Realm Wraith

by T. R. Briar

  Against his better judgment, he ran past the tree and cried out as loud as he could. “Is anybody there!? Answer me! Get me out of this nightmare!”

  He screamed and screamed until his voice gave out from the strain, but received no answer. Defeated, he sank to his knees on the cold ground. Behind him, something stirred, accompanied by a hollow creak. Rayne froze, sensing the presence of another right by him, and went numb as he understood that being alone might have been the better alternative.

  The silent tree stood there. And yet Rayne could see it trembling, shivering with the same worming rhythm as the ground beneath him. Its branches wove in the black air. Without warning they descended, and the sharpened wood clawed at Rayne’s neck as the branches enveloped him. In the very trunk of the tree he saw a frozen face, a screaming eternal visage making no sound. Beside it another face mimicked the same expression, and still more faces appeared. Rayne gawked, but he was too panicked to dwell on what he saw. The more he struggled, the more sharpened points tore his flesh.

  Thoughts flashed through his mind, the notion he could die again, or worse, simply cease to exist here in this horrible place. Frantic, he grabbed one of the branches with his hands and tried to pull it away from him, but his efforts failed. There had to be something he could do, he thought. He didn’t care how uncivilized it looked. He bent his head down and bit, sinking his teeth deep into his restraint. The strange tree let out a strangled shriek, and warm red blood gushed from the wound. The branches released their victim and began thrashing in the air, and Rayne knew he had to put as much distance between himself and this god forsaken plant as possible, running beyond its reach.

  Faster, faster, he told himself, trying with all his might to ignore the alien shrieks behind him. He did not stop running, even as the screams of the monster tree grew fainter, and he continued running after it went silent once again. He dared not stop running, hoping that maybe if he ran far enough, he could find a way out of this place.

  But the ground gave out before he did, and he found himself suspended by nothing, and once again became a slave to gravity, with only a split second to grasp he had run right off a ledge of some kind.

  “Aaaaaugh!” he shrieked, his head desperately repeating a desire not to die.

  He didn’t fall far, though. Something dark shot through the air and wrapped itself around his ankle. His descent jerked to an immediate halt and Rayne hung in midair, upside-down with a strange tentacle constricting his ankle. Below him spread an absolute void with no bottom or visible ground, and he pondered the dizzying possibilities if whatever held him decided to let go. Blackness swirled above him, and he hung beside a solid wall of the same strange, black ground he’d been running across.

  As he watched, the wall quaked, and a sidelong crack appeared as the shaking grew more berserk. With a crushing roar the crack burst open, and Rayne found himself staring at what could only be described as an eye, a hundred times larger than himself. It was a deep purple in color, swirling with a turbulent, glowing energy. In the center of the amethyst colored orb rested a single slit pupil, somehow an even deeper black than their surroundings. It was like staring into the depths of Hell. This was the very face of madness itself, and just looking into it, Rayne felt the psychotic whispers of a thousand demons tearing into his soul. A cold voice swept past his ears.

  “What’s a mortal doing here?”

  “I don’t know,” Rayne stammered, unable to form clear words in his predicament. “I don’t know where here is!”

  The eye blinked, and in that split second Rayne felt a sense of calmness, before the lids burst apart again and the unholy fixture stared through him once more, tormenting him with its power.

  “Awareness—?” Confusion laced the voice this time. Rayne couldn’t bear it any more. He struggled to free himself from the grip around his leg. It didn’t matter to him if he fell forever; he just wanted to be away from that horrible eye. As if sensing his struggle the tentacle around his leg tightened itself even more.

  “Let go of me!” he shrieked, reaching up to grab it. He pulled and strained, stretching his upper body to reach it. But, to his shock, when he grabbed it his hand passed right through. A moment later his leg, too, passed through the black appendage and he slipped from its grip, falling. More black forms exploded from the darkness with intent to grab him, but each one floated through him like it would a ghost. Rayne’s whole body had become transparent now, and he felt the world around him fading. He heard an unearthly roar all around him, the sound of a creature’s frustrated rage as its prey slipped away.

  Chapter 2

  A steady mechanical beep wormed its way into Rayne’s mind. It repeated, over and over again, unceasing. The more the beep went on, the more annoying it became to him, and he tried to scream, to beg for the irritating noise to cease, but he found he had no voice. Again he tried to force some kind of sound out through his lips.

  “Stop. Beeping.” The words came out as a strangled whisper, barely audible.

  “Rayne? Did you say something?”

  A response? Rayne tried again to speak, but his throat felt dry and cracked, like it had been scraped raw with a razor blade, and he could not produce much sound.

  “Beeping. Make it. Stop.”

  “Get the doctor! I think he’s waking up!”

  Rayne forced one eye open. Everything was a mushy wall of white with grey blobs to his unfocused vision. They looked like people standing beside him, but he couldn’t be sure. He felt himself lying on his back, on a soft surface, with no idea where he was.

  “Daddy? Daddy, are you awake? Say something, Daddy!”

  Rayne knew that voice. He tried to turn his head but his body wouldn’t listen. He tried to speak again but his voice gave up after two sentences, and he could only mouth the name of his son.

  “Can you hear me?” A quiet voice murmured above him, but it came from nothing more than a grey shape illuminated against an unceasing white. Rayne tried to nod yes, and his head made the tiniest motion. His eyes fluttered open and shut, and he tried to escape the cloudy state of mind ensnaring him.

  “Good. Good. Can you speak?”

  Rayne’s mouth moved, and he barely forced out the word “yes.”

  “Can you squeeze my hand?”

  He felt something touching his right hand, and he twitched, grasping an offered digit.

  “Responsive, but finds difficulty speaking,” the voice remarked. “Motor function adequate, responds to simple commands. As expected.”

  Rayne’s eyes rolled back, trying to focus on the speaker.

  “Mr. Mercer, you were in a terrible accident,” the voice continued. “Don’t push yourself now. Your friends and family are all here to support you. I want you to blink if you understand me.”

  Rayne forced his eyes closed, and opened them again.

  “Very good. Don’t try to move too much. I want you to take it slow, all right? I’d say about ten more minutes for your guests, and then they’ll have to leave so we can run some tests. Need to make certain there’s no lasting damage to the brain.”

  “But I want to stay with Daddy,” Levi protested.

  “I’m sorry, but those are the rules. I’ll leave you alone to catch up, and be back in a little bit.”

  “Thank you, doctor.” Rayne heard another male voice that he also recognized.

  “Oh, it’s no trouble at all. Since you’re his friend, I know he’ll be in good hands. Will you be on call tonight?”

  “No, I’m still on holiday, but you have my number if you need me.”

  “Very good, I’ll let you know if there’s an emergency. Take care now.”

  There were footsteps, and one grey form vanished from Rayne’s view, leaving three shapes standing near him.

  “Rayne, can you hear me?” the male voice spoke to him.

  Rayne opened his mouth and forced his voice to work again. “David?” his voice creaked with the strain. “But you…on holiday?”

  “I caught t
he first flight home after the hospital contacted me.”

  “Levi…was supposed to…from school.”

  “Levi’s right here. I picked him up from Tommy’s place, and we’ve been coming here every day, waiting for you to wake up.”

  “Good.” Rayne paused for a second, taking everything in. The shapes were becoming clearer, but still lacked definition. “—accident?”

  “You were hit by a car. You broke your arm, and several ribs, and—” David paused for a moment, then spoke to the child beside him. “Levi, would you mind stepping outside a bit? I need to talk to your father. Grown-up stuff.”

  “But I want to speak with him too!”

  “You can later. Right now, I need you to be a good boy and wait outside.”

  “Fine!” Levi’s voice brimmed with disappointment. Rayne heard him patter out of the room, and only saw two shapes beside his bed now.

  “What’s going on?” Rayne whispered.

  David held a hand to his mouth, choosing his words. “Rayne, the car damaged your spine. You’re paralyzed from the waist down. The doctors say it’s very likely you won’t ever walk again.”

  “My spine? What about…meeting? I have to…my client.”

  “Rayne, did you hear me? You’re paralyzed. You’ll be in a wheelchair for the rest of your life. Don’t you think that’s a little more important than a meeting?”

  Rayne’s eyes narrowed.

  “Fine. I called your firm, and informed them of the situation. You’ve been given sick leave, of course. They gave your case files to a colleague, and he took care of the meeting. Apparently he handled it miserably. The case is going to court. But they said you already arranged everything, so there is nothing for you to worry about, all right?”

  “Fuck,” Rayne rasped.

  David’s eyes creased, and his voice shook. “Rayne, forget work. You—you were almost dead at the scene, but they brought you in and—” He seemed to have trouble collecting his thoughts. “We almost lost you. You were totally brain dead for almost a minute; your heart stopped and you weren’t breathing at all! But, the doctors managed to revive you. I can’t even begin to describe how terrifying that phone call was, to hear how close you came to death. The driver wasn’t so lucky.”

  Rayne wanted to respond, but his voice didn’t want to work again. Yet even if it had, he wasn’t sure what to say. The reality of his situation sank in. His body ached, but he couldn’t feel his legs. A heavy cast burdened his left arm. As David spoke he started to remember the crash, the terrifying nightmare that followed. To hear that he had actually died, even for a moment, only made that nightmare seem more real.

  “The doctors were certain you’d wake up, but they weren’t sure when, so I’ve been bringing Levi by every day so he could be here when you came back to us. He’s been crying nonstop since I came home. He almost lost his father. So stop fretting. You just need to get better, all right?”

  Rayne found it much easier to nod now. His focused just a little more and he could see David standing next to him, still blurry, but recognizable in his mismatched clothes. He wore a tan tweed jacket and green pants, and his messy, dark brown hair flopped over amber eyes. He looked like he hadn’t slept in quite a while. Beside him Rayne noticed another figure, dressed in darker clothes, but he couldn’t focus his eyes enough to make them out.

  “Who—who’s that?” he whispered.

  “Sorry, who’s what now?”

  “Who’s that with you? He’s standing right—”

  Rayne stopped speaking as the figure, now acknowledged, stood up and approached the bed, standing beside David where Rayne could see them.

  “I don’t know what you mean,” David said. “Levi went into the hall, remember? The doctor will be back shortly. It’s just us for now.”

  But Rayne didn’t need David to tell him that. His gaze froze upon the inhuman specter standing by his friend, a tall, dark creature of shadows and inky fog, with a thin grey face that had little meat to it, just ashen flesh stretched taut over bone, and two curved, black horns adorning the top of its head. Rather than hands, Rayne’s eyes fell upon a pair of sharpened, organic scythe blades attached to each wrist. The being’s lips and eyes glowed with a sickly white light, and as it stared down him, its face broke into a maniacal grin, pulling white lips back to reveal sharpened teeth, and with a deeply disturbing laugh it vanished into a billowing cloud of smoke, leaving nothing behind. Rayne felt a rush of hot air sweep through the room and trembled as it faded, though not so much from the abrupt cold, but from a lingering fear of whatever horrifying entity had just left his presence.

  “N-never mind,” he whispered.

  “This is a bit much for you to take in. I’m going to take Levi home, and let you get your rest. We can talk more tomorrow, all right?”

  “Right.”

  After David left the room, Rayne wondered if he was truly alone. He couldn’t stop shaking at first, but the shock faded over time, and he began to imagine that whatever painkillers he was under had led him to hallucinate. After all, nothing like that could ever be real.

  * * *

  A week passed, and Rayne shouldered his slow and painful recovery as best he could. His life was still a muddled mess. He suffered dark and dreamless periods of sleep, always waking up feeling restless and unsettled. David, who normally worked at that same hospital as a junior doctor, would often drop by to check on him. He brought Levi to see him every day after school let out, which lifted Rayne’s mood, removing that lost confusion that plagued him during every waking moment.

  No more grim shadows of death popped in to visit him like that first day, yet Rayne still felt uneasy. Nothing seemed as stable to him as it should have been, as if much more lurked in the dark corners, another intangible world mixing itself with the reality he thought he knew. A fear gripped him, a faint knowing that if he let his guard down for even an instant, he would slip back into that other world, forced to face that incomprehensible landscape and its creatures once again, and this time he might never come back. He couldn’t bear the thought of being trapped in that nightmare forever, and he pushed the thoughts away, and rather focused on his recovery, appreciating his life for what it was.

  The doctors had made it clear he had almost no chance of ever walking again. They’d wrapped his legs up to minimize clotting, and Rayne hated the numb feeling in the lower half of his body, as the rest of him regained function. He would have to get used to a wheelchair. He didn’t care for having to roll around everywhere, particularly with all the snowy weather. The dread of being looked at as an invalid for the remainder of his life hung over him like a thick cloud.

  That morning, a knock sounded at the door to Rayne’s room, and the nurse, Miranda walked in. Rayne had gotten to know her over the past week as she came in every day to check on him, bring him his meals once he could eat again, change his bandages, and generally take care of him. At first he hadn’t been able to speak much, but over time, as he found his voice once more, he’d found her to be pleasant company, someone he didn’t mind spending a little time with during the day.

  “Hello, Mr. Mercer,” she greeted him, with her usual accented twang. “And how are we this fine morning?”

  “Oh, you know, just lying around, like always,” Rayne joked.

  “Such a lazy sod! Lying around all day watching the telly! You’re lucky you ain’t me husband or I’d give you a right beating for such incompetence. How do you expect to make something of yourself if you just lie in bed all day?”

  “Well, madam, I’d love to get up, but I’m afraid my legs don’t work.”

  Miranda laughed, a joyful lilting laugh. She was a young woman with long blond hair tied up in a bun, and a kind face with soft green eyes. Every day she would tease Rayne, and he’d respond in kind. It was all in good fun, and it helped him feel a little more normal.

  “So how’s that son of yours doing? I heard he came to visit you yesterday.” Miranda began the idle small talk as she changed the ba
ndages around Rayne’s ribcage.

  “He’s all right. Got a good grade on his maths test yesterday. He was so proud when he showed me.”

  “Oh, that’s lovely. He seems like a very bright lad. It must be hard for him to have his only father in the hospital like this, too lazy to even get out of bed.”

  Rayne laughed. “He’s got David to take care of him right now. It was tricky, but he managed to work out his schedule so Levi’s not left alone.”

  “And what about his mother? Can’t she take care of the little’un while you’re holed up in here?”

  Rayne’s smile faded, and he glanced away. “I didn’t really know his mother.”

  “Oh dear.” Miranda blushed. “I knew you were a single father but I—I shouldn’t have just assumed. I thought you were separated.”

  “It’s all right. It was just a silly fling.”

  “Really? So you didn’t know her at all?”

  “I met her at a pub one night back in uni; we hit it off, went at it like rabbits in my old flat. She was gone the next morning.” Rayne looked out the window, remembering. “I thought I’d never see her again, but then a couple years later, she turned up at my doorstep with a baby. She told me it was mine, and insisted I take it. I never saw her again.”

  “And you just took the child?”

  “Well, she didn’t leave me much choice. I was going to give him up for adoption, but David wouldn’t hear of it. He made me hand over some hair samples.”

  “That sounds like something David would do. So the boy was yours, then?”

  “That’s what the paternity test said. Once I found that out, I couldn’t really accept letting strangers raise him. David helped me out; we’d known each other since ninth year, and decided to rent out a flat together. It really made things easier.”

  “So what happened to the mother, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  “Don’t know. I heard she died.”

  Miranda dropped the roll of bandages she’d been holding, and her mouth fell open.