Otherland

by Almondie Shampine

  They also did everything they could to keep the Nothingness from spreading and threatening this world, as it was the human Light knight’s job to keep the nothingness from spreading into the human world. The more and more humans that thought of themselves as individuals, lost their connected spirituality, and completely disconnected themselves to everything put in place that kept their world functioning, the more Lost souls there were to spread the destruction of all things and create the Nothingness.

  What existed here, existed, because peace was made between light, dark, spiritual, and human, so that there was one of all to collectively maintain the existence of things. The spiritual Dark and Light knights were needed to control the Nothingness already created. The human Dark and Light knights were needed to control the future creation of the Nothingness. The problem was, there were far more Lost souls than spiritual knights and guardians, just as there were far more Lost humans than human knights and guardians.

  This knowing for humans and spirits alike was self-defeating, as it caused more and more the loss of faith and belief required to maintain things. The Nothingness was spreading at an unbelievable rate, threatening to destroy the existence of all things, because just as the Lost souls didn’t recognize their part in the existence of things, nor did they recognize their part in the destruction of things, like vampires sucking the life out of any and everything for the sake of their own insatiable thirst.

  The Light knight had tried to explain these things to Aliyah. How much he was needed to perform his duties, how important, essential, vital it was. He was one of too few and was not expendable to forego his duties and live the life she wanted, no matter how much they loved one another, but regardless of how much, how often, in how many ways, he’d tried to explain it to her, all she cared about was their love and their being together.

  She had no sense of duty. Her faith and loyalty waxed and waned, there one moment, not there the next, and the more he insisted on his duty and loyalty to the Father, the more she went against and denied him.

  She’d once said, “The only thing we have in this world that connects us and makes us feel a part of things is love. Without love, we are nothing, there is nothing. If your duty to the High master denies me your love, denies me and so many others the only goodness, the only happiness, in this world, then what kind of leader is he? Why would I bow down to a faith that has not only not done anything to protect me from my suffering, but would then deprive me of the only goodness I have seen that might actually make me believe?”

  Now, here he was, about to endeavor on a journey that would lead him to her again, where she would, once again, become his duty provided to him by the High master.

  He looked up at the darkened criminal, blacker than most, with eyes as black as his soul, and they stared at one another. A double-edged sword, another battle, good and evil. If only the good and light in the world could understand that it was only the dark that allowed them to be found, and that was why the dark was necessary.

  Light could not feel light as they were one and the same. It’d be like the sun feeling the temperatures of itself. The dark, on the other hand, could feel the light, like day and night, just as the light could feel the dark.

  In the absence of her memories and being able to meet in their designated spot, the only chance he had at finding Aliyah in the human world was by allowing the darkened criminal to lead him.

  “When you are summoned, you are to return here immediately. If you do not, you will become the hunted. You will be brought back here by force in restraints, will have to stand at a Ceremony trial, and regardless of the outcome of the Ceremony trial, you will be replaced on this mission by another,” the Dark elder explained. “Do you understand that your mission is to retrieve this human, unharmed, and return her here to get her sentencing by the High master?”

  They both said yes. Well, the Dark soul said, “Yeah,” and the Light knight said, “Yes, Elder.”

  “Side-by-side, you are to take two steps forward, five steps to the right, and one jump forward. Move quickly, do not stop until you are in the human world, and DO NOT take anything with you.”

  They did this, as the Light knight had already done time and time again, so he knew the dangers. “Run,” he said simply. “Move as fast as you can.”

  “What is that terrible sound?”

  “GO!” the light knight shouted. “Do not stop. Follow me. No time … to talk.” The Light knight ran as fast as he could. “It’s just up ahead. Keep moving!” He did not look back and was just about to dive forward when he heard the Dark soul’s cries.

  “Let me go. Get off of me. What do you want?”

  The Lost souls had grabbed him and were wrestling him toward the Nothingness. The Light knight looked once at the tunnel to the human world, then turned back around, pulling his light sword from its sheath.

  It glowed brilliantly in the darkness, and the Lost souls screamed, but did not let go. He ran toward them and sliced at them with his light sword to release the Dark soul that would lead him to Aliyah. Their screams were shrill in their agony of the burn of his sword, and they pulled away. “GO!” he screamed at the Dark soul, and turned his back to him to continue to fight off the lost souls.

  He heard the laugh right prior to the push into the Nothingness. The Lost souls instantly grabbed the Light knight and began pulling him further into the Nothingness.

  “This is where we part ways, Light knight. I told you this was mine and mine alone, and I can’t have you ruining things for me. I’ve waited a long time to have this moment. Call it … unfinished business, if you’d like. I should have killed her long ago. I didn’t. My mistake. Fortunately, I’ve been given a second chance to do what I should have done then.”

  “You need me, Dark soul; it’s why we were sent together. You’re making a mistake.” The Light knight yelled, struggling against the six Lost souls wrestling with his body.

  “Then that’s a mistake I’m certainly willing to make. Goodbye Light knight, and good riddance.”

  CHAPTER 8

  Dwayne, the darkened criminal, felt such a thrill returning to the human world, his world, the place that was stolen from him abruptly by one girl, the girl he should have gotten rid of completely when he was done with her. Instead, he’d spent his human life chasing her. Obsessed with her. Needing her just one more time. That had been his demise.

  Now, he was no longer human. He no longer had those physical needs. Now, he saw, crystal clear, what needed to be done. He’d been a stupid human to think that he could control her and possess her and keep her always in the human world. He’d spent the majority of his human life in search of her after she managed to escape again and again and again. Limited by the restrictions of the human body, he hadn’t been able to sense her, so had no choice but to find her the hard way, after years and years of searching.

  Now, he’d found a way to possess her forever in Otherland without her ever being able to escape. He would not kill her, as he promised he wouldn’t. But he’d terrorize her until she killed herself or got into a car accident, something, anything, that would result in her death, and then he’d be the one to take her soul to Otherland, as she’d done him. He would be praised and rewarded his successes and be able to fly freely, while she would be the imprisoned one, forever and eternal, and he’d be able to see her and torture her at his will, as he’d finally be the good and she the bad, where he’d be seen as doing right, while she’d done wrong. It was perfect.

  High above the human world, all he had to do was sense her. What had taken his human body years took only moments now. It was almost as though she’d done him a favor by killing him. She’d made it so much easier to find her.

  He swooped toward the direction he sensed her, while remaining in the night sky, but just as he was about to drop down into the shadows, he received the summons. So close. Too close. He debated on ignoring it and continuing on with his business, but if he could sense her so quickly, would the Hunters be able to do
the same with him?

  It would take time to terrorize her to the point of her becoming a non-human, so he decided to return for the summons, as greatly as it annoyed him.

  He thought he’d wind up in the same place he’d been before, the meeting spot before coming here, where this world seemed so far away. Instead, it was someplace in-between where he could still sense where he’d been.

  “Why did you summon me so quickly? I only just reached the place I needed to be,” he said angrily.

  “Where is the Light knight?” they asked.

  “How am I supposed to know? Am I his keeper? My mission was to bring back the girl, not to babysit some human. If he can’t keep up, that’s not my problem.”

  “Have you found her?”

  “I only just got there before you summoned me. I could have had her by now. You’re serving to only waste my time. Is this how it’s going to be? You summoning me when I’m trying to carry forth my mission? If I have her in my grasp and you summon me, am I somehow supposed to choose between coming at your beck and call, and actually fulfilling the mission I was provided?” the darkened criminal vented angrily.

  “You call this place enlightened, when really you’re not much different from the human world, constantly disrupting the very thing you say you want, because you don’t have the patience to allow the time needed to take care of it. Now, knowing Aliyah better than all of you, she could be jumping a plane to half-way across the world in sensing my presence, while you rudely intercepted me from getting to her.”

  Suddenly, the Light knight arrived. “Sorry I’m late, Elders. The Lost ones can be quite demanding of one’s time, especially when you’re thrown into their clutches,” he looked at the Dark soul with a scathing look. “I came as soon as I could. I thank you, Elders, for your summons. Dark soul, this time I’ll allow you to lead the way.”

  Only then did Dwayne realize that he’d been a pawn, a pawn all along. They were using him. He hadn’t been meant to find her and bring her back there, only to lead them to her.

  But only he knew who Aliyah really was in the human world. He could lead them elsewhere, and they all knew that souls got taken by the Lost souls all the time. He just needed to bide his time, mislead the Light ones, and act like he’d been swallowed by the Nothingness. Then, and only then, could he fulfill his mission.

  “We got word of a human found walking the white path toward the portal to the Darkness. She was able to escape, but not before providing her name. She did not call herself Aliyah. She said her name was Lydia,” the Light elder explained.

  “Humans often mistakenly find their way onto those paths when they’re in a deep sleep. Did she actually go through the portal or was she frightened away?” the Light knight questioned.

  “No, she returned to her world.”

  “This is a waste of human time. Can we get on with it?” the Dark soul said in irritation.

  “She was wide awake and was able to see and speak with the fallen angel placed on the border.”

  “So what are you saying, Elders? That there may be another human, other than Aliyah, that possesses her same abilities, or that Lydia and Aliyah are one and the same?” The Light knight inquired, enjoying the Dark soul’s impatience.

  “We cannot say for sure. We just thought this might be valuable information.”

  “Very well, Elders. Thank you for this information. Dark soul?”

  “Follow me then, Light knight,” he said, as he reentered the place he’d been, prior to being summoned. It was better off the Light knight being in this world as human, anyway. He would be required to sustain his body. He would need energy, food, water, shelter, and sleep. Perhaps he’d forgotten all the requirements of the human body in this world. All Dwayne had to do was remind him of his physical limitations.

  So he had him walk for miles and miles without stopping for food and drink. As soon as the human collapsed in deprivation and needed sleep, the Dark soul would be able take care of what needed to be done.

  Finally, the Light knight, stumbling, hungry, thirsty, and exhausted, said, “How much further is it?”

  “Many miles more. You need to rest.”

  The Light knight fell. “I need food and drink and sleep. I forgot how much the human body required to sustain.”

  “I will get you what you need,” the Dark soul said. “Get some rest, and before you know it, I’ll be back with what you require.”

  The Light knight nodded his head, hardly able to keep his eyes open, and Dwayne prepared himself to return to where he sensed her. Instead, the dawning light burned him and made him cry out in pain.

  Again, he had to know he’d been tricked and made the fool. All the time he’d spent waiting for the human to tire was all the time the human had spent waiting for it to be daylight. Now, in daylight, he was trapped. He couldn’t go anywhere or do anything. He had to find a place of darkness to remain until the sun faded.

  CHAPTER 9

  The Light knight, as exhausted as he was, picked himself up and began walking the way they had come. He could navigate this world as a human in a way the spiritual could not. He raised his hand for a taxi, stopped at a fast-food restaurant, and within 20 minutes was dropped off at the place the Dark soul had been to prior to the summoning, which meant she was close. But it was New York City. Close could be thousands of places.

  So the Light knight spent his time asking any and every one if they knew Aliyah or Lydia. He saw that most looked at him as something to fear and got away from him as quickly as possible. They all walked confidently, like they had things to do, places to go, but if you disturbed them, interrupted them in their purpose, they suddenly became afraid.

  The Light knight thought to himself, If these humans are living their lives in so much fear, how can they ever possibly grasp the very faith meant to maintain the spiritual world? How can they believe in anything when they’re so afraid?” It was the first doubt he’d had against the High master since he’d made his vows to him.

  Yet he talked to him, prayed to him, in this human world, trying to understand. “Everyone is so afraid. No one will talk to me. There are so many good out there, yet they’re petrified because of the bad done to them that they can’t trust anyone.”

  He had no way of finding her. So he returned to the original spot they’d come to, and hid himself, waiting for night for the Dark soul to return. Apparently good could only be done in the face of evil, nothing less, nothing more.

  But the Light knight also knew this was another trick in the human world, being so far from Otherland, surrounded by so many sights, sounds, lights, noises, smells, and so, so many humans with questionable auras.

  It would take time for him to get accustomed to it all. It was simply overwhelming, and his time in the spiritual world had caused him so much sensitivity toward the essence of things and people. Even now, he could see the blackish-grey clouds forming in the sky, threatening to cover the sun, threatening rain.

  He needed to find cover. Just as he was crossing the road, a vehicle came around the bend. He picked up his pace, but the driver didn’t seem to have any intention of slowing down, leaving the Light knight with no choice but to dive toward the curb, scraping his hands and knees. The vehicle squealed to a stop, harshly reversed, and squealed to a stop again.

  “I am so, so sorry. You okay?”

  A beautiful, yet flustered, black woman with long black tresses and high-cheekbones ran toward him.

  The Light knight rubbed his skinned knees where his pants were now ripped, and painfully stood, “I seem to have had better days here,” he said, “But then again, I’m sure to have had worse, too.”

  “Ooh, you are a pretty thing, ain’t you?” she smiled. “You cut, you bleedin’, and yo’ pants be ruined. I am so, so sorry. My stupid folder fell and I was drivin’ and tryin’ to pick up the paintings before they got ruined. Lydia kill me if I spoilt her work. Here, you want some money, get you some new pants? You a tourist?”

  “Lydia?” t
he Light knight raised his brow. “I actually came here in search of Lydia. She may also go by Aliyah. She may not have any memories. You are friends with this Lydia?”

  “Yes,” she said hesitantly. “But you in the city. There’s probably hundreds of them. What is the last name of the person you lookin’ for?”

  “The Lydia I’m looking for may not have always been Lydia, so I do not have a last name. Aliyah’s last name was Demonica. Can you take me to her? I’ll be able to tell you if it is her.”

  “Boy, you crazy. I ain’t know you. Think I’m goin’ up and let you in my car. Dis New York City,” she murmured, walking away.

  “Please,” he followed her to the passenger side.

  “Boy, I will mace yo’ fool ass. Step away.”

  The Light knight gasped, seeing the paintings on the passenger seat. “Otherland,” he whispered.

  “What you say?”

  “It’s Otherland,” he said more loudly.

  “How you know that?”

  “It’s her. I know it is. She has a necklace, a silver chain, a heart pendant with a blue stone in the center. She may not remember where she got it. I gave it to her, many years ago. Please, you must take me to her.” Being so close to finding her and seeing her again made him feel a type of agonizing human desperation.

  “You an old boyfriend or somethin’?”

  “I’m her Light knight,” he said without hesitation.

  Cherise cracked up laughing. “You her Light knight. Now that somethin’ I ain’t never heard. You right. Lydia get a kick out o’ you. That girl ain’t had a man ever since I know her. Get in. You try anything, I’m packin’.”

  “Packin’?”