1 – Surface
I woke up in a daze, lying on the cold hard ground. I slowly got up, trying to remember what I was doing in that place. My eyes widened as I faced my own shadow. I knew there was nothing to fear about it, but mine was in a standing position towering over me, when it should have been sitting. I tried waving my hands from left to right, but my shadow didn’t even flinch. I blinked. I blinked a couple more times, wishing it was just my imagination. Even though it didn’t have eyes like me, I felt its stare piercing through my soul.
I peed in my pants with terror. Neither of us moved while I was still mortified. I found the courage to spring my legs up after a couple of minutes bargaining with myself whether to run or pretend I was frozen till it left my sight. I was about to run when I fell and hit the ground, diving into my shadow like it suddenly turned to a big sinkhole with unknown depths below. I went through it, warping to nothingness. I closed my eyes one last time, hoping to wake up from this terrible nightmare.
2 – The Enchanted Forest
When I opened my eyes, I was transported to a forest—or more like an enchanted world scattered with trees that had glowing leaves and flowers dancing in a cheery rhythm. I looked down at my feet that were standing on wet grass. But unlike normal green grass, I was standing in a bright, red-colored prairie. I scanned through the rest of the field and noticed the grass was in different shades of red—a few areas had pink-hued grass, red orange, red violet, and some even resembled the color of blood.
Then I heard someone humming. The voice was sweet like when my Lola Fe used to sing me a lullaby. I wandered through the forest, following the lovely voice. I went past the trees and found myself standing on a meadow filled with an assortment of colored flowers. As I walked further, I noticed that with every step I took, my feet felt a burning sensation.
The voice lured me deeper through the field, against my will. It was a force as strong as gravity. The grass grew into longer stalks, tying me to the ground, forcing me to lie on my back. I could not protest. I was paralyzed as I openly embraced the burns at the back of my skin.
I started screaming, cussing beneath my breath. I could hear my skin sizzling as though it was being roasted. The pain invaded my flesh, traveling through my veins. I just closed my eyes. Soon, the beautiful melody was replaced by a screeching sound, and I finally regained control of my body. I struggled to get up, wriggling the stalks that restrained my limbs. My instincts dictated that I turn my head to the forest I had just walked past. There was darkness covering the trees, moving closer and closer to where I was seated. In desperation, I decided to bite the grass off my right arm then the left, and untangled the stalks at my feet using both hands. I ran as fast as my feet could take me, looking back at the darkness every few steps.
It took the life of every plant it passed by. The colorful flowery field lost its beauty and turned into a black hole. I ran faster despite the pain—as if I was being chased by a speeding vehicle. But my speed still wasn’t enough; I was devoured by the darkness. It felt like falling into the sinkhole again. I just closed my eyes.
The screeching sound—police cars. Darkness—my old friend.
3 – The Fairy Cave
It felt like I would fall forever, but eventually, it just stopped. I couldn’t dare look around to see where I was, afraid that I would be faced by another terrifying nightmare. I tried convincing myself that it was over and I’d be waking up in the comfort of my own banig.
Liquid droplets ran down my face. Curious of what it was, I finally opened my eyes. I found myself hanging mid-air, floating. I jolted, trying to balance myself. Before I could even adjust to my surroundings, a thick, braided rope bound my arms to my torso.
I moved my head to face the creature behind me. I looked at it from head to toe. Its skin was muddy and wrinkled. It had long and pointed ears, chapped dark lips, and sharp fangs. Its eyeballs, which were pitch black, had the same fierceness as that of a hungry tiger ready to pounce its prey. With messy hair as if it never had a bath, its body was covered with dried blood, smelling like a rotten carcass.
It tugged the rope attached to my body, dragging me like a dog as it gradually walked into the deeper, more densely, rocky parts of the cave.
“Who are you? Why am I here? Where are you taking me? Release me!” I tried to question it.
“Oh, you’ll know. Someone’s waiting for you down there,” it answered, with a human sounding voice, entirely unfitting for its physical features. Before I could even ask what it meant, it pulled the rope down as we landed on the pile of rocks.
After a couple of moments later, the monster let go of the rope. “Oh yeah, I believe this is yours.” I thought it would hand me the thing properly, but it was tossed far from me instead.
I leapt to catch it, afraid that it might land on a hard rock and break. As soon as I got my hands on it, I fell into a small gap leading to a narrow tunnel, and I skidded down the cave floors. I couldn’t see a thing, but I felt my skin getting scraped as my body touched the mound of minerals below me.
I felt a gadget in my hand, trying to guess what it was and what it could do to save me. I pressed a button and it lit up in my hands. I remembered what it was—a mobile phone.
The lock screen photo—a woman I could sense I had met somehow.
4 – The Mystic River
I had bruises all over my body. I looked worse than someone who had gone through fraternity hazing. The fall had drained all my energy, leaving my arms and legs limp. Nevertheless, I still traveled for more than an hour. I knew I had to keep going, rather than die in that exact same place. I stumbled and even crawled my way until I came to a clear river. I could easily see a school of fish swimming a couple of inches under the surface of the water. I pulled up the sleeves of my hoodie and drank the river water with my bare hands.
In the middle of drinking, someone called out to me.
“Psst. Come here. Come closer.” I looked around to see who it was. “You want to go home, right? Come.” I turned my head to where the voice was coming from.
I saw a woman yelling for me to come closer. Her lower body was submerged in water, farther away from where I stood.
I walked through the knee-deep river, getting higher up my chest as I walked further. There was rumbling beneath the surface of the bubbling water, getting more violent as I reeled closer. The woman’s features became more vivid as I reached just a few meters from her. Her long ebony hair was let down, giving her a more seductive appeal.
I was alarmed by a cold hand touching my foot. I looked down to my legs, but there wasn’t anything below. The moment I returned my gaze at the woman, she was gone.
A set of fingers gripped my ankle and pulled me into the abyss. I tried opening my eyes, even with the currents of water surging to my face. I saw someone, or something rather, pulling me from below. I wasn’t able to actually see its face. Its figure was vague, but I was sure I saw its long ebony hair and familiar tail covered with moss and algae—a river nymph, just like how my Lola described it. I remembered her story about how they lured men and dragged them into the river; and how they were never found alive after that.
I couldn’t breathe, but I still managed to fight for my freedom. I kicked at my left ankle with my right foot. But instead of her releasing my ankle, she used her other hand to grab my right foot. I suddenly lost hope of survival.
I accepted my fate and let the nymph drag me into the abyss. The water was awash with my blood from the scratches and wounds inflicted on my legs.
Red-coated finger nails—scratching through my skin.
5 – Nymphasia
I regained consciousness. My head felt like it was being pounded on by a backhoe. When I opened my eyes, I was surprised to find myself lying on my back, facing a porcelain white ceiling. I shifted my body and felt the soft but wet mattress my body was rested on. I almost jumped out of the bed when I saw a couple of scaly human heads with snub noses, pitch black eyeballs, and bloody red lips. Their bodies were a form of dull-hued fish tails with multiple fins and shiny-scaled skin. Their teeth were sharp, and when they laughed, I could see their gums were filled with another set of sharp teeth as well—like a shark. All of their faces had a number of hairy warts on them.
They seemed to be calm, unlike the one that dragged me here. Some were brushing each other’s hair while sitting on huge rocks lying on the sea floor, others were waxing their own tails, and all of them looked as if they were singing. I saw their mouths opening and closing, but I heard no voice. I got up and looked around. I literally leaped when I realized the porcelain ceiling and floor were actually the insides of a giant clam’s mouth and the soft bed was its tongue—no wonder it was kind of wet. I walked around and bumped into something transparent. I turned to look at what it was—a glass bubble. I was inside a damn glass bubble! How did I even get here? What were they planning to do with me? I had no idea.
A nymph tapped on the side of the glass, startling me. I tried talking to her even though I knew well enough that she couldn’t hear my voice through glass this thick.
“Help me, please. Don’t hurt me. I just want to go home!” I begged, but she didn’t mind me. She just continued knocking… and knocking… and knocking… until the glass cracked. I screamed for her to quit tapping the glass. The bubble was breached with water, but she just continued tapping.
For every ounce of water coming in, the same amount of air escaped. The exchange of water and air slowly created a whirlpool that started small , getting bigger as more water came in. Before the nymph even completed shattering the bubble, the current took her as well as the other nymphs.
The vortex kept spinning, its current adding pressure to the crack in the bubble. The glass completely broke and I was again submerged in water. I tried swimming upward, but the current from the whirlpool sucked me deeper into it. My stomach twisted and turned as the eddy took me with its every spin. It took me deeper into the abyss.
“’Please, don’t! Don’t! Take everything. Here. Please, I’m begging you. Just don’t hurt me. Please. I just want to go home to my son.”—I thought I heard myself screaming, until I realized it came from someone else’s, a woman’s voice.
6 – Burning Land
The whirlpool eventually stopped as I hit the ground. It brought me to a scorching place—a desert, but even hotter. The water dripping from my wet body immediately evaporated, as if I was sundried for hours. The whole place was in a hue of red. It looked so familiar, like I had visited it before. I thought about it for a while. All I came up with were scenarios of a volcanic eruption I saw on television. Perhaps, it was.
Red—the color of her dress. Eruption—like the blood squirting from her sides.
The floor burned my feet. The air was too dry; it was almost impossible to breathe. I thought I saw water in the distance. I tried to move, but it felt like I was walking on live coal. Still, I went for it but the further I got, the farther it seemed. My legs were sore and my feet scalded. A couple of miles more, I finally saw a gigantic gate. I made a run for it, burning with every step. I collapsed as soon as I touched its metal railings. I hoped I was dead.
“Please… don’t”—her last words.
7 – The Fiery Gates
My memories flashed before me as I felt the gates of hell.
The wind was howling, carrying a lot of drizzle in its wake. In the middle of the night, while most people were in deep slumber, I walked down empty streets and dim alleys, trying to make money for my needs. This wasn’t the first time I had this kind of raket, me and my gang used to hunt here often, but that night I decided to go alone.
When I found the perfect spot, I leaned myself against the cold metal frames of a lamp post, waiting for prey to pass right before me. I kept my hands hidden, clutching a balisong knife underneath the pockets of my black hoodie.
It wasn’t long until a petite woman who was wearing a red dress walked past me. She staggered as she walked with her towering heels. Her long red-painted nails were constantly moving with the sway of her fingers as she pressed the screen of her expensive-looking mobile phone.
She was too focused on her screen that she didn’t seem to have noticed me following her footsteps. And there, I crept, waiting for the right moment to pounce on my unknowing victim. I took out my balisong, ready for action.
Not far from her last turn, I enfolded her from behind, tucking her arms between our bodies. Before she even realized what was happening, I freed my right arm and captured her muffled screams with it while pointing a knife at her. She tried her best to escape, wriggling and kicking her feet. She dug her fingernails and scratched my arms violently.
I told her, “This is a robbery. Don’t move!” I tried snatching the purse tucked on her right armpit. She clutched it tighter, but I still managed to forcibly take it.
I could not risk my identity so I stabbed her multiple times in the stomach, my left arm still hugging her body tight.
With her weak voice, she managed to plead, “’Please, don’t! Don’t! Take everything. Here. Please, I’m begging you. Just don’t hurt me. Please. I just want to go home to my son,” but I turned a deaf ear.
“Please… don’t’” she struggled making out her last words. I guess she died of excessive blood loss, but I continued stabbing anyway.
After, I immediately rubbed the blood off my hands using her dress.
*
The shadow, as I can now recall, was actually a police officer standing firmly in front of me, with his gun pointed right at my head. I looked him in the eye, as if challenging him to pull the trigger.
He pulled a walkie-talkie from his pocket and radioed his backup. I took the chance and sprang to my feet while he was busy talking over. I ran, not daring to look back. I knew he was running right behind me but he wasn’t shooting. Instead, I could hear him continually calling for backup over his radio.
I kept my pace, jumping over fences as he followed. I knew well enough that it was safer if I stayed low in the alleys, but I was panicking, and my mind was messed up. We continued the chase down to the open streets.
Screeching police car tires followed me as I dashed through empty lots. The police who was chasing me shouted words I was too hyped from running to understand.
Then, there was a loud bang. I staggered and fell right on the ground. I felt my left chest. Warm blood was dripping on my hand. Funny enough though, I couldn’t believe something bled in there. I had always accepted the fact that inside my chest was a hollowed space, right where my heart should have been. I never knew empty organs in my body could still bleed. I have committed so much crime in my lifetime; I guess this is a price I should pay. I had been in this raket since I was left to my Lola’s care. She was too old and weak, and I had to provide for the both of us. That’s how I started. As I grew older, I got used to the convenience that robbing unsuspecting victims offered me—fast and easy money, even if I had to kill. Plus, I became addicted to the thrill that each run gives me.
I closed my eyes one last time. I was imagining what hell might look like. Would it be burning like those prophets proclaim? Would there be a devil? Would there be a lot of tormented souls? Would I be one of them? I kept asking myself.
I opened my eyes and knew the answer. A man with the same height, face and figure as I did appeared before me. Our only difference was his flaming red skin, horns, and tail.
He shoved me up with his trident, leaving burn marks on my back, pushing me inside his smoking, pitch-black castle. He laughed maniacally as he saw my skin peeling off, revealing burnt flesh and bones. I opened my mouth to scream, but I could only let out a gasp.