Perpetual Nightmare Read online

  Chapter 2:

  I opened my eyes and gasped. I stared with wide eyes at the landscape that surrounded me. The sky was scorched black; the trees were ash colored, leafless, and twisted, taking the shape of monsters. Fields of what looked like toxic green straw stretched out for miles bordering the ominous mountains in the distance. A single ashen path lay before me and I shuddered as the heat radiated up my legs from the ground, immediately creating a film of sweat on them.

  "Where am I? What is this place?" I whispered to myself in a panicky voice.

  I looked behind me and a black square the size of the bathroom mirror still remained. It wasn’t too late to climb back through. However, even if I went back, what would I be going back to? Would I really be able to live with not at least taking a look around, knowing that Andrew could be here, that his life could be in danger? My inner voice let me know simply that I could not. I knew it to be an indisputable fact. As scared as I was, I started to walk forward down the ashen path, leading myself into the sea of toxic green, praying to god or whoever else was up there that it would not swallow me whole.

  As I walked the ash began to gather on my sweaty feet. It reminded me of how the sand felt in the summertime back home. In my mind I could see it. I could see Andrew smiling with his surfboard in hand, running towards the water. How I loved to watch him surf. He had such child-like innocence when he went surfing. You could see the pure happiness in his eyes. They would look glazed over with glee. It was always wonderful to see anyone so passionate about anything. I could feel my lip begin to tremble and looked up just in time to realize I was about to start walking off the path.

  I stood for a second, looking at the toxic straw. It was such a radiant green. I reached out and stroked one of the long blades. I jumped back, feeling the burn against my fingertips. I looked at them and they were stained green. They throbbed as they would have if I had run my fingers across a burner. I became very glad that I had looked up before I strayed off the path. My injury would have been much more severe by the looks of it. I resolved to pay more attention, ignore the burns on my fingers, and to keep walking.

  Hours had passed. My legs were aching from walking. Sweat poured down my body and through my already soaked negligee. I was thirsty, but there was no water anywhere to be seen. I noted a nearby tree stump. I tested it with my toe, remembering how the grass had burned me before. I felt no burn and decided it was ok to sit and take a rest. I looked around me, still seeing nothing but the same fields, the same trees, and the same sky. Who knew how long this place stretched for? It was at this thought that I began to sob uncontrollably, not caring if I became further dehydrated, not caring if I fell over dead where I sat. Hope was fading from me. The same thought kept passing through my head that I would never find Andrew and that he would be gone from me forever. I closed my eyes and wished for death.

  "Excuse me," a tiny voice called from the side of me.

  I looked over, unable to believe my eyes. The voice had come from a small, round, brown creature floating three feet from me. It had a mass of long thin hairs, making it look soft and poufy. Its onyx eyes shined with kindness and intelligence.

  "Are you lost?" it questioned.

  For a moment I was unable to answer, not being able to process what was happening.

  "I think I am more lost than I have ever been in my life," I stammered. A few tears trickled down my cheeks. “What is this place?”

  ”You are in the Fascian Plains. Down this path is the Red River and the mountains behind it are the Ganglesh mountains. How did you get here? There is nothing for miles and miles."

  A bitter laughter filled my head as I thought over the ridiculousness my reply.

  "I got here through my bathroom mirror. This thing said that they had my boyfriend, Andrew and that I had to come through to get him. I have been walking ever since."

  I hung my head defeated, convinced that I must have died and this was my own personal hell.

  "Well, my name is Meep. If you like I can try to help you. What did the thing that talked to you look like?"

  "Thank you so much Meep. My name is Torey. I appreciate any help you can give me. As for the thing in the mirror, it was just black, shapeless, with red eyes."

  I was blown away. How did this creature know English? Why was it not surprised by my mirror story? I started to ask, but then thought better of it. I was now thoroughly convinced that this was either hell or a dream.

  "It must have been a gangleus. They are Queen Ameda's slaves. She lives in the Black Fortress deep in the mountains."

  Apparently I had been chosen to play a role in a sick and twisted fairy tale written by the devil himself.

  "Do you think that the thing, the gangleus, took Andrew there?"

  "I can't be sure, but one thing is definite, if Queen Ameda has your boyfriend, it is going to be near to impossible for you to get him back,” Meep replied in an ominous voice.

  "What do you mean?"

  "Well the fortress is heavily guarded. There is only one gate to enter through,” he paused as if he was considering whether or not to say whatever else he had to say. “There is one more way in, but you face certain death if you take it."

  I sat, trying to wrap my mind around the situation at hand. The words "certain death" resonated in my mind.

  "What is this other way in?"

  Meep didn't answer at first. I thought I saw something in his black eyes. Perhaps it was surprise or maybe even fear.

  "You would have to travel under the Red River through a tunnel. The tunnel was dug through the mountains years ago so that Queen Ameda could travel unnoticed. There are dangerous things down there, things that you can't even imagine. It is dark, hot, and who knows what shape the tunnel is in," Meep replied, almost pleading with me to not even consider it with his voice.

  My pulse raced. I longed to be at home, safe in bed, sleeping, with Andrew beside me snoring. There was no home for me without Andrew. Without him, the house would just be walls that serve as a constant reminder of how I did not find him, did not rescue him.

  "Well, it is a chance I am just going to have to take. I am not leaving without Andrew. If I die, then so be it. How do I get there?"

  Meep sighed. "Even though my better judgment is against this, I will lead you to the entrance of the tunnel. I do not really enjoy the idea of being the one to lead anyone to their death. However, I can see in your eyes that you would go either way and you would be much better off with some assistance as opposed to none. You are going to need supplies. Luckily I have a friend who owes me a few favors. His place is on the way. I must say though, you really should reconsider. Your Andrew may already be dead and this journey will probably only result in death for you as well."

  If Andrew was dead, I would happily join him. If this journey meant my destruction, it would be better than turning back, going home, knowing I never lifted a finger to save what I love most. Besides, no one would ever believe me. If I told them about this place, about the things that I had seen so far, they would just lock me up and throw away the key. I would be alone in the world, with visions of this place constantly haunting me.

  "My mind is made up. Lead the way."

  I stood up and Meep floated over to me. It felt very good to no longer be alone and to have a sense of direction. I wished that Andrew could see me, always the voice of reason, always the steady force, and yet here we were in a land of fiction, with me in a role reversal, playing the white knight rescuing her beloved. More than anything I just wished he could see that I was coming. I wished that even if I never made it, that he would know that I had tried. This was no time for wishes though; it was time to move forward.

  Meep wasn't exaggerating when he said there was nothing for miles. We traveled along the path and I asked him questions about himself to distract myself from the sad thoughts that kept plaguing me every few minutes.

  “So, do you live around here Meep? Do you have family?”

  “Actually, yes. My fami
ly and I live in the hollows of the trees scattered throughout the plains. We are not used to seeing anything but birds, reptiles, and rodents in the plains. Not many larger creatures come through due to the burns that the grass causes.”

  “Yes, I can imagine. I found out the unpleasant nature of the grass the hard way,” I half-smiled and held out my right hand so that Meep could see the green-stained burn marks on my fingertips.

  “Well, I guess you could take comfort in knowing that it could have been a lot worse. A lot of the creatures who live here spend a great deal of time teaching their young ones to avoid the plains. There just have been too many accidents where unknowing youth enter in and leave in really bad shape, if they leave at all,” sadness darkened Meep’s eyes and I felt sad as well. It was never pleasant to think about death. At that moment Andrew’s face flashed in my mind. I shook the thought and decided it was time for a new subject.

  “So, what were you doing when you stumbled upon me, sitting there crying like an infant?” I almost laughed.

  “I actually was just leaving my tree to go find food and saw you from a distance. It was hard to tell who or what you were. You were slumped over and I thought you might be injured. I decided to go over and ask if you were ok. If you proved to be dangerous, I knew I could always float away back over the grass,” Meep replied with a proud look in his eye. I was very glad that he had decided to come over and check on me. I felt a lot safer with him around and at least now I had an idea of where I was going.

  We traveled for a long time until we reached a little wooden cottage on the path. It was the kind of thing that the Grimm brothers could have thought up. There was a cute cobblestone walkway to the front door which was painted a cheerful red. A small wooden fence framed the yard. There were red flowers as big as my head with black centers. There was a well in the side yard and I started to pray that there would be water in it. This place looked completely out of place in this nightmare landscape of scorched sky and toxic grass.

  "Now you wait here," Meep commanded.

  A few minutes later Meep floated out of the cottage with a shaggy creature, about six feet tall, with caramel colored fur, a snout of a dog, ears of a cat, and yellow topaz eyes. In its hands it carried a water skin, a long machete-like object with a leather back strap, and a knapsack. They approached me and in that moment my mission became very real.

  "Torey, this is Baron. He brought you a water skin, a weapon, and in the knapsack there are a couple of flint stones, a blanket, and some bread for food," Meep said matter-of-factly.

  I looked at Baron and nodded. "Thank you so much. I really appreciate it."

  He handed me the contents of his arms, nodded, and walked back inside. I was a bit confused.

  "Doesn't he speak? Did I offend him or something? Why did he just walk away?"

  "No no,” Meep laughed,” you didn’t offend him. He can talk, but not in a way you would understand. I told him you would be appreciative of his help. He knows that there is a possibility that he may never see those things again. So, you need not worry about that. Let’s get you filled up with water and we can start on our way to the river.”

  I drank a few ladles full of water before filling the water skin. It was nice to feel the cool liquid running down my throat and to feel it move its way throughout my chest. I felt instantly revived. Meep and I set back out on the path to find the river and for the first time I was starting to feel like I could succeed, like there could be a happy ending.

  About a mile down the path Meep started asking me questions. It was good to have the exchange; it made the distance pass quicker.

  “So, Torey, tell me about Andrew. I mean he must be really special for you to be doing this. What makes him so worthy of such a dangerous rescue attempt?”

  “I met Andrew about twelve years ago. At first I didn’t think much of him really. He was just some guy who had moved to town and I was nice to him because I always liked to make new people feel welcome in a new place. Then, over time I started to notice the cool little quirks about him, and the way his eyes lighted up when he smiled. He truly has the most beautiful hazel eyes you have ever seen. We became best friends after some time and he helped me through a lot of hard times with my family and personal life. I fell in love with him. Then, after a lot of persistence on my part, he finally gave in and started dating me. We’ve been together ever since. He is my best friend. I can’t imagine my life without him in it.”

  A smile formed at my lips. Small flashes of our moments together over the past twelve years flashed through my mind. I remembered sitting on the bus together to and from school. I remembered the way I felt the first time he kissed me. I remembered the first day when we started living together. I thought my heart would burst. The smile faded from my lips and I brought myself out of my reverie into the here and now of where I was and what I was doing.

  “It sounds like you love him a lot,” Meep said with a slight sadness to his tone.

  I nodded and we continued to walk.

  “So what are the dangers that I need to worry about in the tunnel? I would like to be as prepared as possible for what I am about to face.”

  “Well, for one it will be very hot down there. I am not sure if you have noticed how hot the ground is, but underground is much worse. I am not sure how well ventilated it is down there, but I imagine the quality of air isn’t good. There are creatures of all kinds that live in the tunnel. There are fire spiders. They are bright red and spit acid that burns the skin. There are lackels as well. Lackels are black and scaly. They are about your size. They climb walls with webbed feet and hands and have long pointy teeth. They will eat the flesh of anything including other lackels. There also a range of venomous serpents. I don’t mean to frighten you if I am, but you have to realize that this is complete insanity. It would be hard enough for an army to go down there and survive, let alone one single being.”

  His words had painted horrifying mental images. I wondered if I would be able to face a lackel, if I would be able to dodge the spiders, if I would be unlucky enough to get bit by a snake, or if I would simply just suffocate down there or die of dehydration. Who knew how long the tunnel was. What if it was blocked? What would I do then? Would I turn around and just go back? Maybe I was being overly optimistic anyway. Part of me had reserved itself to the fact that this was all in vain and I would be dead soon anyway. I trucked on like a lemming to a cliff, without reason, racing towards death.

  We reached the red river a couple of hours later. I stood, taking in the terrifying sight. The red liquid ran as far as the eye could see and by the coppery smell, I knew it was blood. It stained the shores around it. I walked up to the edge and stared at my reflection. My straw colored hair was going every which way. My legs were covered in sweat and ash. My face looked aged, my grey eyes hollow. In my black negligee I looked like death’s bride headed for the honeymoon suite. I quivered at the thought. I thought I might vomit as I noticed there were chunks of flesh floating in the river of blood. I held back a scream and backed away.

  “Is this all blood? Where does it all come from?” I stammered.

  “The queen started the slaughters years ago. Any creature who opposes her or her laws will be dragged by a group of gangleus and taken to the mountain to be slaughtered. The queen orders the offenders drained and have their blood poured down the mountain. The blood runs down the mountain and through the plains. It is to serve as a reminder that the queen runs this land and is to be feared. The river dumps into a lake at the end of the plains. It is said that the queen sometimes baths in it.”

  I cringed at the thought of it. The queen sounded like evil incarnate. I sincerely hoped that I would not ever have the displeasure of meeting her. Maybe if I could just somehow get to the fortress and find Andrew without being noticed, we could somehow escape being added to the blood flow of the Red River. If we couldn’t at least I would be able to see him one last time, to tell him I loved him. I stopped myself before I could form another though
t. I needed to stay positive. I would never make it there thinking like that.

  “So where is the entrance to the tunnel? Are we close?”

  “You see that dark brush over there?”

  I looked to my right and you couldn’t miss it. It was on the bank of the river. It was like a huge charcoal colored tumble weed.

  “How do you get past the brush though?” I asked, not really seeing how anything or anyone could push their way through such thick brush.

  “There is a small crawl space at the base of it. You might get a little scratched up going in, but that is probably the least of your concerns at the moment. It will be very dark in there. There should be spare torches along the tunnel in places. That is assuming that they haven’t decomposed or been used. I think that you are out of your mind for this, but I wish you luck. This is as far as I go. I hope that maybe I will see you again if you ever make it back,” Meep said with a very sincere tone.

  “Thank you so much Meep. I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t ran into you. I sincerely hope I make it back. If I can ever figure out a way to repay your kindness, I hope to have the opportunity to do so.”

  A tear rested at the corner of my eye, but it was no time to start crying. I needed my wits about me for what I was about to do. I waved to Meep as I walked toward the brush and he just stared after me. I sincerely wondered if I would ever again see those little black eyes.

  Upon reaching the brush I saw the crawl space Meep had talked about. It looked like some animal had dug its way in, like a foxhole or something similar. Anyone who didn’t know what to look for would have never thought anything of it. I sat my knapsack on the ground and lowered myself so that I could scoot myself under the brush. I decided I would approach it feet first and belly down and drag the knapsack in behind me.

  Tiny branches scratched my legs and my back as I shimmied my way down into the tunnel. In several spots I could feel the warmth of blood fresh on my skin. I pulled down the knapsack into my arms and swung it back onto my back. I took a look around me. The tunnel was massive. I could hear dripping sounds all around me. I shuddered to think that I would probably be covered in the blood of endless different creatures by the time I reached the end of the tunnel. It was dark except for the area directly next to the entrance of the tunnel. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to go any further without a torch. I searched the walls nearest to the entrance to no avail. I started scouring the walls with my hands at the edge of the darkness, hoping to not run them over anything dangerous. My hands felt their way into a groove in the wall. I edged them over slowly and stopped as my wrist rubbed against a rough object. I moved my hands to encompass it and sighed with relief as I pulled the torch into the dim light. I walked back to the entrance and ripped out some of the brush and dry grass from the edge. I placed a small amount on a dry area of the tunnel floor. I pulled out my flint stones and placed the rest of the grass I had pulled out towards the bottom of the knapsack in case I would need it later. I struck the flint stones several times until the brush and grass caught fire. I lit my torch off of the small fire and placed the flint stones back in the sack. I grabbed handful after handful of dirt from the tunnel entrance and threw it on the fire, putting it out. I walked away from the entrance to make my way into the darkness and said goodbye to fresh air for what could quite possibly be the last time.