Until We Meet Again

by S. E. Campbell

  Eden frowned. "But what if we do get the Morsus? What happens then?"

  "The only thing that will fix it is holy water," Thema said.

  "So we have to get out of here. Fast." Eden frowned.

  "Yes," Thema said.

  "Then let's go." Eden stood up and peered into Moloch with determination.

  ****

  Everywhere she looked, there were people infected with Morsus. She normally would have examined the buildings in awe, but now she was too busy trying to avoid the dancing crowd. Thwack, thwack, boom. Thwack, thwack, boom. She heard the sound of somebody giggling to her left, and a blonde-haired, infected spirit made a grab for her arm. She yelped and took a step back.

  "Come play with us for a little while," the girl said, licking her lips. "You have such pure, bright energy. I bet you taste delicious."

  "Get away from me," Eden said, disgusted. She pushed the girl away.

  The girl stepped forward, grinning from ear to ear. Two others approached, and Eden noted they stepped at the same time. A gang of infected souls.

  "Thema," she said nervously.

  "Uh-oh." The girl smirked at her. "Did you lose your friends? What a shame. Let me help you."

  Eden tossed a look over her shoulder and realized her friends had walked off without her. They must have been in too big of a hurry to escape Moloch to realize she had been grabbed. In panic, Eden tried to move toward the direction of the exit, only the girl and her friends stepped in the way again.

  "Move," Eden said.

  "Or what?" the girl asked. "They're already gone. Face it. You're mine."

  As if to kiss her, the girl puckered her lips and stepped over to Eden, grabbing her shoulders. Eden already could feel her energy being suctioned away. With a cry, Eden shoved the girl and stumbled backward. Eden whirled around and began to run, but everywhere she looked there were laughing, black beings that blocked off every available path.

  She knew she couldn't get back to Thema, Adanna, and Airyman. She was trapped. The only way forward was a building in front of her that was half-crumbled to the ground. When she entered it, the girl behind her stopped at the entrance and went rigid.

  "Come back," the girl said. "Don't go that way."

  Eden expected her to follow, but she didn't. Instead Eden plunged forward and felt heat come at her from all sides. Why didn't she follow me? Eden wondered, exhaling.

  But she decided not to dwell on that and be grateful. Glancing around the crumbled, caved-in building, Eden searched for the exit. Though the heat was near unbearable, it was ignorable. Heat couldn't kill a ghost.

  Stepping forward, Eden felt soft dirt beneath her sneakers. The ground beneath her gave way, and her mouth dropped open in horror. Mind spinning, everything slowed down as she began to plummet downward. With a yelp, she fell until she collided with the soil and a painful gasp was forced from her.

  When Eden opened her eyes, she knew exactly where she was. This was the cave Thema had warned her about, the one her heart had told her she should never go into.

  And the hole above her was thirty feet away with a vertical wall leading up to it. She was trapped.

  Chapter Fifteen

  "Help me," Eden cried. "Thema, Adanna, please."

  She clawed at the wall and gazed desperately at the three foot wide hole above her. With a sigh, she slid to her butt and drew her knees up to her chin. There is no use. Nobody is going to find me down here. What am I going to do now?

  Glancing around, she discovered this cavern was small. There were three passages, one leading to the left and two more leading forward. The air smelled sulfuric and metallic, like blood. Right next to her was a bubbling geyser filled with red liquid.

  Eden focused on the cavern leading forward, and grimaced. Would it be safe for her to go that way? She peered up from where she had fallen and frowned. There was no hope in getting back up there. She had been trying long enough already, and without a rope, there was no use.

  But continue on? Down here? The words of the Morsus infected girl replayed in her head over and over again.

  "Come back," the girl said. "Don't go that way."

  If a girl intent on sucking out her energy was scared of falling into this crumbling pit, then something down here must be pretty bad. Something worse than bubbling geyser pots.

  Frowning she shook her head in fear, and then heard a far off, distant voice speak. "Eden. Eden, come here."

  "Mom?" She stood. "Mom, is that you?"

  "Yes, it is," said the voice. "Come and find me, Eden."

  Though she stood up and walked across the cavern, her heart was filled with misgivings. Her mom wouldn't be down here, and the Raiders had used her mom's voice as a lure too. Maybe that was something Satan Spawn did.

  "Eden, don't you want to find me?" said the voice.

  Her mom's words caused her to tremor. She missed her mom. She missed her dad too. It shocked her how much.

  "Eden, come down here this instant," a new voice said. This time it was her dad's.

  I thought about my dad, and now… Her eyes widened and her mouth tightened as she gazed at the dark hole where the voices came from.

  "My dad is still alive," she said. "You can't trick me."

  There was silence for a moment. She heard two voices whispering to each other. Eden couldn't be one hundred percent sure whether the Satan Spawn were still using her mom and dad's voices or not. Then the voices grew louder again.

  "She doesn't believe us," said Rebecca's voice.

  "We want to be a family, Eden," said Osier's voice. "Isn't that what you've always wanted? We can have that now. We can be happy together."

  The sound of giggling filled the tunnel. She stepped toward it but then stopped and lingered at the entrance. Deep down, she knew her parents weren't anywhere near her. Her dad was still alive, and her mom… Her mom she couldn't be sure about, but Eden knew that she wasn't down here. Not in a dark tunnel in the middle of nowhere.

  But she wanted to believe the voices so much it hurt. Everything in purgatory harmed her. She didn't want to be here anymore. She shut her eyes and imagined home. She thought of the new house, her mom, and her friends.

  Why did this have to happen? Why did my mom have to leave, and why did I have to die? She sobbed and took another step forward.

  "Yes, come to us, Eden," said Rebecca's voice. "Come in so we can be together."

  She stared down into the dark abyss of the tunnel, wondering what could be down there, and then headed for the opposite one, the one to the left where she heard no voices.

  "No, Eden, don't leave us," said Osier's voice.

  "Please come back," said Rebecca's voice. "We love you."

  It was the most sinister of tricks, saying those words using her mom's voice, but Eden shut her eyes and walked forward. This cave was also shrouded in darkness and smelled dank and more metallic.

  The creature imitating her parents then revealed itself.

  "Stop moving, you stupid girl."

  The voice was hard and deeper than any she had heard before. She had no idea how a voice could be so fear-provoking, but when she pictured what creature had spoken, she knew whatever had been imitating her parents at the end of that tunnel was far more frightening than anything she had ever faced before.

  She continued to walk, ignoring the voices behind her.

  "I told you to stop," the evil voice repeated.

  Once again, she kept moving. A part of her wanted to obey the voice. Maybe it was some ingrained part of her that had to obey orders. But she was brave and kept heading forward.

  "Fine," the evil voice said. "Blame yourself for this."

  The sound of pained shrieks filled the cavern, and for the first time, she stopped. Was somebody being tortured? The sound of woman's cried grew louder, causing her ears to ache. Deep, sinister laughter grew on top of the yells.

  Keep going. She began to move again. There is nobody down here. If that Satan Spawn can read your mind and mimic your parents, th
en it can create screams.

  "Are you a coward, girl?" the evil voice asked, and to her horror, she discovered that it was drawing closer.

  She plugged her ears. It was the only thing she could do to not be afraid anymore.

  "I think that you're a coward."

  Behind her, she heard the sound of a rock being kicked. She gasped and glanced over her shoulder. The only thing she saw was two glowing crimson eyes. She exhaled in surprise and fear.

  Though the tunnel was dark and Eden could not see where it led, she began to run. She didn't care anymore. Falling was a lot better than being devoured by a red-eyed Satan Spawn.

  Glowing red lights flickered in front of her, and fear gave way to hope. I'm almost out. Maybe that passage led to Moloch. After all, it had lights. It was hard to believe she was excited to see that city. Something sighed behind her, and she spun around and discovered she had just passed through two stone double-doors with red-eyed dark shadows devouring human children painted upon them.

  And they were quickly closing.

  "No," Eden said, rushing toward them. They closed with a bang seconds before she reached them. "No, please, no."

  She grabbed the handle and tried to open it, only it was sealed tight. Shutting her eyes, she pushed her sole against the stone and pulled with all of her might. The door didn't give. She began to pound at the stone with her fist.

  "Let me out," she said. "Please let me out."

  "You fell for it," the evil voice said from beyond. "The humans always fall for it."

  The whispers continued on the other side, and then the halls filled with laughter.

  I know what they did. They herded me in here. She groaned into her hand. They never wanted me to follow them. They wanted me to run from them. And I walked right into it.

  A big part of her wanted to crumble right there. These Satan Spawn were different from the Raiders. Smarter. Stealthy. She whirled around, feeling more fearful than she had in her entire life. More frightened than even when her mom had left.

  She took a step forward and glanced around the crimson-lit cavern, expecting something to come flying out at her. Instead she discovered that it was a cavern just like the one directly under Moloch. Hot geysers bubbled around her, and the walls were high and unreachable. There was only one door that led directly to her right. The problem was she wasn't sure if she wanted to take it.

  Turning, she studied the picture. The dark, red-eyed shadow was just like what had followed her down the cave. It was smaller than expected, about the size of her forearm, but it was still eerie. Eden could not stand to stare at it more than a second, but she could not erase the image from her mind and knew she would never be able to. Gasping, she pushed her hand against her face and then began to claw at her eyes. She would rather drive out her own eyes, though she was unable to, than see the image on the wall again. It was like staring straight into the very heart of evil and being unable to tear herself away. She had two choices. She could remain stuck in this passage for all eternity, or she could move forward, toward the next passage and toward reincarnation. Fear filled her. Maybe if I stay here, Thema and Adanna will come find me. But she knew that wouldn't happen. There was no way they could figure out she was down in this pit, and even if they did learn she had fallen, she doubted they would come after her. There was nothing binding them to each other. They had just happened to fall together and stay that way. She couldn't even say they were truly friends.

  Yet if she went forward, there was the smallest sliver of a chance an exit was nearby. She doubted it, but she hated being stuck down here. If she walked toward reincarnation, at least she did it with her head held high. And maybe next time I go through life, I'll be able to forget about my mom because I'll have another one.

  The thought made her sad. No. I've got to stay in Zemiothstai for as long as possible so I can make up for what I said. Reincarnation or no reincarnation, I cannot forget about Rebecca. Grinding her teeth, she stepped toward the passage.

  ****

  She did not call out like she would have once done. Instead she made it her business to be as silent as possible while walking down the cavern halls. The problem was, the entire cave echoed. She also noted her surroundings no longer appeared cave-like.

  This is odd, but it looks like the churches I saw when Mom took me with her on a modeling shoot to Italy. But why would Satan Spawn want me in a church? She quivered at the thought but kept on going.

  As she headed down the path, she came across another set of doors that were made from stone. These doors were yet again painted with horrible images, but this time they were far worse. Bodies were heaped in mountains. What had happened to those bodies was so horrible she turned her head and could not bear to look at them a second longer. Once again, she gripped her eyes with her hands, longing to gouge them out so she would be free from such horror. In the sky of the portrait, a sinister, red-eyed face was shown in a cloud of pure darkness. Darkness so black it looked like it could choke someone.

  She reached forward and touched the door, and when she withdrew her hand, she saw it was coated in blood. The urge to retch filled her, even though it was impossible. How can I be covered in blood? I'm a soul. I'm dead. No other liquid has been able to touch me.

  With a moan, she lowered her hand and then hesitated before grabbing the stone handle. She pushed the door open before she could talk herself out of it.

  When she stepped inside, she gasped in shock. It was a church, or more rather, the opposite of a church. The floor was granite and the walls were smooth and bump free. Crimson stained glass windows embedded in the walls depicted horrible scenes. No, she did not see what the demon was doing in the picture. But she had. She had seen the other mural too, the one which was so much worse because of who it involved. I can't move. I can't face another one of these horrible pieces of art. She fell to her knees and gasped, trying to drive out the worst of the images from her mind. But the worst part was not what was happening to the people in the pictures—it was the unbearable darkness, the same darkness that had covered her hand with blood moments before.

  "What kind of place is this?" Eden asked. She shivered.

  She laid eyes on the next entrance and knew that she couldn't go through it. I can't do this. I just can't. I'll find another way to escape. She walked toward the door that she had just come from and seized the handle. She began to pull at it with her leg against the wall and came to realize something horrible.

  "Locked," she whispered. The doors locked themselves after she came through. "No, no, no."

  Pounding her wrists against the stone, she began to yell, "Open up. Please open up."

  But like she expected, they did not open. She stared at the passageway and knew that she had gotten herself trapped and had no choice but to move forward. I just don't know if I can go forward. She groaned again.

  "Somebody, help me," she whispered.

  That was when the crucifix around her neck began to burn with a bright, penetrating fire. Literally. She wailed, took the cross from her neck, and hurled it across the room where it bounced and hit the floor. The fire that consumed the cross did not go out, but it did not burn the floor either. Eden walked over to it, bent down, and stared.

  "What is happening?" she asked.

  Hesitantly, she touched the top of the necklace, expecting it to burn her. Instead the bright white flames licked her hand. She would have felt more pain from a dog's tongue. Did somebody listen to my call for help? She found herself looking up at the stone ceiling and then put the cross around her neck, still feeling fearful but no longer alone. That helped.

  As she gazed at the pictures around her again, she could almost swear the darkness that had caused her hand to grow bloody retreated from the light. I guess this is a sign for me to move on through the next door. She stepped forward and then examined it, wondering what new horrors waited for her on the other side.

  She put her hand on the door and pressed her weight against it, and it gave and then ope
ned. When she stepped through, she felt like she had been hit by a truck.

  This truly was the Church of Satan. Dark black pews lined the granite floor, altars were draped in crimson silk, and high, arched windows depicted gruesome, bloody, demonic scenes. Everywhere she looked, there was blood, but the worst part about this place was the ceiling.

  The darkness that she had seen in the other pictures was shown in full force in the mural on the ceiling. A five-headed monster, each head with glowing red eyes, stared down at her with malice, hatred, lust, and intense hunger. The monster was surrounded by darkness so thick it would have choked her had she been alive and tried to breathe it in. The five-headed monster had two leather wings on his back, and the rest of its body was shrouded by clouds of that same horrible blackness.

  Eden didn't need to be told who that horrible monster was, even though she had always pictured him completely different.

  "Satan," she said, her voice cracking in fear.

  The darkness in the mural sat upon a horrific scene below. She could practically smell the scent of death and decay in the room. This image was so horrible she was beyond shrieking or falling to her knees. She was beyond even thinking. It was as if the mural was entering her mind. And she could almost swear the mural was getting thicker. Darker.

  She took a step farther, looking up at the ceiling with wide eyes. She could feel the fear of the people that died. It was so strong she could taste it. That was when she heard something hit the floor. It was so small she could barely make it out, but because of where she was, she didn't want to take any chances and whipped around.

  She zeroed in on a single droplet of blood on the granite floor.

  "But that's impossible."

  Another droplet hit her straight on the head.

  She glanced up, open-mouthed in horror, and saw the darkness in the mural truly was congealing and forming a cloud. A cloud of blood. As the cloud thickened, droplets of blood poured from the shadow in the mural and rained down on top of her, filling the room.

  "No," she yelled, running.