Naraka - Ch.16 I wake up with a start. When I open my eyes I see only darkness around me – in other words: I see nothing. Breathing heavily and sweating buckets I try to clear my head. It's not easy – nothing in my mind is lucid, nothing at all. But I try anyway. I think of yesterday – yesterday night. Of what he said. Of what Davous said. All the words, his and my own, float through my mind, making me dizzy. It's so much. It's not just the words. The things I felt, remembering that is what really makes my head spin. It's all so strange, all so . . . new. What is happening to me? Why do I react to him the way I do? Why do I feel so betrayed?
Naraka - Ch.15 I unfreeze and am back again. I was lost, but now I'm back. I smile at him, warmly. Warmth; I feel it streaming to every part of my body. What is happening to me? What am I turning into? Is it him, who has this effect on me? That last thought scares me to death and beyond. I want to shutter, I want to recoil, I want to run away screaming – but nothing happens. Nothing but calm and warmth takes hold of my body. I can't resist, nor do I think I want to. I move – I move toward him. He has sat up from the couch, which leaves room for me, to sit on the end. I don't look in his eyes as I move, I don't know why. Instead my eyes are
Naraka - Ch.14 When I arrive a half hour late for dinner at the dining room everyone is curious where I was. I tell them the only lame excuse I could come up with: that I was so distracted while reading a book that I lost track of time. Many laugh; before today they had thought I'd never picked up a book in my life – probably assuming I couldn't read like some others here – the idea of me actually enjoying a book is more hilarious than realistic to them. I'm glad they laugh, it makes them completely overlook the possibility that I could be lying. There's only one problem now; Kate doesn't laugh. Well, that wouldn't really be a problem – but that s
Naraka - Ch.13 We leave the restroom with a slightly better pace than we came to it. It's still not that fast, but at least it's balanced. It makes me less nervous, less afraid for the possibility of him falling to the ground at any moment. The halls are silent, deserted by all life. And if it weren't for the moon shining so bright through the many windows, it would be pitch dark. Another piece of luck. As I had predicted – and maybe, also, because luck seems to be on our side – we don't stumble in to anything or anyone on our way. We make it to the attic door, unscratched and unseen. But as I close the door behind us, we arrive at our first pro
Naraka - Ch.12 Why am I doing this? Why am I doing this? Why am I doing this? I repeat the question like a mantra in my head, over and over again. But no answer comes up. And it's true; there's no logical explanation for what I'm doing. There is no reason, no motive. Only need. Need to help, need to protect. Need to know. ''I'll tell you everything you want to know,'' is what he promised me. In exchange for protection. In exchange for me hiding him, he will give me what I want most: information. But isn't the prize I have to pay for this thing much too high? Yes, it is. And still, I'm doing it. I'm paying it. Why? That is what I keep
Naraka - Ch.11 Amos dismisses us after his little speech fairly quickly. Only a few other recruits ask some basic questions – like what the duration of our training will be, and if we'll stay in this place all through our training, etc. etc. – but after that the immortals leave us free to spend the day as we please. And I, for once, have a great idea. I was thinking, while looking at all the books in this great library, that there might also be some history books. History books with information. History books about the many species, and maybe even about the two worlds. When I tell Kate my plan, her eyes turn very determent and excited – yes, we are
Naraka - Ch.10 It's been three weeks since Alexis has brought me to the safe house. Not much has changed. Serious training still hasn't begun. But it will soon, since we're with ninety-six recruits already. After the incident we had with the vampires – the incident we told none of the other recruits about – nothing else like it has happened. I'd be lying if I said Kate and I didn't wander through the halls, looking for secret places, more than once. But we never found anything. No vampires, no prisons. They probably hid them well, which seems logical. We weren't very thorough while seeking either, though. The dark eyes of the vampire who tried to k
Jaim's SorrowA tunnelThat's what it isA dark tunnelWithUnreachableLightAt the endNo endFor meFor othersNot meMy sorrowIs EndlessStaysAlwaysEverywhereForeverNoWay outEverWhat is doneIs doneTimeMoves only forwardTunnelMoves only forwardThe lightIs backwardThe endIs behind meUnreachable
LoversI raise my handI move closerI touch It feels Light as a feather I want it I want more I want all of it I feel it I feel more I feel all of itI don't want itI want lessI want none of itOr do I? Growing less Slipping away Gone completely
A GameThree brothers play a gameThe game is called life and deathBut that is not what it is about . . .The brothers don't care about lifeOr deathThey only care about powerAnd their gameLife is what they have, foreverPower is what they want, alwaysDeath is what they use, whenever they canSo what is the prize?Is it power?Yes . . . but . . . Maybe something else, tooMaybe the thingThey want mostNeed mostTo winIs also a prizeTHE prizeA prize that LivesBreathesLoves . . .The end of the game is nearAnd soon the brothers Will realizeThat this prize is differentSo much differentThan anyone could'v
Naraka - Ch.9 My skin turns as white as bone, I'm sure. My eyes pop open wide and my mouth hangs open slightly. This all, as I take in the scene before me. On the courtyard, I can see one big group of people with burns all over their skin. Though, 'people' is not really a good word: these are not people. None of them are. They are vampires – I'm sure of it. Goosebumps form on my skin. I can feel it, but I don't see it; my eyes fixed too much on what is before me. My heart thumps loudly in my ears – it's the only thing I can hear any more. And my breath feels shallow, rasping through my throat like salt and sand. Though the group before me s
Husband(Evan's point of view) It's a steady and uneventful ride, in our newly obtained car from along the road. The car is old and ugly, but it works – and that's all that matters. Where are we going? I do not know. Neither does Moby, I'm guessing. 'On' – she said when I asked. Just going for the sake of going. That certainly sounds a lot like the rest of my two weeks of life. Though now, I'm in much better company than I was before. It makes the ride to nowhere-in-particular much more enjoyable, and therefor; worth while. I throw a quick glance to my right, where Moby sits next to me. She's staring out of the window. Thinking, rather th
First Day(Evan's point of view) It's been only two days since I've been separated from the others. I don't know where they are, nor am I sure if they're alive. But even if I would know, I'm sure I wouldn't go looking for them. They were nice and I'm eternally grateful for them – for giving me a name and telling me about this world I've waken up in. But I think I'm better on my own. There is still so much to figure out . . . My mind flashes back to the time I knew nothing – could it be only two weeks ago? When I woke up, I knew nothing about myself. Nor about this place I had ended up in. It was very strange. But also . . . kind of liberati
Naraka - Ch.8 The rest of the day we just . . . hang around –that's what the other girls are calling it. When Tess eventually comes back, she shows me every room of the girl's quarters. She also introduces me to her friends, as does Kate to hers – with both their friends together, I've been introduced to right about every girl there. In the afternoon we move to the library. Where also the boys that were sitting at our breakfast are. As it turns out, the girls and the boys from the only mingled table are almost all together. Kate and Tess, too, have boyfriends. Kate's is Kyle, and Tess's is Isaac – they pronounce his name much differently than I wou
A Machine(Moby's point of view) I can hear the splashing sounds he makes while he walks through the water. He's not far away from me. Though I can't see him, because he's behind me. It doesn't take long until I can't help myself any longer, my medical side getting the best of me. I peek over at him. The left side of his body is facing me. His chest is bare; in his hands I can see his shirt. He's washing it, trying to get the bloodstains out of it. My eyes run over his skin, looking for anything – anything irregular. It doesn't take long until my eyes are caught by a spot on his shoulder. It's a wound, of flesh and blood. But when I look cl
Naraka - Ch.7 I take my time to neatly fold the few clothes I have and put it away in the cupboard. My cupboard. This is going to get some getting used to, I think to myself as I let my eyes sweep over the room, again. Let's just hope that my new roommate and I will get along enough to live together like this. The feeling makes me nervous, but not because of the idea of living with Tess. It's the idea of living together with someone – in such close proximity – in general that makes me nervous. It's true that I've always lived in small places with my family and other travelers. But that had gotten much less in the last few years. And after traveli
Naraka - Ch.6 We pass many halls, and many rooms again. But it all goes by me in a blur. I'm too nervous and excited to notice anything any more. The two emotions intertwine and blend together, making my heart thump loudly in my chest. From various glances thrown to me by Alexis I know she and Amilia can hear it. It's kind of disturbing – when you think about it – that they can hear that. But for this also, I can't get my mind to stop and notice. Finally, when – if my sense of guidance is right – we're in the middle of the . . . building, we stop. Before we go and meet them, as Amilia tells me, we should wait until they're done with training. But
Naraka - Ch.5 This time – as one of the first times in years – I don't dream of bad things. My dream is not frightening, nor is it filled with monsters. My dream is like a fairy tail; I dream of a perfect world with crowded cities and many people. There's no fear, no fighting, no death – only happiness. The time that passes in my dream feels like years, and never once do I feel hungry or anything else bad. Nothing bad, up until I start noticing my own boredom, my own purposeless. I feel lost. I don't like the perfect world any more, and after more time passes I start to hate the world. In all it's perfection my life starts to feel imperfect. It's
Naraka - Ch.4 ''Who were you talking to on the phone?'' I ask a few minutes later. We're back in the car, driving down the highway. In the rearview mirror I can see the last rays of sunlight of the day, cast from behind us. Night's almost back. Alexis agreed on answering some questions. And since that's already a hell of a lot more than an hour ago, I decided to take the deal and got in the car with her. ''Someone from the safe house.'' She answers. ''Someone like you?'' ''No. More someone like you,'' she grins at me. I smile, glad that she seems intent on honoring our deal. ''So . . . what is the plan?'' I ask. ''What do you mean
Naraka - Ch.3 I watch as the dark land flashes by us. It's unlike I've ever experienced before in my life: riding in a car. Once you're getting used to it, once you don't fear any more, the speed is really exhilarating. And I'm actually getting used to the soft purr of the machine – it's nice, soothing. I relax back in the soft fabric of my seat and stare out of the window with endless eyes. We drive like this for hours and hours. Only stopping once in a while for me to use a bathroom or stretch my tight bound muscles. Alexis doesn't need to do any of those things, nor does she eat. Which makes me suspicious of her. Though, even I have to admit
Naraka - Ch.2 Her hand feels strange – not the coldness I'd expected. The skin felt like rubber again, and very strong. As I shake her hand the only thing I can think, over and over again is: What in the world am I getting myself into? Outside the cabin I can see it's well past midnight. Maybe four or five o'clock. There, a great mettle thing stands waiting for us. I recognize it to be a car, though I've never seen one before. Not in real life anyway. I was told they are supposed to be very fast. About five times faster than the fastest horse. And since the quickest thing in my world is a horse, to me this thing seems unearthly. I have a dub
Naraka - Ch.1 I can hear the tearing, the roaring and the drinking. The last one is the worst. To actually hear them . . . sucking the blood from the bodies. The dead bodies. The bodies of people I knew. Not well, but still . . . I smell it. The suffocating and stomach turning aroma of warm blood. It overwhelms me. I can only just keep it together. I wish I could throw up so badly. But I have to be quiet. If I can just be quiet enough so they don't hear me move, if the smell of the blood is just prominent enough so they don't smell me – I can survive this. Maybe I can do it. But it's going to be a close one. As close as it's ever been. I stifle
NRM - Chapter 3(can also be read like a first chapter)Chapter three – Amilia Dearest daughter, I'm sorry that when you'll get this letter you've probably already heard the news; your aunt Kiky has been exiled to the island Gerateia (it's part of the Old Lands). And I've decided you should go with them. You don't have to worry; it's just a highly exaggerated precaution. But even though there isn't much reason too, I am always worried for your safety. We live in war-time after all. Not many of us are ever truly safe in these times. I'm sorry, I don't want to scare you. But
Sta.sh
