REDEMPTION

16. STRANGE LANDS.

A few days had passed, Audrey was still stuck in the dream. She wondered if dawn had broken back in reality yet. Her attention was constantly being pushed and pulled. Her head felt like someone had dropped a bag of sand on it. What had happened after the revealing of the trigger king had been a blur. She could neither remember nor could she see what happened next. 

Audrey had tried asking Millim about it but she appeared to not know as well. The older version of Millim had a ghostly appearance, it was as though she was there but also wasn’t. Her figure was transparent and this worried Audrey to some extent. Was she really here? Or was she not?

 Millim only spoke when spoken to. Sometimes she answered questions that were on Audrey’s mind. Other times she kept quiet. Audrey felt that this was sign telling her that that information was not for her to hear just yet. This made Audrey feel betrayed somehow but she did not push her buttons. She was sad, however, if this was how the Millim she knew was, that meant that she was really gone. Forever. 

The surroundings had changed. She was in a rocky region. The path before them was accompanied by high cliffs on each side. Some rocks broke off from the sides and felt on to the path. The sky was dark and infuriated as thunder  roared time and time again. Lightning occasionally stroke the peaks of highlands in the area once or twice. In a strange pattern. 

This left a toasty metallic scent in the air. Moss grew from the rocky slopes meaning that whoever was trapped down here could not go up but across. There was no vegetation or any sign of life down here. Nothing seemed to grow in the vast ground. Harsh wind blew, lifting up dust particles that blinded whoever walked this path. The particles were unrefined. Some big. Some small. 

The top of the rocky slopes could not be seen from the bottom. `This was a perfect place for a sneak attack or an assassination, ʼ Audrey thought to herself. Her instincts told her that this place was one where most people came to die or already did. It gave her the creeps. Yet, she still managed to look around again. She turned and saw that the path led to a dead end. 

Whoever came down this path would not reach the end of his or her journey but would be interrupted. As she was looking around, the walls seemed to shift by themselves, blocking the only way in. She dared to look at the dead end. It opened but what lay ahead was not something to be seen. It could not be seen. It was utter and complete darkness. 

Audrey approached whatever it was carefully. Something within this darkness shifted. She paused and moved toward it again. A hand shot from behind her. One covered her mouth while the other wrapped itself firmly around her waist. She could neither move nor could she scream. Or talk. Her grabber, moved slowly back. She did the same. Silently and slowly. 

Just as they were out of view, a wall shut itself before the void of nothingness and it became a dead end again. The hands moved away from her slowly. She saw that they shivered out of fear or was it anger? She could not tell. 

“Do Not go near that again,” Millim ordered emphasizing one every word. 

Audrey wanted to ask why but her answer flew right out of Millim’s mouth. If she had gone through it she would never have come back. She would have died and whatever was on there would have taken over her body in real life. It would have wrecked terror. Brought chaos to life. And ended things as they had known. She was an exception because of the power that was surging inside her. 

Whatever may beyond that dark emptiness was something evil could not fully describe. Whether that was a good thing or bad this was still unknown. But for now they had to avoid it, at all costs. Millim could not explain why but she was sure she had experienced its fierceness in person. She felt her heart pound uncontrollably inside her chest. Her legs buckled. Her hands shook and her eyes became blurry as tears threatened to fall. 

Audrey clenched her chest as all the emotions Millim felt surged through her. She could tell that thing was bad news. And yes, she would head for the hills when she felt the rocks shuffle again. Audrey understood that even though this was not her physical form, the creature or being in that darkness could still harm her.

 She wondered what was strong enough to harm the will or memories of someone who was or was not related to the memory. And if this thing did really exist, why keep it under such low security measures? Why not locked it up or seal it to avoid people from coming into contact with it? Leaving it this way suggested that someone still had a use for it. Since it was left here, unknowing humans approached got swallowed into it, both body and soul. She wanted to take her mind off the ordeal they were facing. 

Audrey knew that if this was the case, chances of their reincarnation was very low. And something also told her that those who went in were not only killed but they were also erased. This meant that the or loved one would never remember them. Their existence would be wiped clean from their memories and minds. That was why no one looked for the people who used this path. It was forbidden, however, this did not prevent some people from coming. 

 She shook her head and let go of a breathe she had been holding. She straightened her back. Drew in breathe repeatedly to calm herself. Once she was calm she went back to taking in the landscape before her. She noticed that no birds crossed this lands. And when one did, it would be struck by lightning from the sky. 

The land was ominous. Her hands wrapped around her defensively. A cold shill ran up and down her body. Audrey felt like the sky was looking down on her. The feeling of her being prey came our of nowhere. She backed away again. If this was not her physical body, what would a physical body’s emotions be like? 

Audrey and Millim’s thought were drawn when they heard footsteps approach them. Who was insane enough to walk right into a death trap willingly. Whoever it was, was either a lunatic or insanely stupid. A little figure emerged from the corner of their eyes. The figure was familiar. It was young Millim. She walked casually, throwing her legs lazily as she hummed. 

She was not at all bothered by the threatening aura these lands had. Of course she had nothing to fear, right? A trigger king was the most powerful being alive. Nothing scared or threatened them. That was what she thought. The latter, knew this to be very untrue. Their bodies had experienced something here. Something that was Soo frightening that it was edged into their souls. 

The minds might not have recalled what had happened but their bodies did. As young Millim walked on, she was interrupted by a call. Her heard rang as whoever it was tried to communicate with her telepathically Audrey heard it too. She could not make out what the person was saying. All she could tell was that whoever it was, was very distressed. She focused again. 

“It’s a trap.”