In The Darkness

Chapter 12

A man walked casually down the street with a small seven-year-old girl close behind. He was tall, maybe six and a half feet, with blond hair that shadowed his eyes and he wore a long tan jacket. The girl was his waist height with long black hair that reached her lower back. She wore dirty shorts and a t-shirt and shoes that were falling apart. She held a teddy bear and her garnet eyes were blank as if she were in a trance.

They walked down the street unnoticed until they reached a phone booth when the man abruptly stopped. He entered the booth leaving the child outside to wait for him. He put in some change and dialed the number.

It rung three times before the other person answered it, "Hello."

"Hello M'lady," said the man, "And how are you this lovely day?"

"Drake," she said. "How nice of you to finally contact me. It's not like you to take so long. How did it go?"

"Well enough," Drake replied. "It's not easy finding a child on the streets you know. Then convincing them that you're a friend so they come with you."

"But you did get her?" Morleena asked getting impatient.

"Yes I did get her," Drake replied. "She's right outside this booth with a little present I gave her. She actually has rather impressive powers too…"

"I don't care Drake," Morleena cut him off. "Are you ready for another job?"

"Yes of course M'lady," he said.

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"Quatre is something the matter?"

He was pulled out of his trance like state by the not quite concerned sound of his father's voice. Turning his head to look at the man sitting next to him he said, "I'm bored. That's all."

"We'll be arriving soon enough," Mr. Winner said. Then continuing, "You should be excited. It's been nearly a year since our last visit with the Prime minister and his family. Miss Relena should be delighted to see you once again."

"I'd rather not see her," Quatre said dully. "She's boring to talk to and she's very self-centered. She has no personality."

"Watch you tongue," his father snapped. "If anyone is self-centered it's you. I wont have speak poorly of the young lady you're engaged to marry."

Quatre roughly bit his bottom lip, nearly drawing blood. That was a soar subject between him and his father: his engagement to miss Relena Darlian.

He disliked her greatly. She acted the same way any other young lady would act. She had no personality of her own. She did everything her parents told her to and only what her parents told her to do. He was speaking the truth when he said she was boring.

He angrily returned his gaze to the window. He was being selfish and childish he knew but he didn't care. His hatred for his father was rapidly growing with each passing day.

They stayed like that for the remainder of the trip. In complete silence.

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Three hours later their shuttle had landed and they were making their way to a waiting limo. The spaceport was crowded with many journalist and reporters pushing to get at his father.

"Excuse me sir."

Quatre stopped and turned. In the center of the path that they just walked trough was a little girl around the age of seven. She had black mid-back length hair and garnet eyes. She was wearing a long-sleeve dark purple dress with knee high socks and tiny dress shoes to match. In her hand she held a small brown teddy bear.

"Can you help me," she said in a cute little kid voice, "I'm looking for someone.'

She walked up to him and he knelt down to her eye level and asked, "Who are you looking for? Are you lost?"

She shook her head childishly, "No I'm not lost. I'm just trying to find someone."

Confused, Quatre tried again, "Who are you looking for? Do you know where they are? I can get security if you need help finding them."

"Quatre," his father called from the limo, "We need to go.'

Ignoring his father Quatre stood up and looked around. "Lets see, I know I saw a security guard somewhere…ah there's one," he said pointing to a man directing the crowd. "Why don't you go and ask him for some help. I'm sure he could do better than I can."

She held out one of her small hands and said, "Could you come with me?"

"Quatre!!" his father yelled.

Without even looking back at the man, Quatre took the girls hand. "Sure, I'd be happy to escort-ahhh!!!"

He never got to finish for the moment he held her hand a strong wind picked up. The bear's eyes began to glow. The world around him began to blur and it felt like they were spinning.

Quatre closed his eyes tightly. The girl still held onto his hand. Her eyes too were tightly screwed shut.

When the strange wing stopped blowing and the spinning sensation ceased the girl said, "It's ok. You can open your eyes now." Hesitant, he complied and found the two of them floating above an ocean.

It wasn't a normal ocean. It's waters were as black as night. There was no sun, just a dismally cloudy sky as far as the eye could see.

"What is this place?" Quatre asked, a hint of fear in his voice.

"This is a place that is everywhere yet nowhere at all at the time." She answered.

"What?"

"It can be reached from anywhere on the physical plane," she continued, "Yet, in the reality that you know, it doesn't really exist."

"But why are we here?" Quatre asked. He was frustrated and frightened. "Who are you?"

"I have no name," she said, "Not any more. And I am the same as you."

"Same as me?" he was confused now. "What do you mean?"

"We both have powers that people do not understand," she said with bitterness lacing her now icy voice, "Refuse to understand. They shun us for them."

"Powers?" He had no idea what the girl was talking about.

"Not only that," she continued, "but we also hold the keys to the destruction of the living world."

"Wh-what are you talking about?" he stuttered. "What keys?"

They began to lower towards the water. Before Quatre could utter a word of protest they had submerged.

The water was icy, not physically cold but it had the feel of death within it. Fear began to claw at his mind as he fought to control the wave of emotions coursing through his being.

Souls already passed surrounded them, reaching towards him, looks of agony displayed on their faces. With each new face a new emotion surfaced. Anger. Sadness. Envy. Disgust.

Each of them raged through him. Each he felt if it were his own. There were screams in his ears. He wasn't sure whether it was the spirits or his own or a combination of both.

He clenched his head. It felt like it was going to explode. His heart ached. What was this? What was happening to him?

Just when he thought he couldn't stand it any longer it stopped. As abruptly as it had started, it ended.

Slowly he opened his eyes. They were no longer in the water. They were in some sort of dome; the water was all around them. In the center of the dome was a small Islamic shrine.

Quatre gasped for air. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears. His fear lingered on the edges of his mind.

"Frightening isn't it?" he turned to see her standing behind him. She had a saddened look in her eyes.

"What was that?" he asked, the fear impossible to mask from his voice.

"That was your power I was talking about earlier," she said. "You're an Empath. One with the power to feel others emotions."

"Does it always feel like that?" he asked.

"Usually," she said. "Though probably not that intense. Human emotions aren't as strong as those of the dead."

"But why do I have this power?"

"Hard to tell really," she said. "No one can really explain the supernatural."

Suddenly the teddy bears eyes began to glow. The girls eyes widened in sock. She dropped the toy and brought both hands up to her head. Dark lightning flew from the teddy bear and struck the child.

"Stop it please,' she screamed. She fell to the ground and curled up into a tight ball. Her terror began to course through Quatre's mind. He tried running to her but couldn't get close enough due to the lightning.

'Open the gate,' he heard. He looked to see where the voice was coming from. Nobody but the writhing girl and himself was there. 'Open it!!'

"No!!" the girl screamed. "Don't listen to her. Don't open it!!"

He turned his gaze back to the shrine. In front of it was a stone altar. In front of that was a small stone column, about waist height, with a blue glowing orb.

'Open it now!!'

"No don't!!!!!"

As he stared at it his mind became blank. He began to walk towards it. He stopped right in front of it.

"No! Stop! Don't touch it!!"

'Do it now!!'

He reached out his left hand and placed it on top of the orb. There was an explosion from the shrine.

After that…he blacked out.

To be continued

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<Corvus> *Blood curdling scream*

<Firefly> So what did you think of that?

<Clo> COOL!

<Corvus> You evil sadistic little bitch!!

<Firefly> What now?

<Corvus> It's another cliffhanger!!!

<Firefly> Yeah so?

<Clo> I thought it was cool.

<Firefly> Thank you.

<Clo> But what happened to Quatre's daddy?

<Firefly> Well lets find out

<Mr. Winner> *looking under a rock* Quatre? You in there?

<Clo> He's weird.

<Corvus> That's the understatement of the day.

<Firefly> R&R please. Thank you.