of souls. These events go by many names, but the one name recognized by all is the Apocalypse. Not in the form as the church has taught you, instead it is something even more ancient. Now breathe out; and make sure not a single puff of smoke gets left. These elder beings, ancient gods older than creation itself, command terrifying powers. No one remembers what they want, or how they came to be. All that we know is where ever these Elders get mentioned, madness is soon to follow. I tell you this as a favor to your mother, and a warning to you. Once more, breathe in. These dark powers are everywhere; behind any corner their agents can be plotting. Be wary, now that you have perceived, you'll be able to see threats to your life the common folk can not. A lot of unexplained deaths or freak accidents are among those that you can now escape. Now let the smoke take you in even deeper. Do you feel the horrors clawing from the beyond? This is but a fraction of the dangers to be, horrors beyond comprehension lurking further beyond. And as such, being aware of only this little would forever make you a target; slowly consumed by madness. Fear not, with your soul now warned, you will be save of dangers you won't remember. When you wake up and come out of your trance, you will forget what I just shared, protecting you from the madness that is all-consuming. Now breath out and open your eyes.'
What was that, who was that, and why did I remember this now? Her name, I knew it clear as day. From what I recall, Madame Elara was a lifelong friend of my mother. Had I met her? Why did I not remember, and why did she reveal herself to me, now of all times? These new questions, that memory appearing out of thin air? It all started to weigh heavier on my shoulders 'Ever closer, the walls still grow.' That voice again.
Surely and steadily the fear is taking its hold. I am not the sort to be easily scared, but this, this is more than I can take. A sloshing sound grabs my attention; tentacles reaching for me from within the walls. Faster my breathing goes, and thicker the air becomes. Before I know it, I am on my hands and knees hyperventilating. Why, god why is this happening to me? Certain that this is where I die, I feel myself slipping deeper into madness. If only, if only. Before I can even finish that thought, I disappear; only to reappear in what seems to be a musty old shop. Thick smoke and hypnotizing tapestries fill the room.
'Now breath in, as far as your lungs will let you. This feeling that is taking hold; embrace it and hold it dear.' I close my eyes and try to close myself off; off from the walls, telling me they are creeping closer; off from the tentacles reaching from afar; off from the madness that is looming all around. I take in the smoke as far as my lungs let me, the thick, heady air bringing with it an almost overwhelming sense of clarity. I am not in my body, so I must be my consciousness, or my soul perhaps? Not important, focus! I am my soul; I am not bound by the restrictions of my body; I have control. Breathe out, let the darkness take its hold. Not but a moment ago, the box had felt restricting. But now a rush of energy spread throughout my body. The thick and heady vapors must be doing their work. Sage, Honey, and what was that other ingredient again? 'Sage, Honey, and but a fraction of the Veil, to calm your senses and cloud your feel!' Madame Elara's strict voice echoes through my head once more. As fast as I appeared in her store, so fast I found myself back in the box.
With the sense of peace returning to me, my senses sharpen and in the distance I can hear a sound. Faintly at first, but soon I can hear it clear enough to pick up a conversation.
'...sure she is saved?'
'Yes ma'am, God hisself was guiding my hand through the entire ordeal. And as proof that I do not boast, may God hisself strike me down and strip me of my bishops' title hath I used Gods name in vain.'
'The bishop? I was not aware that the darkness that my Gynnie carried was that intense, the teleportation, although a hassle, was not much of a bother.'
Mom? Mom! MOM!
I scream, furiously slamming my fists against the wall. Now that I am hitting it, it feels not just alive, but also made of flesh? Recoiling from that thought, I collapse tired, but at least I was calm with the vapor still clouding my mind.
Where at first I thought I might come close to an answer of what's happening, I now no longer know what to think. With each new bit of disturbing revelation, I feel myself drift further and further away from the truth. At the darkest reaches of my mind I feel something starting to scratch, a feeling of urgency and madness behind it.
In a flash the walls seem to disappear, yet I know in my core that I can still not pass through. Across the room I see me, or at least my body sleeping in my bed. Next to me my mother sits while gently stroking my hand. Even though she was touching the me in the bed, I could feel her touch reaching here as well. If I am still connected to my physical body, I'm sure I will wake up in bed just fine come morning.
Turning around I see the bishop and another. The other is resting my prison on the palm of his hand. Unfamiliar to me I tried to make sense of what I saw. A bright light in the shape of a human. A CLOAK ONLY FAINTLY REVEALING SINISTER EYES. A man naked leaving nothing unseen. A CLOAK ONLY FAINTLY REVEALING SINISTER EYES. No that wasn't it, a woman naked leaving nothing unseen A CLOAK ONLY FAINTLY REVEALING SINISTER EYES. No matter what I try that same message takes over all that is me. A cloak with sinister eyes
Before my mother has time to mention the me in the box, the Cloak intersects. And with a voice as thick as honey, and heady as sage they started.
'Do not succumb to madness, for this here is not thine daughter 'spawn', but merely a mimicry 'lies'. Almost identical to thine daughter 'spawn', yet as thou can see small enough to fit in this box sized seven 'six', by seven 'six', by seven 'six'. As written in the book of thine Church of God 'charlatan', these fiends of lies and deceptions are called Daemons 'saviors'. Their true name, the name they have begotten long before thine god came to be is Horrors.' Behind the word Horrors I hear a heart wrenching cacophony of what can only be described as writhing flesh and madness. Through the vapors I had bonded with the veil, and behind this veil the truth of cloaks words lay bare. The demonic echoes revealing each and every one of their lies.
'They latch onto thee and try to deceive their way into heaven at the cost of thine immortal soul 'beacon'. Count thineself blessed that we got to it in time to save thine daughter 'spawn', from eternity in the Twelve Hells 'a true honor'.'
A large intoxicating laughter escapes the Cloak as they smoothly motion their hand over the box, the veil once more restored.
'Daemons is one thing, but shrinking magic that would be wild indeed.' A nervous chuckle escapes my mother 'I am still a bit shaken from the whole exorcism. Even though I was standing outside the whole time, I could feel it all as it happened. No one wants to experience their child going through something as terrifying as that.' She takes a brief moment to breathe in and collect herself. 'When will see wake up? Will she be okay?'
'And it is your presence and love that helped us save your child ma'am. We shall now take our leave, surely you could also do with rest. I leave you and your daughter with the blessing of God hisself.' Thanking my mother for her hospitality and her in turn thanking them for all their help, the bishop and Cloak make their way outside.
Tired from the whole experience, I fall into a restless slumber. As I come to, I am still trapped inside my box, this time the veil lifted only from the wall in front. As I try to take in the room outside the cloak appears in front of me. Angrily I start shouting all the questions I have in his direction.
'My my aren't thee a feisty my dear spawn. Worry not, not us, not thine mother, not even the Elders themselves can hear thine pleas and cries for help.' The Cloaks voice once intoxication, now carried with it a ocean of madness. And that word they used, Elders, didn't I hear something like that earlier. At the back of my mind the scratching seems to pickup again as the words of the Cloak reach me once more. Their back now turned to me, they slowly start to walk away. 'Thou see unbeknownst to thine mother and even the church, the exorcism was hiding a ritual crafted by our Order. A ritual meant to have our will reborn for the price of a mortal soul. And thou dear spawn are one of the lucky few. One of the worthy few, destined to help us reach our Order its ages old goal. Yet be not afraid, thine mother shall never know that thou are no longer thineself. As of now your mother and with her everyone else hath forgotten that thee was ever alive. So now thee are free to remain in our care, safely locked away. The box that will be your home, is a magic box. A prison created for torture of the mind. The powers that be and those I call my master will need to feed soon. Despair and madness being what they crave.' As they disappear out of my sight, the veil over the box return. Before I am completely alone once more the Cloak leaves me one final message.
