Chapter Seven:Falling in Darkness.

Have you ever had a moment of such complete and utter annoyance that you quite possibly feel like you may just want to drive a bullet through your skull? Like a mother who decides to take her child out into public and the little brat decides to screw everything up? And of course the mother would look stupid because even though she told the child to be on it’s best behavior and she really really oh-so-badly wants to disown the child and say that it isn’t hers, the child is still hers, and moreover- her responsibility. Well, I’m not saying Kurai is my child (mostly because that would be so awkward in so many ways I can’t even begin to describe….) but he does have this incredibly frustrating habit of acting like that bratty little child. I understand that we don’t like each other, I understand there may be spitefulness, and I understand that I may or may not have forcibly put him in time out a few times (But honestly what young woman rooming with a man who never picks up his dirty laundry doesn’t want to put him in time out?)- but that doesn’t mean we have to pull every last I’m-going-to-piss-off-Aura-and-embarrass-her-in-public-and-act-like-I’m-a-two-year-old-because-I-can card in the book. He should know that the moment we get home, I’ll kill him. And I won’t kill him gently either. It is going to be the most drawn out what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-you agonizingly painful death the world has ever known. And just for kicks I might even let his glittery girlfriend watch. Maybe. It depends on if I feel like letting her in the house. Or if I can intimidate her into helping me get the blood and tear stains out of the carpet. Yeah….that actually does sound pretty amusing…. MarySue actually cleaning…. Is it wrong that I had a dream about how I would kill her…? Probably….Do I regret it? Not.In.The.Slightest.

The first mistake was senior smartypants deciding not to wake up at four pm, and instead wake up at six. And let me tell you it is next to impossible to wake this man up- and he sleeps naked- I don’t want to see that! No one wants to see that!(And you should feel lucky because you don’t share an apartment with him) And once again- the story of how I found out that he actually sleeps naked- is one for a later date. Because to this day I will never be able to bleach that memory out of my head- and I really really don’t want to talk about it.

The second mistake he made was deciding to complain loudly the entire way down to the job and missions department. At this point I knew he was doing this just to spite me and prove a point- so I slapped a piece of duct-tape over his mouth. We spent the next twenty minutes in blissful silence as he tried to maneuver a way to take it off without ripping off his flesh. And that was the longest sustained period of silence throughout the entire trip, let me tell you. Does he think I find some freakish enjoyment in waking up early? Hell no I don’t. But I don’t really mind it anymore either. It’s become a habit. Sleeping in is a rare treat, very rare. I’m lucky if I allow myself to sleep in three times a year. It’s just not a part of my regimen. The reason I call him “Princess”, isn’t just because I seek to irritate him. It’s because in my book- compared to my entire life- he has had nearly a picture perfect existence. And do you you want me to be honest? Well, here it comes-

I’m jealous. Not that I would ever admit that to anyone….ever. Kurai was never tortured, he was never whipped as a child, never told that he was so different, so handicapped, that he would never succeed, he was never crippled, people never cringe when they look at him, even if his father is not around today- he can still recall his face, he still has his loving mother- the sort of figure that I could only dream of ever having in my life. I know he has a brother, whom he refers to as “The spawn of satan”, and since he considers me “the worst she-devil from the coldest depths of hell when it eventually freezes over”, I imagine Wesley and I would get along pretty damn well. Much better than Kurai and I do. He is a ‘Princess’, because his life- it is a fairy tale to me. To complain about such a spoiled life? What right do you have?! So what if I am the villain in the story of his life? Without struggle, we learn nothing- without a fight, our stories will forever be incomplete. If I have to play the dark side for Kurai to learn something, to rise out of his spoiled stupor- If he has to hate me and loathe my existence for this to happen, then so be it. One more person hating me? Wow, big shocker there. (She said with much cynicism)

We approached the opening in the cloud soil that would lead us into the mortal realm, which to humans and mortals would probably look like a gaping hole in the ground that had no end and would lead you to fall forever. People afraid of heights, typically don’t become Hunters or Slayers. Let’s just leave it at that. Usually one would use a harness or parachute-like contraption if one were not going to use one of the pre-designated portals into Vietellam, but I haven’t used a harness since I was seven. And I don’t plan on taking a step backwards.

“So we just….jump?” Kurai is giving me a look that is somewhat along the lines of ‘this psychopath is going to kill me, just watch’. We stand at the edge of the cloudsoil- the hues of the ground shifting from pitch black dirt down to the milky white of the clouds. Let’s get something straight right now- cloudsoil is not just ‘Oh look at the fluffy ground! It’s soooo soooooooft! I bet if I fall It’ll be so bouncy and amaaziiiiing!’, it varies just as much as the ground in the mortal world- is there fluffy bouncy ground in the mortal realm? No, so get that thought out of your head right this instant. In some places the ground can be as hard as packed concrete. So you can rest assured that when you hit the ground- it does hurt.The clouds lie deep beneath many layers of hard dirt, sand, and soil- several feet of them wherever you look. So these openings that wear through over time- they are a rare and rather convenient natural occurrence. I prefer to use them- it beats the lines,passports, and fees at the handmade portals. And so, I tighten the laces on my boots, and prepare to jump.

“Are you serious?! You don’t have a harness or-”

“I didn’t say you should do what I do. If you want to use a harness or parachute go ahead, but I’m not waiting for you to put it on.” I smack the side of my leg, brushing the dirt off of my pants briskly.

“But I didn’t….I thought we were-”

“If you didn’t bring one, we are not backtracking. You already slept in this morning and burned away a few hours of perfect darkness. If I get caught in the sun because of you, you are dead meat. You hear me?”

“But-”

“Just jump. Sticking the landing is the only hard part.”

“And the only part I’m worried about…” I hear him grumble as I take that leap (or jump) of faith.

Imagine a bottomless pit, with really no ending nor a beginning, with wind so strong it whips past you like a shouting voice, threatening to tear the clothes right off of your back with it’s incredible violence, with your eyes (or eye) wide open, only being able to see the darkness of night that exists between the two worlds, the chill of passing between two realms that are complete opposites, and were never truly intended to meet- If you can imagine that, you can imagine what falling into Vietellam must feel like. Nothingness is all that exists in that rippling space between the two worlds, the senses of time and logic shattered like a wineglass in the darkness. Nothing exists there. Nothing will ever exist in the gap. That’s just how it is, and how it always will be. The gap itself is dangerous, some go crazy in the fall- they can’t remember who they are, how to breathe, what to do, what logic and fresh air must feel like- and before they know it they hit the ground. Some believe that demons and monsters are created within the gap, all of the dark things that even Muortum cannot handle, and all of the bitter emotions and hatred are said to congeal there, in the darkness, waiting, growing, festering, like soup in a pot about to boil over- like some unholy counterpart of the virgin Mary, her holy persona so great that her counterpart could only be something as infinitely dark and fathomless as the Gap. Those that believe demons originate in the Gap, they are usually the “insane ones” skittish and afraid, afraid of nearly everything. They board up their windows, and you can always tell which houses they live in- because they’ll be the homes with an abundance of locks and combinations on all doors, the ones without a doorbell- because the sudden noise will send someone into an “episode”. In Muortum, a place so dark, and yet not as dark as the Gap, I would say perhaps 50% of our population shows signs of insanity. Facing such nightmares- who can blame them? Many a mother, now with hair turned white and dazed eyes, has watched their child be taken away and devoured by the Gurumapa, a demon that seeks to eat children, particularly of the disobedient sort. No Slayer nor hunter has ever been able to find and kill the Gurumapa- they are always gone without a trace by the time one arrives….All you are left with is a great bloody mess, and a shrieking mother who will never be the same ever again. Sometimes I wonder if my past involves a Gurumapa- if perhaps, I was a bad child, and I was targeted- but somehow, my parents had gotten in the way, that they had been devoured instead….

The insane ones stay locked up in their houses because, well, to be brief- they are always muttering “They go down, they can come up, They go down, they can come up”. Which is to say, Demons and monsters frequently end up in Vietellam, but they can also come upwards- into Muortum. It isn’t as likely, but it does happen. Dark things manifest in Muortum- the things of terrible nightmares, but the darkest things- things one can not even begin to picture, those things manifest within the Gap. Where light does not exist, where nothing truly alive will ever be able to actually exist. For example- the Gurumapa is a creature who is said to have come from the Gap, and werewolves, vampires, zombies, spirits and murderous mutations are creatures of Muortum. We are much more horrifying than we are considered in Vietellam, it is insulting- I blame romantic cinema. Absolutely blame romantic cinema. And Twilight. Definitely Twilight. I would kick Edward Cullen’s a*s anyday, with one eye closed (which is to say, pretty much with my eyes closed), and I’m only a half-vampire. Imagine what a full-blooded vampire like my father would be capable of. Because that’s all I really know about him, is that he was a vampire, and my mother was likely human. It’s disappointing that after years and years of searching those tiny tidbits of information are all I have come up with. But if my mom was human, then that means when I protect the lives of mortals- I may as well be protecting her life...right?

It is said that if you fall through the Gap too long, you will die. Quickly and painfully. Nobody can predict when or why this will ever happen, there is always a risk associated with passing between worlds. Some have their lungs implode, others have their hearts simply give out, and others still just lose control of their own bodies- and well, the ground doesn’t get any softer you know. Bloody messes, all of them. I would know, Slayers in their early years of training are sent to clean up all of the little mishaps in the mortal world before humans can realize what may actually be going on. I wouldn’t worry so much- mortals are stupid. And corrupt. They would lie for just an ounce of attention, I just like to think that maybe my mother wasn’t one of those corrupt mortals- It may sound like I don’t really….appreciate mortals. And I don’t, I don’t appreciate them. But I respect them. To an extent. They’ve lost a bit of my respect in past years, but I still acknowledge them as living and having a right to be alive, which is more than some Slayers do. I’m not a bad guy. At least, not as much of a bad guy as people seem to think I am. Do you think I am the bad guy? You, as you read this now? Am I the evil one…?

I don’t worry so much about my lungs imploding or losing control of my senses (because if it were to happen, what would I be able to do to stop it anyway?), the nothingness around me ripples and fades into the dark blue hues and twinkling lights of the Vietellam night sky. Stars, I believe they call those little lights. I would not know, there aren’t many stars in Muortum, and those that are there only show themselves on certain nights. Last I checked, we only had seven or so. But they are beautiful, I must say. If I am envious of anything in the mortal world, other than their sweet sense of ignorance, of not knowing how dangerous the world truly is, I would say that I am jealous of their stars.

I can spot a few buildings, but otherwise, it seems that the area we are to be landing in should be fairly desolate. Little human population, if there even is one. Which is good for us, fewer chances of getting seen. There is a flagpole on top of what may be an old school building, and I decide to take my opportunity with that instead of full-on just slamming my feet into the dirt. I twist and use all of my upper body strength to reach out and grasp the pole firmly in my two hands, there is only a slight burning sensation against my cold tough skin at the lurch of the stop, and I pull around, twisting and flipping like an acrobat to land on my feet on the flat roof of the old building. To pull off something like that, one must have excellent discipline, strength, and flawless execution- which Kurai is seriously lacking. And so I look forward to watching him make a fool of himself when he slams into the ground like an idiot. It’s ok though, as long as he knows how to tuck and roll (or remembers to do it) he should only break something stupid, like his face. (Nice one Aura, Nice one…)But like I said- I was thoroughly looking forward to watching him make a fool out of himself, even if I was the only one there to see it- or at least I was-

Until the damn idiot fell on me.

Author's Note

This chapter was originally going to be longer and include the next scene, but I decided that I had come to a good ending point and may as well make chapter eight the next scene. I ask of you your opinion, and what you think book one's title should be. I have a few ideas, but I would like to know what readers think.

Reviews

[EmaleighLynn]

I think a possible title could be "Night Falls".

I loved this chapter. You had a LOT of detail, and explained everything so nicely. I loved the detail about the Gurumapa, even though it scared me half to death. ANOTHER ONE HUNDRED TO YOU!