Chapter Two
Visions of sharp teeth were all
I saw before gradually waking back to consciousness. I opened my eyes, looked
around, but saw nothing except darkness; my heartbeat quickened with the
thought that I might be blind. All I could hear was the distant sound of
dripping water. I didn’t feel any temperature, or had any idea how long I’d
been asleep. The air I breathed had an acidic aroma. I knew I was lying down,
fully clothed, and the bedding felt like a mixture of dirt and straw. My senses
flooded with what had happened to me at the cliffs edge. It could have been a
dream, but it seemed so real. I tongued my teeth for sharpness and felt my
neck; I had my answer when my finger ran over two small bumps
A door flew
open behind me filling the area with a dim light. I rested on my elbows and
faced the voices before a silence fell. ‘He’s awake,’ someone said. The sound
of footsteps grew louder as the silhouetted figures neared and became more
visible. I squinted from one to the other hoping to see her again, to ask her
why; but I didn’t see the face of the woman who had had such an impression on
me.
I had no idea who these people were. I counted six of
them as they sat down close by and stared in my direction.
‘Victor,
isn’t it?’ I looked at the man who’d asked me the question. His large frame was
sat on a chemical barrel.
‘Yes. Where
am I?’
‘How do you
feel, Victor?’ a strange looking lady asked; her hair was spiked, and the rings
in her ears and nose sparkled.
‘Hey. One
question at a time Gabriela, we do have all night.’ The first man said. He
seemed annoyed, but filled me in on a few details. ‘Well… it’s good to see you
awake,’ he said before standing up and pacing close by. ‘
‘This
building was once used for chemical storage, that was decades ago, and we’ve
been using this place for years to keep away from the dangers outside.’ His
pacing ceased before he continued. ‘I’ll introduce you, as I can see you’re
wondering who we all are. Victor, I’m Frank, and this is Kane, Drake, Nicholas,
Gabriela and Silvia.’ Everyone sounded friendly as they greeted me.
My hand
brushed over the two bumps again. ‘I wouldn’t worry, you’re nearly healed;
there’s only a slight scar there now,’ Frank said; he was right.
‘How long
have…?’
‘9 days…
and you have a lot to learn my friend,’ Frank said before sitting back down on
the barrel, and laying a hand on Nicholas’ shoulder. ‘Can you take over,
Nicholas?’
‘Victor,
I’m a senior here and… well, I look after the others, I help them with certain
decisions. There’s something you need to know before it’s too late. You’re not
one of us, not fully,’ Nicholas said before standing up, clasping his hands
behind his back. ‘Right now, you’re in limbo; you’re not what you used to be,
but you’re not one of us either.’
‘You mean
V…?
‘Yes,’ he
sniggered, ‘of course I mean Vampire,’ he confirmed before sitting back down.
‘Sylvia, do you want to fill our new friend in on the rest? I didn’t get any
out there tonight; I’m tired.
A new voice spoke with a soft tone. ‘This is all you
need to know, Victor. This limbo that you find yourself in really is a blessing,’ she said. It didn’t feel that way to
me. I felt agitated, but intrigued. I was just about to say something, but she
held a finger to her lips. ‘You don’t need to ask, just think of a question and
I’ll give you the answer.’ I nodded in response. ‘It takes two weeks, maybe
more, for you to fully change. The blessing is that you can still mingle among
the living, you can eat and drink what you used to, and you can go and visit
old friends and work colleagues. But, more importantly, you can watch the
sunrise.’
‘Are you
OK?’ I asked as a tear ran down her cheek.
‘I’m sorry.
It’s just… I really miss it, that’s all.’ Everyone either nodded or made an
agreeable sound. I went to test Sylvia’s ability, and as soon as the thought
entered my head she answered. ‘No, they won’t be able to see, hear or feel you,
not when you’re in limbo. Once limbo ends, light will become your biggest
enemy. Take my advice, Victor: go and see your family and friends one last
time; you have been missing for 9 days.’
The door
creaked open as someone entered; the figure walked towards the group with such
elegance. She glanced at me and smiled before sitting down close to Nicholas;
embracing him in her arms. ‘I see he’s awake,’ she said before they kissed.
‘He was
awake when we got back.’ They both sat staring at me without saying anything
for a long time, making me feel uncomfortable. I needed to get outside, to get
some air. The effort to stand up was futile, I felt as though I weighed a tonne
and slumped back on the bedding.
‘Give it
time, Victor; your body just needs to adjust. You’ll be fine in an hour or so,’
she said. I looked at her again and thought.
‘My name’s
Violet, it’s almost 5:30 am,’ she confirmed. ‘And, by the way, the sun will
start to rise in about half an hour. I urge you to go outside and enjoy it
while you can; it’s something we used to take for granted, but when you can’t
see it anymore, you’ll feel a painful sadness when you know it’s happening out
there.’
The painful
experience of standing up was over, and I had to decide what to do next? ‘Go
and enjoy it, embrace its beauty Victor, for as long as you can,’ Gabriela
suggested.
In the slight
light outside I saw the state of the place for the first time. Rotten pallets
decaying where they were once stacked, dozens, if not hundreds, of used
chemical barrels scattered around, and the ground was damp and muddy without a
single blade of grass in sight.
Leaning
back against the wall, I thought about my family: I wondered how they’d been
coping since my disappearance. Were my boss and work colleagues saddened? Did
they actually care?
Leaning back
with my hands in my pockets, I watched closely as the sun rose up. It was a blissful experience, and I felt guilty for
never finding the time to truly appreciate it before. After working out my location I began the long walk back to my
previous life - to pay a visit to those still living.
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