Luna Raine

V. Comfort of the Fall

My eyes creaked open, seeing nothing but white lights surrounding me. I stood up and wondered if I'm in heaven or, more precisely, the underworld. I tried to rack my mind around what happened. One second I was sitting in the back of a truck, drowning and dying. Now, I'm here, in nothing.

"Why are you here?" a profound voice question.

I turned around to see a man standing there; hands shoved into his pocket with a hood that covered his face. "Who are you?" I retorted his question.

He looked up, a deep shade of blue staring at me. "There seems to be a mistake," he mumbled.

"I'm sorry? I don't understand," I said, taking a step closer to him. I held my arms, no pain. I look down at my legs, no wound. I felt my forehead...nothing.

"You aren't supposed to be here," he continues talking to himself. A small hole appeared, like a wormhole, and he reached his hand inside to pull out a brown book. The book flips through the pages on its own, and I took a step back, knowing I indeed died.

He walked back and forth and hummed to himself. "Let's see here, Raine Fall, Age 16. Born and raised in MistVille, California, in World IV. Father, Jake Fall, passed due to a brain tumor, and the only relative is the Mother, Susan Avril. Unfortunately, she got kidnapped during a hike. Kidnappers intend to sell her into p**********n for the Mexican Cartels, but during the transportation, the truck was chased by Interpol. The truck was able to escape the Interpol but crashed into the ocean. Raine died along with twenty other females by drowning," he said and slammed the book shut.

I couldn't help but chuckle. It's not a situation where I should be laughing, but I did. "You're kidding me...right?" There's something about him, something wrong. I can't pin it, the problem. Something inside of me, buried deep inside, tells me to run away. To never associate myself with this man.

I was waiting for his response. Something on the line of: You got punk on this weird reality show!

I stood there, staring at him as he talked about what sounds to be my life history. The more he spoke, the harder it got to digest the information. Tears continued streaming down as I continuously thought about my mom, who was waiting for me. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe.

My eyes moved over to see another portal opening, but this time it was more substantial. A single leg stepped out, and quickly a beautiful woman made its appearance. She turned towards us, running her fingers through her long white hair. "RB, what's with the hood?"

The guy, whose name seems to be RB, pulled down the hood to reveal the same color hair as hers. He shrugged, "My ears were getting cold."

She nodded her head and walked towards me. "Who is she?"

"It seems like I made a mistake, Selene," RB said, turning our attention towards him.

"What do you mean?"

"I was going to transport a werewolf from World XX, but somehow I got a female from World IV who died," he explained, and my heart dropped hearing the word - died.

She turned towards me, "It's too late to fix the mistake now; we will use her."

"What about her soul? How does it look?" RB question.

Selene's eyes glow for a second before it widens, "Purest I've ever seen," she whispers.

This has to be a lie. I mean, the beautiful b***h called my soul pure. Unless you count keeping my virginity intact, I'm not pure. And the only reason I haven't lost it was because I puked on the hottie that was going to pop it.

She nods, "I can still create a bond even if she is from another world. There may be some issues, but we'll take care of that later."

"What issues? I don't like issues," RB responds.

Selene licks her lips before she looks at me, "I'll tell you later."

"Wha-"

"When you complete your mission, I'll let you go home," RB said in an authoritative voice.

My brows furrow, and I back away from the two crazy people. "What mission?"

"You must lead him down the right path. Do not let him fall to the dark side," he stated, clearly knowing I do not understand a single f*****g thing that came out of both of their mouths.

A rush of wind surrounds me. It got closer and closer until I became a stick. Then, the sensation arrived.

I've seen darkness before, the kind that looks like an old fashioned photograph, everything in a black and white shade. Similar to the ones pinned on my dormitory walls. This isn't it. I circle, attempting to make heads and tails of the place the man named RB sent me into.

The darkness robs me of my senses and replaces it with fear, but I know standing around won't do me any good, so I kept moving forward. I can't hear anything except the sounds of my feet slapping against the cold surface. The more I move, the more my body shakes. I held my hand over my mouth to stop myself from breathing loudly.

I can feel it.

Someone is watching me.

My body twitches with the sound of a giggle.

I open my mouth, ready to ask who is there but nothing comes out. Instead, I ran away. I rush down the halls, twisting and turning. It felt endless. I was going nowhere. Then, I felt it. Water.

I look up to see the grey sky. It rumbled, and heavy rain bounced off the cobblestones. The darkness disappeared, replaced with a deep shade of grey. Drops of rain beat against my skin, but I didn't feel cold. My toes scrunch, brushing the dirt beneath me. I look around only to find myself standing deep inside a forest.

It didn't make sense.

Nothing made sense.

Maybe I'm in a coma, and this is all a dream.

I tried to come up with an excuse, anything to explain what is happening. The more brutal the storm, the calmer my heart feels. It's ridiculous, I shouldn't be feeling calm at this moment, but I do. I made my way through my forest, attempting to find someone...anyone. "Is anyone there?" I scream, praying it was anyone but the kidnappers.

Then again, maybe the whole thing was a nightmare. I looked down at my forearm and pinched myself. I didn't feel any pain. Releasing a shaky breath, I pinched myself again. "Wake up, dammit!" I shouted. "Wake up!" I pinched myself harder.

My arm didn't change color.

I didn't feel anything...nothing.

And that's what I feared the most.

What if I had died?

Then, that would be the only explanation as to why I felt nothing.

Bitter gusts rip at my clothes, and I close my eyes only to hear a scream in return. I open my lids and turn my head towards the sound. With each step I took, my eyes flickered in a constant state of disturbance.

I can see it.

A couple.

The man sobbed into the woman's chest unceasingly, hands clutching at her black coat. She held him in silence, caressing the hair on his head ever so gently. I can hear it, the howls of misery inside his cries. The pain comes in waves, seconds of sobbing broken into short pauses for recovering breaths.

The wind blows, circling the light blue umbrella beside them.

Moment by moment, the pain inside my chest only escalated. I can taste it, the salt between my lips. It's odd. How can rain taste so salty? Then, the realization arrived. I was crying. I'm trembling, but not because of fear. It's raw; everything felt raw. I can't stop it. Why can't I stop crying?

Then, with a single step and one simple snap of a stick, the woman's head turns towards me. Her hood still covered most of her face, but I can see it—the surprise. As fast as it arrived, it disappeared. The world seemingly halts while we stare at one another. Without any reason, her lips curved into a smile.

The droplets of water seemingly increase, invading my vision. And when I opened my eyes, they were gone. My heart came to a stop as I stood once again in the darkness. Not completely. I look around to see millions of lights flickering around me, enough to fill the night with life but too far for me to reach.

With each blink I took, there seems to be more light. I stared at a single one, and with another flash, it was gone. Each sparkle appears to disappear as fast as it arrives.

Nonetheless, it's beautiful.

I close my eyes to feel the warmth behind me. It′s so warm. With a deep breath, I took a step forward only to fall into the endless madness.

I was falling, but I wasn't screaming.

Even when my lips parted, nothing came out.

Something inside of me tells me just to enjoy it, the comfort of the fall.