Beyond The Lost

16

We turned the entire town upside down, no stone unturned as all hands searched alongside me. At one point, I almost gave up, but I remembered a small area I had left untouched.

I stood above the hatch in the old woman's home, the carpet covering it burnt to a crispy ash. "What if it's not in there?" A couple of the younger children had stuck to my side, helping me reach into smaller places.

"Then I'll keep looking elsewhere." I crouched down and flipped the wooden hatch open, a deep creak echoing through the thin tunnel. Looking inside, it's covered in spiderwebs and mud. It seems like it had been flooded at one point, a thin layer of water coating the bottom.

"I'll come after you if you don't come back." The young girl grabbed my hand. "Okay?"

"I don't want you to get lost. It's best if you stay here. I'll come back, I have no choice." I climbed into the hatch and felt around the water for any kind of metal chain. I found nothing of use and continued further.

I crawled for a long time, mud smearing across my hands and knees. By the time I reached the end, I was exhausted.

I flipped the hatch open, revealing a ballroom full of masked people. I was hesitant to enter, but climbed out anyway and began weaving through the dancing crowd. Gentle music blared in my ears, my hands stolen by a stranger.

He pulled me to his chest and spun me in a circle, matching his movement with my feet.

"Excuse me sir, but-"

"You're filthy." He smiled at my dress. "You must be lost."

"I'm not lost." I shook my head. "I'm looking for something. Could you help me?"

He only grinned and passed me off to someone else, a woman this time. She seems content with her dancing. "Ma'am, could you-"

"This is no place for your worries." She spun me off to someone else almost immediately.

I bounced around the room, unable to make sense of direction with the way these people were spinning me. My feet moved with the rhythm of the music against my will, leaving me stuck in the room and passed between strangers.

I tried to speak with them, but they wouldn't budge, only interested in the music playing around us. I began to grow dizzy until I finally reached a set of hands that I knew.

I looked up to see a masked man with curly black hair. His mask is made of raven feathers, angry eyes looking through to me. "Pardon me but...I think I know you." I stared into his eyes, finding familiarity as easy as it found me. I held tightly to his hands, terrified of losing it.

"You just might." He cracked a smile as I squeezed his hands, wrapping an arm around my waist to pull me closer. "Might I ask where you've come from?"

"Molgham."

"That explains your attire."

"Who are you?" I pulled one hand to his chest and traced my fingers across the gold buttons of his vest. The suit he wore was fancy, ruffled at the chest. "I know I've seen you."

"Have you now?"

"I know I have." I looked closer at his eyes, but couldn't quite grasp his identity. "What's your name?"

He leaned close to my lips and traced his fingers down the side of my neck. "Why must you know my name?"

Staring at him this close, I so desperately want it to be him. "I'll tell you mine."

"Victor Hullan. Yours?"

My breath caught in my chest, letting go of his hand. I took a step back and glanced around the room. "This place is messing with me. I need to find a way out of here."

"Hey!" He grabbed my arm before I could run off. "Where are you going?"

"You're not real." I glared at him. "I should've known-"

"Your eyes can be deceiving. Give me a chance, you're beautiful." He pleaded for me to stay but I didn't believe a word. Knowing he wasn't in front of me but wishing he was. "Please, dance with me."

"You're not real." I looked at the people around me. "Is any of this real?"

"Of course it's real." He scooped me back into his arms. "Just dance with me."

"I'm sorry." I gently pushed him away, his hands refusing to let me go completely. "I can't. I have to find something."

"Find what?" He traced his hand across my cheek, leaving my memory to the wind. The longer I stare at him, the less I can remember. It becomes less of uncertainty and more of confusion until I can't quite grasp what i'm doing here. "What are you looking for, my dear?"

"I.." I furrow my brows, concerned. "I can't remember."

"Could it have been so important?" He smiled and pulled me close, swaying me back and forth against him. "Surely you would remember."

"This isn't right." I looked around the ballroom, searching for an exit again. Once my eyes met a crack between the bricks on the wall, I began to push through the crowd to reach it. Victor followed, a tight grasp on my hand.

"My darling, where are you going?"

"Stop, this isn't right." I shook my head and yanked my hand from him. "I have to go now."

"But where would you go?" He struggled to keep me in tune with him, but somehow I knew better than to trust him. Something was telling me to keep going. "Please, I beg of you, stay with me."

I reached the brick wall and slammed my foot into it, not making a dent.

"You'll hurt yourself."

I crouched down and pulled the bricks apart with my hands until I made a big enough hole to crawl through. As I began making my way through it, I felt Victor grab my ankle and pull me back. "What're you doing?!" I kicked at him, but he refused to let go.

"Where are you going?" As he smiled his face melted into thick black tar, his body slipping to the ground.

I shuddered and kept moving.