RULE 07: THERE ARE WORSE THINGS THAN DEATH. BEING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF A SUPERNATURAL IS ONE OF THEM.
✷ C H A P T E R F O U R T Y - T W O ✷
I was drowning.
I couldn't breathe. Water trapped in my lungs, burning my throat like acid. I tried to resist the pressure holding me down, but it was useless. I was trapped. Trying to flail my arms, I could feel the water around me sloshing about; then, there was yelling, lots of yelling. I tried to scream but nothing came out. Instead, the water in my lungs gurgled as I coughed, but as I coughed, more water swelled my airway.
I was dying.
My body grew slack, and then there was nothing. I was nothing. My eyes fluttered, and then the pressure on my body disappeared. I painstakingly pried my eyes open.
I was in an empty field, grass for as long as the eye could see, neverending. The water that once engulfed me had vanished. Frantically, in a panicked state, I patted down my clothes – I was completely dry like I had not almost drowned. The sun beat down with ferocity, but it provided no warmth. I rubbed my hands over my arms and tried to get a grip on my bearings.
"Ma?" I hesitantly asked, my voice hoarse and croaking. "Ma?"
There was no response. It was like I had been transported back to Mystaria: a total ghost town. Was I in the right place? Had the spell gone horribly wrong? How was I going to find Ma when nothing was around me?
Confused, I cautiously wandered around the vast landscape. I would take a couple steps forwards, not feeling like I had even moved an inch. Kicking the ground, I burst into a sprint, squinting my eyes for the sight of something – anything – in the distance.
I continued running for what felt like hours. My lungs were once again burning, stinging like a million bees plunged their stringers into my lungs. Sweat rolled off my forehead, cramps plaguing my side. The bite on my neck throbbed. I ran my fingers over the scabbed mark, flinching at the pressure. Yet, there was still nothing around me.
I was alone. Completely and utterly alone.
Halting my run, I leaned over to catch my breath, hands resting on my hips as I struggled to take a deep breath in. The sound of my own pants filled my ears; the pained sound almost was too loud for me to hear a distant rumbling – distant laughter.
Caught off guard, I whipped around, looking in every direction. "Who's there?"
I was met with more laughter.
"This isn't funny," I yelled back, my recent nightmare fresh on my mind.
Stumbling back, I ran back in the direction I came. I knew how this would end. I would find Pa's mangled body while a figure laughed at me. No, this couldn't be happening. I didn't get the chance to save the Borderlands yet. I still had time! Why was this happening?
"Oh, dearie," a shrill voice cackled. "It is quite fun for me."
An old man, crooked in stance, popped up from behind, a staff in his hand. Dark circles lined his eyes, wrinkles eloping his face. He looked to be over one hundred years old, but his eyes were wide and bright blue – full of life.
"Who are you?" I took a step away from him, ready to run even though my heart was still erratically racing in my chest.
I once again was met with laughter. "I should be asking you that, strange girl. You are in my home, after all."
I looked around, but still, there was nothing but grass in sight. What home was he referring to?
"Your home?"
"I'd think so, dearie," he chirped, eyes bugging out. "I've been trapped here for three hundred years."
"Trapped?" I gulped, taking another step back.
"It means I've been unable to get out of this place," he reasoned, stomping his staff about.
Feeling uneasy, I took another step back, until I was a good several feet away from the old man. He looked as if he would disappear in a cloud of dust by how his body shook from mere existence. Without another word, I turned on my heel and sprinted away from him, his laughter filling the air. I kept running and running, trying to get his laughter out of my mind.
Focus, I told myself.
I had been so caught up in getting away from the uncomfortable man I did not notice a door appeared. There was a green door standing straight in the middle of the field. I walked over to it and inspected the other side: there was nothing extraordinary on the back of the door. It was just the back of the door. Simple as that.
Without much thought, I turned the doorknob and then proceeded to shut the door immediately. Behind it, was a group of men with dogs snarling their teeth at me. It was like a million eyes latched on me. Tripping backward, my body pressed into something firm. Another door.
Puzzled, I opened the new door more slowly this time. While the contents of the door were less scary, I still left an unsettled feeling in my body. A man twisting his mustache stood behind this door, eyes perked up as if he was ready for a visitor. I shut the door on his face as soon as his mouth opened to speak.
Okay, okay, I processed, I just need to find the right door.
Countless doors popped up, but none of them had any sign of Ma. I saw men juggling knives, women dancing seductively, a boy typing away at some device, and so many more curious sights I had lost count. I tried to keep track of how many doors I opened, but after forty, I struggled to keep up.
"Ma?" I called out again, hoping it would lead me to her, but my efforts proved to be fruitless. I was not sure she was even behind any of the doors.
My search continued on; the sun was setting and a deep ache blasted in my heels. My shoulders slouched, and my eyes began to glaze over each door I looked into, no longer amazed or scared at the alarming sights behind them. It was the reason why I almost missed the door Ma was hiding behind.
When I opened her door, there was nothing but trees. The door swung open to a scraggly forest, and I thought maybe the person behind this door had been found, leaving an empty room to discover. I began to shut the door when my eyes caught on the weathered cell phone tower. It was the same one back home, riddled with plant life.
The door led to the Borderlands.
Perking up, I hollered, "Ma?"
Again, there was no response. No creature stirred, no bird sang, no cricket chirped, as I took a shaky step over the threshold. My eyes frantically looked around the area. Where was Ma?
I knew the Borderlands like the back of my hands. Determined, I set out for the marketplace. Weaving in and out of trees, I made my way out of the forest. Or, so I thought. Once the forest ended, the room ended as well. I almost ran into the wall, not noticing its presence until my nose was mere centimeters away from scraping against it.
"Ma," I shouted again, hoping she would be nearby.
Picking up my pace, I swiveled on my heel and sprinted towards the opposite end of the Border. As I darted through branches, Ma was still nowhere to be found. Despite this, I trudged forward, up until I was at the edge of the Border, another wall looming close to the Border's edge. This was the same spot Pa said Ma was dragged over the Border. Yet, she was still nowhere to be found.
"Ma?" I said, my hope at finding Ma depleted.
Then I heard it; there was rustling. And, then, there she was: Ma. She looked the same as she did the day she left. She was wearing her work apron, herbs shoved in every pocket, and a streak of one of her concoctions sprawled about her forehead. A soft smile was plastered on her lips as she took a couple steps forward. She extended her hand up to touch the Border. I mimicked her behavior, putting my hand up to hers – a perfect match.
And then, she vanished into thin air.
"Ma?" I frantically called for her.
She was gone, and I had no clue how to get out of here.