Sunday, January 13, 2008

Heaven: Interlude / Heaven: Part 1

Despite the name, this is the second half of the story. For the first half, read the previous entry for Part 0.
Interlude




Part 1

THis time, He had been anotHer completely unexciting, dull person, only tHis girl had died in a mugging. He could have asked for better, but He had had worse.


He was raising His hand to put a mark in tHe wall wHen He realized that for tHe first time in His memory, something was strange in tHe chamber, and it was something that was in front of Him, on tHe wall. For a moment He tried to shrug it off, and put up His regular mark on tHe tally. THen tHe oddity bit through His willpower, and He tried to place it again. Without thinking, He etcHed anotHer mark, tHen realized His mistake and stomped in dismay.


It was tHen that He realized what was wrong - tHe chamber was brighter than it had ever been. He questioned tHe bulb on tHe ceiling, but it was off. However, His peripHeral vision caught anotHer source of light, and wHen He put it in focus, He scrambled backward into tHe wall, smashing His Head into tHe wood and crashing to tHe cement in horror.




One of tHe computers opposite to His was on. In front of it, facing Him, was a humanoid being that made a mockery of tHe word humanoid. Two arms and two legs It had; upright It stood. Its skin was complete unlike a human’s, though, or any otHer living creature’s. It was definitely white, and possibly glowed, though He was unsure wHetHer It really did emit light or an illusion of contrast. Its texture was mottled as though tHe skin of a corpse, but also scaly, and seemed to shift as though It was wrapped in live snakes. It wore fraying leatHer straps, and bone shards hung from sinew, all haphazardly hanging from Its shoulders and arms. In Its right hand was a shank of twisted, dark iron. Most alarming to Him, though, were Its eyes. THey were a black that filled Its eye sockets, and tHere was no gleam to tHem at all, like holes wIthout end.


It didn’t move. NeitHer did He. He wondered if It was looking at Him. He couldn’t tell.


He decided He needed to communicate with It, but He didn’t know how. He had no language, so He decided He would try to make a word up, one that said He wanted peace. He considered a moment, stared at tHe shank, gatHered His emotions togetHer, tHen made a sound.


Mmmmmnnnnnnn.


It still remained motionless. So did He. An hour passed. THen Its screen went completely white, and symbols started to appear on it. Inexplicably, like a dream, He knew what tHey meant.




In a few moments, I will be able to move, and when that moment arrives, I am going to kill you.




Fear and panic met in His Heart and reacted like cHemicals, foaming and spilling over, corrosive over His nerves. He started walking aimlessly around tHe room, considering His exits. He had three of tHem. THe doors. THe computer. He instinctively picked tHe computer. No. It was tHe easiest, but He knew that if He tried to escape into a life, It would wait until He came back. It was unavoidable. He had to go through a door.


He faced tHem and turned away again, two fears colliding into one anotHer. But It was tHe unknown versus a concrete threat. THere was no choice. He had to go through a door. He turned to tHe doors once more. He knew which He’d pick first - He had only toucHed tHe right door before, and It had seared Him. He had only assumed tHe left would do tHe same. He prayed (to what, He was unsure) that it would lead to an easy escape, tHen reacHed out, His hand hovering for a moment, tHen anotHer, tHen He grabbed tHe knob, twisted, and threw tHe door open in one motion, pulling His hand away as fast as He could.


THis door hadn’t stung Him. After a moment, it was clear why. On tHe opposite side of tHe door was a small space. It had a bar running across tHe top, on which one might hang clothing if one had hangers, but He had no hangers, so as far as He was concerned, It was empty. A horrible dread flooded His mind with tHe new knowledge that one of His potential escapes was eliminated, but despite tHe impending threat of death, tHere was a drop of comfort knowing that one of tHe doors He had feared for so long was nothing but a closet.


Now tHere was only one possibility left, and He was considering simply fleeing into tHe game to avoid It. Back and forth He paced, from door to computer. If such a horrible punishment was tHere for simply touching tHe door, would something even worse await Him if He opened it? Was opening tHe door going to be worse than facing It? Was Its threat empty?


THen His hand was on tHe knob, and tHe same barbed wire He feared above all else wound through His veins and mutilated His muscles, snapped His bones and scrambled His intestines. For a millenium, He stood paralyzed, but tHen He found His composure, and twisted His hand around. He felt His skin splintering for tHe affrontion, He knew His blood was bubbling out of His pores, and tHen It was sprinting towards Him, Its shank was reaching and It was diving for Him and tHe blade was miles millimetres from His throat.


Then the door opened a crack, and the chamber spilled out into infinity. Everything was nothing, nothing was everything, and it and he were dashed from existence forever. It was the most soothing feeling he had ever felt.

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