Death's Corridor March 14, 19__ One more day of sadness, One more day of pain, One more day of suffering, To help relieve the blame. One more day of smiles as fake as the day before, One more day before accepting the truth that tomorrow will bring. One more day to discard this mask, This person who is not me. One more day to accept the world as it stands before me. When Nightmares Come True Darkness quickly replaced the light and Kimberly found herself drifting through a state of unconsciousness. A gentle voice called out to her in the darkness, pleading for her to wake up. Slowly her eyes opened to find herself curled up something cold. She ran her hand across the surface, felt smooth as glass, yet it was darker then anything she had ever seen before. She glanced around herself. All around her was nothing, but darkness. The girl slowly stood and scanned her surroundings to find herself completely alone. "Jennifer" Kim called out only to be answered by her own echo, "Jenn? Kris?" Yet again the same. She started to realize that she was indeed entirely alone in the dark and fear started to seep into her heart and she felt herself begin to panic, "Anyone?!?" yet again the same echo responded. Kim fought the feeling of fear that crept through her mind and began to take a step when unexpectedly the floor under her feet no longer existed and she felt herself begin to fall sideways. Before she was aware of what was going on she was plunged into a wall of darkness like a stone through water. She could feel herself sinking deeper and deeper into the murky depths. It became hard to breathe as the dark watery substance began to squeeze the little girl's soul. Just as she was about to give up and let herself die she dropped out of the watery death and gently fell downwards. The moment her feet touched something solid she collapsed to her hands and knees, coughing up darkness from her lungs, her entire body was soaked, however her gown was perfectly dry. She rolled over to her side and lay still for a moment trying to regain control of her breathing and figure out what was going on. Her mind felt like it was swimming through mud, her thoughts crashing back and forth against the rocky shores of her mind. She clenched her head and started to scream and did not stop screaming until her voice gave out and she was sent into another fit of coughing. When the coughing subsided she lay on her side with her eyes closed tight as she tried hard to regain some form of self-control, praying that when she opened them again that she would be back in her room. Her breathing began to slow and she opened her eyes to see that the she was still surrounded by darkness. Rolling onto her back again she stared up at nothing, then let out a sigh and proceeded to get to her feet. Her legs threatened to give out on her at any moment, yet she managed to force them to take a step forward, cautiously making sure the ground was going to stay put this time. When she was certain that the ground was not going to play tricks on her, the girl pressed forward. Whichever direction was forwards in that darkness. She tried hard to focus in the gloom as slowly walls started to form around her and Kim could see the yellow outline of a door at the end of a long hall. Guardedly Kim crept her way down the hall. The door's glow seemed to increase in size with every step until Kim found herself standing in front of a large wooden door with a brass doorknob about eye level. The sounds of crying could be heard from behind the door. Kimberly reached out and gingerly took the knob in hand; carefully opening the door trying not to startle whomever was beyond its boundaries. What she found was a small room with a single bed against the far wall under a small window covered by blue drapes. A young girl lay curled up in the bed with her back to Kim. It took Kim only a moment to realize that she was looking at a younger version of Jenn. The girl was maybe nine or ten years of age at the very most, "Jenn?" Kim asked softly as she stepped further into the room. "Who is it?" Jenn sat up and look around the room while wiping her red eyes. She was dressed in a long white nightgown, which she pulled at with her free hand, covering her legs and feet, "Who are you?" She asked shyly. The moment Kimberly stepped into the centre of the room the door slammed shut causing Kim to spin around in shock. There stood her father with his hand planted firmly on the door. He started down at the girl through his thick glasses, "How did I know you'd show up?" The man asked stepping towards the red head. "Father...I..." Kim stumbled backwards until her leg hit the bed. She was terrified and could feel herself trembling at the mere sight of the man. She was suddenly the little girl she used to be, small and afraid and unable to fight back. "You thought you could run away from me did you?" He struck out at Kim hitting her across the side of the face, "Do you think I didn't know about you?" He hit her again with such force that she was knocked to the ground. "I'm sorry daddy." Kim sobbed as she tried to pull herself up, "I'm sorry. I tried to be a good girl. I tried." "Lies!" He grabbed the girl by the hair at the back of her head, forcing her to her knees, "Then how do you explain her?" He forced Kim's head around so she was looking at Jenn who was cowering in the corner of the bed, "You are far from a good girl. You wanted to screw her didn't you? You wanted to lick her filthy cunt. DID-N'T-YOU?" He shook Kim's head with each syllable. "Daddy that hurt!!!" Kim cried out grabbing onto his hand in a vain attempt to free herself from his grasp. He tossed Kim to the ground, "It is going to hurt much worse when I'm through with you. You dirty little tramp." He kicked the girl in the stomach making her curl into a tight ball and cough blood, "I should have taught you a lesson along time ago. You and that little slut." He suddenly turned and reached out towards Jenn, who squirmed in the bed, kicking back at the blankets as she trying hard to get out of the man's reach. "Stay away from her." Kim staggered to her feet, while holding her arm over her stomach, forcing the fear to the side and glaring at her father. "Oh, the little girl is finally standing up for herself." Kim's father said sarcastically. "I said... stay away from Jenn!" Kim was now standing at her full height. A kitchen knife, now firmly clenched in her hand, and her eyes were glowing crimson. The feeling of the knife in her hand made the last of the fear wash away and instead it was replaced by anger. All the rage and fury she felt for her father and the things he did to her over the years came forward like a wall that would protect her from anything. "Why should I?" He said his head cocked sideways, "What are you going to do? Kill me?" "If I have to." Kim glared at her father with hatred in her eyes. Her father turned and reached out for Kim, "I don't think you have it in yo-" Before he could finish the sentence Kim closed her eyes and plunged the blade deep into the man's gut. He staggered backwards staring at the knife sticking out of him in disbelief, "You litt-" he fell to the ground. Kim stood over her father, watching as his life slowly seeped out of him over the carpet, "Good bye father." Kim said coldly, her expression emotionless as she retrieve the blade from his stomach, ignoring the blood that splattered across her face. "Kim..." Jenn slipped out of the bed and stepped behind the red hair, keeping on eye on the dying man, "What is going on here?" "Nothing." Kim said, "Get going, I'll be right behind you." She stepped closer to her father. "Did you just..." Jenn stammered. "Leave." Kim commanded, almost uncaring, "He will never hurt you again." Jenn staggered backwards and ran out the door. She didn't know what happened, but she suddenly didn't want to be in that room. "Kim..." Kim's father struggled with the words as blood dripped from the corners of his mouth. He managed to roll over grasping at the hole in his stomach, “Daughter…” “I’m not your daughter.” Kim snarled and plunged the knife into his back and pulled it out again. She screamed out in rage as she repeatedly stabbed the man, wanting to be rid of the man forever. Kim suddenly blinked a few times and glanced down at her father, "Daddy?" Her eyes shifted back to normal and she dropped to the man's side, "Daddy what happened?" She went to reach out towards the man when she noticed her hands were covered in blood, along with the floor and the side of the bed. Her whole body began to shake. She glanced at the knife lying next to her, watching the light from the window glimmer off the crimson covered blade, "No..." She whispered, "Not again..." She got to her feet and stumbled against a dresser, leaving a bloody hand print upon the white surface, before running out of the room back into the world of darkness. Tears streaming down her cheeks, she could not believe she killed her father. It was all just a dream and she would wake up to find him in a drunken sleep yet again, she knew she would. She continued to run, not sure where she was going, until cam across a strange group of people all walking in a line. She considered approaching the people when she remembered the blood on her hands and glanced down to discover, to her relief, that her hands and clothes were clean once again. With a sigh she started towards the group, with an interest in greeting the people, only too discover the line was much larger then she first thought -- hundreds of people wide and stretching off in either direction as far as the eye could see. The sight of the mob of cloaked figures slowly marching in a twisty line made the girl stop in her tracks. She watched the people, not sure of what to do, when she felt someone approach her from behind. A pale hand reached out from over her shoulder and slowly turned to watch as the hand shifted into long jagged claws. The girl found herself unable to move as the figure shifted around to face her. It was draped in long grey robes with a hood pulled over its head such that only the lower half of its face could be seen. A musky old smell drifted off the robes, causing Kim to cough. The clawed hand ran a sharp pointed finger along the little girl's cheek down to her chin as a smile broke across its face, revealing a set of jagged fangs. A shiver ran though Kim and she tried to command her legs to move -to run- but nothing happened. She could not turn her eyes away from the figure that stood before her. Fear ran though every part of Kim's body and a tear began to roll down her cheek as its clawed hand began to close around her throat. She was sure that this would be the end of her journey. She could feel her life being drained from her body and her knees began to buckle from under her, when something grabbed Kimberly's arm and pulled her out of the creature's reach. For a moment the girl could see nothing but feathers. It took a moment for the redhead to realize that what she was seeing before her was in fact a tall person with a single large wing coming out of the folds in the back of its cloak, the tattered stump of a second wing could be seen slightly peeking out beside the first, and it appeared to be twitching ever so slightly. Kimberly stood stunned awe as the person ushered the threatening figure back into the line up. "Ummm..." Kimberly tried to find her voice as the figure slowly turned around to face her again. The hood covered most of the person's face, showing only long curved tattoos marking the person's rather soft round cheeks. The figure raised its head, exposing the face of a young woman with her dark hair falling in tangles around her face and a pair of eyes that had been sewn shut with thick black thread that was now caked with dried blood. Kim forced herself not to run as she tried to think of something to say when the woman raised her arm and pointed off into the distance. Kimberly followed the direction indicated by the woman's finger to see a small door off in the distance. She glanced back up at the woman who only nodded at her. Kimberly did a short curtsy (she was not sure why but she just felt it was the right thing to do) then ran off towards the door. The broken angel watched the little girl as if she could still through those stitches then turned back to the line of people. No one noticed as someone from the crowd also watched the girl and softly uttered something under its breath, "Kimberly..." Then it smiled and left its place in line. Kimberly hesitantly approached the door that at first looked relatively normal. It was made of a black wood with an arched top, but the closer the girl got the more she realized just how large this door really was, and that it was, in fact, a monstrous double door with large brass hinges along ether side but no handle or door knob nor any walls to hold it up. A pair of tall candelabra rose up beside the doors like towering trees with several branches of brightly lit candles for leaves. Kimberly watched the flickering flames, finding their glow hypnotizing. The candles had a warming feeling to them, almost as if they were calling to her. She reached the foot of the doors and looked up at its towering form in amazement for it must have stood several stories high and from where she now stood she could barely see the rise of the arch overhead. She wondered to herself what kind of creature would need a door so large. Fear started to seep into the girl's heart as images of a large scaly dragon or reptilian creature answering the door invaded her mind. She shook the thought from her mind and walked around the door to see that there was in fact nothing behind it. Remembering stories she read as a child she raised a hand to knock. Before her hand could even move one of the doors began to open and Kimberly felt her jaw drop as the massive door crept towards her then swung past. A man in a long, loosely draped black cloak loomed over the little girl. He could not have been less then ten feet tall, and had long straight black hair covering the left half of the triangular face and rolled down his back. Upon his face he wore a pale white, featureless, porcelain mask, an eye could be seen staring down at her from the narrow slit in the mask. The two just watched each other for a moment, neither of them making a sound. "You sure took your time getting here!" an annoyed voice called out from behind the man. He slowly turned around, "You should be more considerate of the journeys your friend here has travelled." He said in a deep voice that felt more like it was being heard by your soul then your ears, "Not everyone finds their way here in such a manner as she just did." Kim peeked past the man, through the door. Beyond that stretched a long path through a vast forest of golden candelabrums of varying heights, "That is beside the point." A very young Lauren said standing amongst the candles with her arms crossed. She wore the same overall shorts as the day she and Kimberly first met, "Milai I expected you to be on my side on at least this one. I mean you being 'The Lord of Time' and everything. Late is late you know?" "La.. La..." Kimberly could not believe her eyes. Was this really Lauren? Her Lauren? "Ki.. Ki... To you too." She said, smiling at the redhead. Kimberly ran past the strange man and hugged Lauren, "I can't believe it's you… I mean... I saw you... you were a demon..." She tried hard not to cry. Lauren held the other girl, "Shhhh...." Her voice was rather calm and soothed Kim’s rattled nerves, "It was all a dream." She stroked Kim's back in an attempt to settle her her. Kimberly stepped back from Lauren, "Huh?" She was clearly confused, "Then did I... die?" "No, you are very much alive," Lauren let out a soft sigh, "However, I died long ago. After I lost you." She forced a weak smile then shook her head; "You have no idea how long I searched for you after you fell. How many days I prayed for your safe return. I just..." She tried to force herself to smile again, "But I got my wish. I got to see you one last time." Although there was a smile on her face Lauren's eyes showed a pain that Kimberly understood more then the words she was hearing, "You, however, are alive. Asleep but alive." Kimberly's eye opened wide and she stepped back from Lauren to look her in the eyes, "Asleep?" She was not sure if her friend was teasing her, "So this is all a dream?" The cloaked man spoke, "Child, sometimes when your love for someone is strong enough and you lose that person your mind can create a Dream Ghost of them that exists within your mind eye. These ghosts are not entirely the same as the original and can at times become obsessive. Holding onto only the strongest of emotions from the original spirit. They will fight anything that they see as a treat to their memory. That was what you saw in your dreams earlier. As of right now you are standing between life and death, which is why you can see the real spirit of your friend now. This place lies close to the edge of the sea of dreams. Sometimes dreamers find themselves lost and they end up here before it truly is their time to go. Foretelling this occurrence, I acquired the assistance of this child's spirit to help turn you on your correct path." "Dream Ghost? Sea of Dreams? Dreamer?" Kim rubbed her head in confusion. "Lord Milai, would you stop confusing the girl?" Lauren angrily said, looking up at the man, "You are giving even me a headache." "Shall I refresh your memory as to who allowed this meeting to occur?" The masked man glared down at the little girl, an edge could be heard in his voice. Lauren turned away from his gaze and crossed her arms; "Actually, Lady Angelina brought me here." She said with a smirk, "You are just a glorified doorman. Some lord of time you turned out to be. You couldn't even tell exactly when Kim was going to show up, now could you?" Milai leaned in close to the little girl until their faces where mere inches away from touching, "Child, I would suggest you watch that tongue of yours when speaking to me." It was now obvious that Lauren was getting on the man's nerves. "Or what?" Lauren glared into the man's eye; "I've already been torn out away from my lover and wandered around until I died so there isn't much you can do that hasn't already been done to me over the years, so give it your best shot. I'm sick of being controlled you understand?" Her glare never faltered even for a moment. Standing to his full height Milai took a deep breath, "I have no intent on furthering your suffering." His tone once again calm, "However, I can only keep the doors open to the living for so long and that time is quickly approaching." Lauren glanced down at her feet, ashamed of her outburst, "Oh... sorry..." "Oh come on Milai." A voice drifted from down the hall and a tall girl came into view. She was in her late teens and dressed in what appeared to be the top half of a tuxedo with a thin black necktie, vest and a long wrap like skirt covered her legs and feet. Her hair was all slicked back except for one lock of hair that fell between her eyes, eyes that were surrounded in a set of curved triangle tattoos running above the eyebrows, however the most interesting feature about the girl was a pair of large white wings that folded around her. They must have stood an extra two feet over the girl's head and the tips of the feathers lightly touched the ground, "Let the lovers have some time together." She continued to say, with a warm smile upon her face, "It will be the last time they get to see each other after all." "I am very aware of that fact, Gwen." Milai stated calmly, "However one must adhere to the rules." "It is because of those rules that we lost Aigneis." Gwen scowled, "Why can't you be more flexible, brother dear." "Aigneis has nothing to do with this situation." Milai countered. "She very well does and you know it." Gwen said with hostility in her voice, "Now why don't you let these two talk instead of wasting their time." Kim starred at the angel, "Lauren, who is she?" She asked in awe. "That is Gwen." Lauren said with a smile, "She is a Sister of Death. Her sister, Angelina, was the one who told me you would be here." "Death!" Kim started to back up, "Like that weird angel outside?" "That would have been Morrigan." Gwen turned to the girl and gave her another smile, it was as if Gwen sensed Kim's fear, "She can be a little on the creepy side, but is harmless. There is no need to fear us. We are only here to help your friend relay a message to you." "A message?" Kim blinked at the angel-winged girl. "Lauren, didn't you have something you wanted to tell the girl?" Gwen continued to grin. "Oh, right," Lauren turned back to Kim, who was still standing with a befuddled look on her face, "Kim...." Kim blinked and turned her gaze back to Lauren's eyes. Lauren stood rubbing the palm of her hand, "I just… just..." She ran a hand through her hair and tried to find the right words. Kim reached out and placed a finger upon the girl's lips, "I know..." She struggled with the tears that were trying to take control of her. Just saying those words felt like a knife was being plunged in to her heart. She wanted nothing more then to scream and cry, but instead she smiled, "You don't have to say anything. You've already done so much for me..." Her eyes moved to the ground, "Even while you were gone I kept remembering that day we first met... How you made me not feel so alone. I'll never forget your memory no matter what happens." Lauren found it impossible to look the redhead in the eye, "I..." Her mouth opened and closed a few times as she tried to find her voice, "Dimmitt! I wish..." She was cut off before she could finish her sentence. "Child..." The masked man spoke in a low deep voice. Lauren closed her eyes, "I know," She snapped, then turned to Kimberly and set her hands on the girl's shoulders. The gloom in her eyes was now replaced by urgency, "Kim, do you remember what you were doing before you lost your way?" Kimberly closed her eyes and tried to think, "I came home from school then someone came over..." She opened her eyes, "JENN!!" She said excitedly. Lauren strained to smile, "Good..." She took her hand from the redhead's shoulder and shakily touched the girl's cheek, "Remember. You have to remember or you will be lost here forever." That same pained expression could once again be seen in the girl's eyes, "You have to live... For us." "Child, it is time." Milai said. "I sort of figured as much..." Lauren agonizingly said looking up at the man, "Just give me one more second, kay?" Her eyes almost were pleading to the man. Kim took Lauren's hand in hers, "But I don't want to lose you again. Not now... I need you. I lov-" Kimberly's words where cut off as she felt Lauren's hand set upon her check, then lips against hers. The two girls stood softly kissing for what seemed like eternity. Tears started to stream down Kimberly's cheeks as she wrapped her arms tightly around Lauren and held her, never wanting to let the girl go even if it meant her own death. Lauren was the first to break away, "Goodbye... I love you." She said softly. She touched Kim's lips then let her hand drop to her side and step back, "Remember... I'll always be with you." She turned and started to walk away. Kimberly noticed a tear fall from the girl's eye. She felt her arms move and encircle the other girl around the shoulders and pull her back into her arms, "I will always remember you." She whispered into Lauren's ear. Lauren let herself be held. She could feel Kimberly's tears falling on her shoulder but she made no move to pull away. "I'm sorry," Milai, said quietly, "I can no longer leave the doors open." He gently pulled the girls apart and ushered Kimberly outside. Lauren watched as the only person she ever loved was taken away from her once again. Slowly the doors started to close and Kimberly reached her hand between the doors. Lauren reached out and their fingers lightly touched. She then pushed Kimberly's hand through the door and watched, as it slammed shut. Kimberly pounded on the doors. She had so much to say. So much she wanted them to do together. She surrendered to her knees and crumbled to the ground then let out and deafening woeful sob that made her entire body shake, the curled up next to the door and let the sadness wash over her. ***** To be Continued...
Back to A Shadowlander's Dream: Book 1 - A Tale of Shadows Index - Back to Original Fiction Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction