With a sigh, Norbert looked down at the ground, pulling the coin from his pocket. “I better not be a dead man walking.”
Slipping the coin back into his pocket Norbert turned around and examined the room he was now trapped in.
Slowly looking up, he saw steps, one after the other, leading up toward a goblet on the stone slab. To the side, pillars half cut out of the stone, two on each side, purple veins glowing throughout them. The purple veins reached out to the ceiling and connected up there, creating a criss-cross pattern that slowly faded to black. In the centre of the room above the stone slab a hole in the ceiling; what could have once been a skylight or a chute was now just a path to darkness.
Resting his eyes on the stone slab above the stairs, Norbert carefully stepped up one at a time. Looking on the ground to ensure he didn’t step on anything, Norbert made his way up the steps.
Clack, clack, clack.
Each time he took a step, his feet hit against the floor, no matter how lightly he tried to step, the jingling of his backpack as he went further and further up into the air. Several steps later, the only sound in the room was his own; he was upon the stone slab. Whipping the dust from the top, his fingers felt notches and indents flowing into the side.
Examining it, he could feel them wrapping around the entire base of the stone structure. Slowly walking around the structure, Norbert looked back, feeling like it was some writing that was once on the stone. “Not like I would ever know the language here” Norbert dismissed the writing, looking further into what was sitting above.
Looking once more at the receptacle, he peered inside, slowly looming his head over, the glow stick next to it, providing some light. Down at the bottom, it reflected some light from the glow stick. Peering further in, a liquid rested, barely enough for a spoonful. Slowly moving the glow stick closer, Norbert examined the liquid.
The liquid swirling within itself, some parts darker than others. All the same colour as the purple light in the trees but muted somehow. The small piece of light winking out, slowly getting smaller and smaller, reaching into his pocket. Norbert took out a leaf, twirling it between his fingers, indecision on his face.
To add a leaf to the liquid or not, to drink it or not.
Still twirling the leaf around, Norbert started pacing around the stone altar, realising that it must be—looking around the room once more, seeing if there was another way out except for the door and the hole in the ceiling. Looking around, he could find nothing, the only way out of the room not bared being the hole. But that was as useless as ever, as Norbert could not reach the centre of the ceiling as there was nothing to attach the tiny bit of rope to. With annoyance Norbert flicked the leaf into the goblet, watching as it slowly fell into it.
With a flash, purple escaped out of the goblet. Norbert stepped over and looked down, the leaf still floating on the surface, now surrounded by light. Any part of the darkness within the liquid disappeared, only showing a single colour, purple, bright and almost pulsing with light. With each pulse of light, it slowly darkened again, taking further and further the darker swirls returning. Removing the rest of the leaves from his backpack, Norbert dropped them in.
Once more, encasing the room in light, coming out of the goblet and into the hole above, Norbert looked up, unable to see where it reached, the tunnel completely straight, only the light fading off due to the distance. Looking down at the liquid, Norbert held his breath, excitement building in his stomach.
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
For when there was once only a tiny bit of liquid left, now the goblet was nearly complete. The smell wafts off it, so enticing, reminding him of home, of pizza from Bobs, the hunger of a ravenous beast consuming him, becoming a predator waiting to have its last meal. A death row inmate with the steak in front of him that he has been missing for years, to finally have one last bit of mouth-watering greatness before the darkens ensues.
Slowly, ever so slowly, so slow that Norbert didn’t even feel him moving, his hand dipped into the goblet and the liquid. Ever so slowly, he moved it back to his hand, not wanting to spill the single drop on it. With a shaky hand, Norbert raised it above his head, tongue out to catch the drop. As it started forming and was about to fall into his mouth, impatience consumed him, not wanting or caring about any honour or respect; like a snake for the jugular, his finger darted to his mouth, the purple liquid touching his tongue.
A flood consumed him, of sights, tastes, and smells all filled him. All the good he had ever had washed through all his senses. Birthdays sitting down blowing out the candles, eating the cake, time with family and friends, asking the first crush out, passing exams, graduating from school, Santa giving the toy he wanted for Christmas, wood fires around the family, camping out, taking off on an aeroplane, the smell of pizza just before it touches your tongue.
It all flew by him, coming around and getting more powerful each time until suddenly it stopped. He was standing there again, finger in mouth and nothing more to do.
Looking at the goblet, wanting another taste to be satiated, he stepped over, panting over the top of it.
With a struggle, he picked the goblet up, a rumbling in the background but no care to Norbert. He brought the goblet to his lips with the utmost care and slowly tipped it in. With each gulp, he felt it crawl down, his mouth once more filling with the liquid, happy he was experiencing it.
As he drank more and more, the hand holding the goblet started to shake; with effort, he lifted his left hand as well, clasping the goblet between the two, holding it steady, as the last of it slowly came out now, his legs gave out. Dropping to the floor under the weight of his body and the backpack, he rolled down the stairs, the goblet bouncing after him.
Crash
Crack
BANG
It sounded with every step, pain shooting through Norbert’s head each time. Until finally stopping, it started to roll, sounding like a boulder coming towards his head; Norbert, using the last of his energy to control his head, tilted it towards the open goblet, looking inside on the top was a single last drop. Despite his mind screaming NO at him his body didn't respond, leaning his chin forward Norbert extended his tongue, as long as it could go, trying to get that last drop, the pain in the rest of his body getting worse and worse.
His arms jerking, toes curled up and uncurling, tightening his legs, all his hairs standing on end, but Norbert only cared about that last drop. As the goblet slowly approached him, reaching his tongue, it rolled around again, facing away. With a tear in his eyes, the full effect of his body, all the pain Norbert could put back, entered his mind, taking everything out.
Staring up at the ceiling, Norbert let out a single tear and slowly raised his hand to touch the sky; he could see his hand. What had once been normal veins glowing purple, the same liquid now pulsing through him. Each pulse moved further along his body, away from the central veins, and the darkness after each pulse was all-consuming. Norbert dropped his hand down, waiting for the end to come, for the pain to stop at least.
His prayer had been answered in a flash of light, once more surrounded by darkness, unable to see anything, entirely consumed by the pain. When the light came, he looked again at his ceiling; on his bed, the backpack was no longer with him, just him lying down. As he slowly fell into his mattress, the pain was forgotten, but only briefly before it came back with a vengeance. Once more, he wholly tensed his body, all parts slowly moving in and out without his will, gripping the blankets in fists and pulling them towards him. A tear light once more surrounded Norbert; with a whimper, he was once more surrounded by darkness, unprepared for the pain coming on the other end.
As he landed once more in the stone room, the goblet that caused all of this. As the pain once more racked his body, the taste of bile came to his mouth. Norbert slipped out of consciousness, the only way to escape the pain.
The room was also changing; lights were slowly coming on, feeding off the drop and life was breathed into the chamber, unbeknownst to the man spasming on the floor.