Chapter 4 Part 4

A Nightmare Reborn







Chapter 4 Part 4


It has never been more clear. This long-forgotten mine is not truly a mine, but more a collection of memories that people would rather have casted aside. Everywhere I could sense its victims, screaming silently. How many had been lead to this wretched place? How many had Althia claimed? It’s maddening. Am I to believe that I too will die here? I'm forsaken, simply forsaken. Had Alice actually intended for me to die, her hatred hidden to my blind eyes? I'm drowning in the guilt of my soul. Every bad choice I've made in life will undoubtedly return here.  I'm in a nightmare, one of my own creation. Why has it came to this? What have I unknowingly gotten myself into? Has the god played me as a puppet? Has he always done such? Has my life came to a halt, my own ambitions bringing me to an end? Why, why, must all of my actions seem like they were done in vain? Henry, now is not the time for questions. Just go, now. Enter this chasm of despair, find what fruit it has ripe amongst its vines. Decode the messages from the past, eliminating the static in your head. Think, think, get passed all of these wretched spiderwebs. Your soul is not a bargaining chip to be squandered at a moment's whim. Go forth, now, and make things right.



As I explored the gigantic shaft that made up the inner region of the mine, I encountered not one beast. Perhaps the rumors of ghosts haunting here had merely been half-true. The beasts that had guarded this infernal place were only a distraction, as I think one would not brave the mountain range after spying even one of those monstrosities. One would merely die at the hands of those awful ghasts. As for me? I'm more led to believe that I am one of them, and they believed I would not strike them down because of that. These fiends that dwell on this dark earth are more than content to coexist with their own kind, seeking familarship over dominance. Why hath we gone away from natural order, where the most high beast enjoys the most succulent of all pleasures? No god, no beast is supreme, as all have abandoned dire principal. As I am alive here, I know that I was chosen to be a part of something truly unique.


As I made my way down further into the mine, I found a very peculiar beast. It was short, and it bore no expression. Its horns were curved and sharp, and its black eyes were a reminder of all that binds us to our mortality. I drew my gun, not wishing to alarm the beast, at least not without my Saturday Night Special. There's something different about this beast, something that made me feel sympathetic. It loosely resembled someone I once knew. Kylie, is that you? No, it can't be. You, too, have become one of them? She was a classmate of mine in college. She had shown interest in me when we attended class together. Despite her being reasonably attractive, I had turned her down when she made her advances on me, as I was not one to mix business with pleasure. That was the last time I saw her. This must be her, as her fur bore the same color of the dresses she favored. A dark red, one that complimented her hair, perfectly. As Kylie noticed me staring at her, she rose up on her short legs, and let out a truly monstrous scream. As she quickly moved towards me, arms outstretched to topple me, I stepped back, instinctively pulling the trigger. As she fell to the ground lifeless, bloodied face and all, I said, in a quiet admittance of disappointment,


“Damnit…”


This journey keeps becoming more sinister. I'm killing off all of my ties with humanity. Soon, I will be like them. Please, Althia, have mercy. I'm doomed, and I know it, bound to a lifeless fate. As I will finish my pilgrimage, I pray that I will be left with a single shred of humanity, as I hath none. My heart has sunken into darkness, and I have but one desire, and that is for sweet, unholy deliverance. Kylie means nothing to me, for Althia is my savior, not her. Kylie was but a mere memory that had to be put to rest, just like her decrepit form.

Chapter 4 Part 3

A Nightmare Reborn







Chapter 4 Part 3




My mind has never felt such a gentle pain.  As the entrance shaft seemed to demonstrate a normal appearance, my fear grew, and I thought the subtle atmosphere was nothing more than a clever deception. In an act of extreme desperation, I said, my voice cautious with uncertainty,


“Where are you?”


Of course Alice didn't answer me back. There shall be no mercy upon my mind, body, and soul. My heart became shallow, and I firmly believed the beasts will appear at any given moment in this forsaken mine. When I had finally made it to the inner bowels of the mine, I had no choice but to sit down on the harsh earthen floor, laughing to myself as I've gone far past disturbed. I said, this time completely in a delirium,


“Mother, mother, where art thou?”


I closed my eyes, and, to my astonishment, she was there. My mother, luminescent as a ghost might be, stood before me, her eyes sullen and dire. I asked her, carefully,


“Are we to die here?”


My mother smiled, even though her eyes had started to fill with tears. I fought back my instincts, them whispering loudly in my ear. I can't embrace her, no, not when I'm like this. I've became something she hates, a savage beast, one possessed by the esoteric notion of love. My mother, almost as if she had picked up on my thoughts, finally answered,


“You are stronger than that.”


Maybe death was my desire. I know that my sanity will only lessen as I continue forward into the depths of this horrendous nightmare. Now, nothing seems real, including this phantasm who barely mocks my actual mother. Even still, I couldn't but recall the peaceful memories that had accompanied me when I had lived with my blessed mother. She was the strong nurturer that I had always needed, and it is not all false that I had been the one who let her die. My sister's accusations were not in vain. I had chosen not to remain at her side when she was ill, meaning I had been the one who was inevitably to blame. Could she have survived? I do not know, but, right now, as I gazed upon my memories’ projection of her, I knew that I deeply regretted the ignorance that I had given my mother in her last days. As I raised up my hand, I said,


“Forgive me…”


She sobbed, covering her eyes as she seemed to bleed ghostly tears. What was concerning was the color of her tears, as they had more things in common with blood than anything else. It struck me as odd that this phantasm could act utterly so human. As I stepped forward, hypnotized by her sweet facade, I watched her outer appearance melt away, revealing her true essence. It was a beast, one with horns, hooves, and an elongated face. Its mouth hid long teeth that were as jagged as they were sinister. How could this beast have intruded upon my very own mind? It doesn't matter, for it will kill me if I allow it to stay here any longer. Nothing can make sense now, for I must strike the beast in my very own mind, yea, for this beast was never in my mind, it's nothing but a cheating counterfeit that wants to destroy my shallow heart. I rose my gun, holding it to my head, threatening to end the beast and thus me. My nervous sweat dripped from my brow, soaking my dirt coated collar. I had never been so certain about ending my life, and I laughed loudly, as only a madman would, shaking violently with insanity. It noticed my gesture, and, miraculously, it bestowed mercy upon me, and I came out of the trance.


The lantern I held revealed the size of this mysterious mine, it having several tracks, mine carts, and abandoned picks. I didn't know where to begin, and I asked, softly, thinking that my pleas would not fall upon deaf ears,


“Where are you, my beloved?”