Queen Of Hell & Paradise (Immortal gods: Book 1)

Chapter 4- Welcome to the Underworld

Samantha 

I open my eyes in an unfamiliar place, but something about it digs at my memory.

It's dark all around me, and I can hear the faint sound of what seems to be barking somewhere off in the distance. Lots of barking. Tentatively, I stand up from the ground, dusting myself off as something nauseating invades my nostrils. What's that stench?  Rotten eggs and decomposed fish come to mind as I begin to wander the place. That, and a few other things I can't quite put my finger on. 

I begin to walk over to the nearest source of light I find. In the distance, not too far ahead, faint brilliance similar to that of dusk beckons me to follow. And as I near its source, I can hear what sounds like the movement of water against rocks. 

The closer I draw to the end of the cave-like place I find myself in, the more I also realize it's kind of cold. I try to warm myself up by running my hands up and down my arms, but to no avail. The algidity abounds and goosebumps begin to form all over my skin.  

What is this place?

It's freezing, it's dark, and it smells super gross. And as I reach the end of the tunnel, I can spot what appears to be an enormous city consumed by nothing but fog and darkness. Where the hell am I? From the low temperatures to the thick murkiness-- this entire place is creepy. 

My own eyes trick me as I peer below. The underpass I'm standing on the mouth of is not a tunnel more than it is a cave perched on top of a cliff. I squint my eyes as if I could somehow zoom in to see every little detail of the city before me. For the next few minutes I stare at it in silence, every moment making it appear different --and larger-- than it was a second before. Soon, instead of a city, my eyes are looking down on what looks to be an entire world. Surrounding it is water divided into five different sections, rivers. One of them --the largest one-- wraps around the whole area seven times.  

All stem from the same gleaming, black body of water resting in the center. How I am able to distinguish its color in the darkness, is beyond me. It flows down in several different directions throughout the terrain, with one of the rivers running eerily to a place beneath the cliff I'm currently standing on.

 As it nears it, its color slowly fades to a shimmering gray, and I notice all the waterways follow the same pattern. They all start off black and gradually turn into different shades as the water branches to its different destinations. I can hear it rush beneath the cliff, its sound traveling out towards what I assume is its final stop.  

The foreign world gleams under the fading light of dusk. The sunset colors of the invisible source of light illuminate different parts of the place, enhancing the shimmering waters. Some of them seem to flicker a dark, pinkish hue, whereas others in the center glint of black and purple shades. My eyes search for the source of light, but I see none. Where's the sun? Where is the light coming from?

Where am I? I question again, my eyes roaming the sight before me. Everything about this place screams eerie and foreboding. It's beautiful in a subtle, twisted way. Magical.

Home. I hear someone whisper. Actually, it's more than one voice. It sounds like a chorus of more than two voices synched up in perfect, terrifying harmony. It's such a soft and quiet sound, I would have missed it had silence not been enveloping my surroundings in a choke hold. 

"Who's there?" I call out, nervousness and fear creeping up on me like a thief. I turn around to find only darkness. I can feel the same sensation that I've been experiencing lately take over my senses. Someone is watching me. My skin prickles up at the unknown presence. Who called out to me just a second ago?