Alive
2053 Words
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“Okay,” says Mila. “I think I'm ready to ask another soul.”
“Be careful,” says Aurelia, holding her hand.
“It's gonna be fine,” she smiles.
Darius looks uneasy, making him unable to say something that would help. He even thinks that his words won't do anything. Hera on the other hand looks at her without a trace of doubt.
Mila gulps when a soul of a boy shows himself from the top of the hill where the road continues. He's alone, walking with hunched back, starting at the ground, his clothes made out of centuries-old silk, and on his head is a brown hat.
As he passes by, Mila asks, “Where is Cerberus?”
The ghost boy stops walking and looks at her over his forwarded shoulder. His transparent cheeks could almost tear when he smirks. “You're alive...”
Mila knew she's in trouble but she does not show it with her face. “Where is Cerberus?” she mutters, walking past by.
“You're alive!” the boy laughs.
“It's not working,” Darius whispers to Aurelia.
“Shhh!” she shushes him.
Following Mila, the boy is chuckling as he says, “You're alive!” over and over. He takes a deep breath then shouts, “YOU'RE ALI—”
She crushes his head with her grip. He turns into ghastly dust which then she consumes. “Run,” she says before they go sprinting out into the meadow and out of the road.
There is a large tree and that's where they are headed. They hide behind it and under the cover of its thick leaves. They watch how the other souls fly in the air to get to where they heard the boy's scream. Like animals, the souls search around the area. Their burning curiosity couldn't be thawed in an instant. Here and there, they search but couldn't find any clue.
Hera is whimpering. Her anxiety is being fed by the noise the souls make. Mila calms her down as she holds her tight.
“It's okay, Hera,” she says. “We're safe now.”
As the seconds pass, the souls on the road disperse. They look rather disappointed to come all the way here for nothing. Their smirks turn into faces of emptiness once more.
“See?” Mila says. “They're gone. It's fine now.”
Hera is still sobbing even after she let go. Aurelia pats her head.
“That was close,” Darius mutters, looking at the souls. Then he narrows his eyes, remembering something. “Wait a minute...”
“What is it?” asks Mila.
“Oh,” he stirs. “uh... it's just... it's like I've seen something kike this before.”
“What do you mean?”
“Never mind, my lady. Maybe it's just in my mind.”
“Maybe it's Deja Vu.”
“Could be...”
He's still deep in his thoughts but she leaves him alone and checks Hera again. She's being calmed down by Aurelia.
“So,” says Darius, still looking at the road behind the tree. “what are we gonna do now, my lady?”
“I'm not sure.”
“I thought they won't know you're alive if we gave you time.”
“Yes, but I didn't know that it takes a very long time. We have no choice but to search this whole meadow by eyes.”
“But that could take a long time... I don't know, maybe forever?”
“I know.”
“Yeah, it's not like we have a choice.”
“That's right,” she nods, biting her lip in anger.
“Also, I thought we can't use your powers here.”
“We can't but we can destroy a soul by consuming it. But I don't recommend it, guys.” She frowns, touching her head. “Ugh... it gives you a bad headache.”
“Are you okay, my lady?” asks Hera.
“I'm okay,” she smiles but then goes blue when she says, “I'm sorry, guys.”
“Don't be,” says Aurelia. “You've done all you can while I never did anything.”
Darius adds, “Well, all of us except for you, Lady Mila. You were right that we should've stayed.”
“No,” she says, looking at him like she just thought of something. “I need your help more than ever.”
“What do you mean, my lady?”
“You said that you once experienced something like you escaped from the afterlife, right?”
He narrows his eyes, trying to remember. “Oh, that! That was when I got bitten by an abyssal spider.”
“Yes.”
“What about it, my lady?”
“You said that those souls' violent forms were familiar to you, right?”
“Yeah, they are,” he says, running his chin. “Wait... could it be that these are the kinds of souls I escaped from?”
“Yes!” she exclaims. “And...” Her tone changes and ending up being concerned. “No, we can't do that. It's risky.”
“What is ‘risky’, my lady?”
She sighs and looks serious at Darius when she says, “Ask the souls and try to avoid getting consumed by them.”
“Let's do it,” he nods.
“Hold on, we don't know if that'll work.”
“But it's the best we got.”
“Don't do it, you id*ot,” Aurelia mutters. She's not looking at him directly.
“Shut up, you useless cripple! You're not helping.”
She frowns at him but he already turns his attention to Mila. He says, “Use this, my lady. If this is the only way I can help, I'm glad to sacrifice myself.”
Rubbing her eyebrows, Mila thinks carefully about this. Then she concludes her decision with a sigh. “Alright, then.”
Aurelia is the only one who's not liking this at all.
“Where do we start, my lady?” asks Darius.
“Let me think...” She walks around to think. “Some of the souls that we asked have traveled from that direction.” She's pointing at where they were supposed to be headed. “And from that direction.” This time, she points at the opposite. “So, there are at least two different directions left that we can cover. It's a gamble—a very huge one. The best bet we have is that direction.” It is the direction where they will have to cross the road. “See that mountain range? Cerberus is large and could easily be found on the meadows. So, I'm betting that it's where Guiseppe hid Cerberus.”
Darius looks in that direction. The determination can be seen glinting in his eyes. “Let's do it, my lady.”
There's no time to waste so they run in that direction. Hera is on Darius's back so they can move faster. They go over the fences of the road then out to the meadow across it. They run like there is no tomorrow. Although this is a dream as Mila had said, they can feel their lungs running out of air. Even so, they didn't stop moving. The mountain range is miles away. If they count it, they have been running for a week.
Panting, Darius asks, “Are... we... taking too long, my lady?”
“Not at all,” she says. “Time is faster in her compared to the real world. Twenty-four hours in here is a minute in the real world. Nonetheless, our bodies are vulnerable so we have to get out of here fast.”
Soon, they have reached the foot of a mountain. They start to climb it and there are no souls in these parts.
“Why aren't there souls in here?” asks Aurelia.
“I'm wondering about it too,” says Mila. “I haven't been here before.”
When they have arrived at the summit, what they discovered is a strange grand valley. Even Mila is surprised by what she has discovered.
“What is this place?” asks Darius.
There is water stored in the valley. It's like an elevated lake but below it is dry land. There are signs of civilization like buildings and roads.
“Am I just seeing things,” asks Aurelia. “or the water just looks like it's floating over this place?”
“Maybe you aren't, my sister,” says Mila with widened eyes, gazing at it. “because we're seeing the same thing.”
Darius asks, “Should we... go there?”
“But let me check if it's safe.”
They follow her down the slope to get near the water. She kneels at the shore and hesitates to touch the water. The three just stand behind her. She starts by holding out her hand. Her finger touches the water and she's startled by its coldness that she tugged her hand back. She flicks the water from her fingers.
“Are you okay, Mila?!” Aurelia panics and holds her sister's hand.
“I'm okay,” she says. “I was just surprised by the cold.” She touches it again. This time, dipping her whole hand. “It feels just like normal water. Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary except how cold it is.” She stands up and strides into the water until it's waist-deep.
“How is it, my lady?” asks Darius.
“Nothing odd,” she says.
“So, are we gonna go there?” asks Aurelia.
“I'm not sure.” She narrows her eyes, sensing something below. “There are souls down there.”
“I'll go,” says Darius. “You guys wait here.” He dives into the water.
“Darius, wait!” Mila yells but he cannot hear her anymore or he won't listen. “You guys wait here,” she says to Aurelia and Hera. “Watch each other's backs.”
“Okay,” says Aurelia. “Be careful and come back, alright?”
“I will come back with Darius, don't worry.”
They nod at each other as well as Hera. Mila dives to catch up with Darius. He's already very deep in the water. She tries hard to swim in her human-like strength. Then Darius stops at where the water stops. She has caught up to him. He gestures that he will go first. She nods and he goes down without a second thought. It's like she's seeing a ripple underwater. He landed on the roof of a house below and signals to her that he's fine. She comes down and falls freely. On the same roof, she lands but it collapses.
“Argh!” they shout in shock.
Their fall on the floor of the house. Dust and debris spread all over the place. It settles down, enough for them to see and realize that there is a soul of an old lady in here. They are alarmed for a moment when the old lady looks at them. But she went on to her business of wandering like she saw nothing. Darius stands up first and helps Mila stand up by holding her hand.
“Sorry,” she apologizes.
He replies with a shake of his head, meaning, he doesn't mind. She looks up and sees how the water above is like an inverted grey sea.
“Where are we gonna ask, my lady?” asks Darius, startling her.
“Oh, uh... let's look around first.”
So, they went out of the house and walk in the street of this “ghost town”. It's like Mila is a stranger to this domain although she's its ruler. The houses are the same design and construction back in ancient Greece. The people are wearing tunics and traditional armor. It's like Mila and Darius traveled to the past.
Suddenly, Darius stops. Mila turns around to check what's going on with him. “What is it?” she asks.
“My real body senses something coming for us.”
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- Writer
