11.
On my way back to the apartment after school, it was once again pouring heavily. The skies were a deeper shade of gray, and the time was quickly approaching late evening. Thunder rumbled, lightning flashed, And I was seemingly the only one outside walking home at that hour. I held an umbrella over my head, which now made two umbrellas I had to return back to the school's student supply by the end of the week. I had just begun walking passed a dark alley when all of a sudden, I heard someone, or something, call out to me.
"Boy."
Startled, I came to an abrupt stop then turned to look over my shoulder. There was rain, and empty sidewalk, and a quiet and lonely road. But there was no one there. Suspecting I might have simply imagined the whole thing, I refocused my attention on getting back to the apartment. However, I barely made it a few steps before I heard it again.
"You. Boy."
This time I stopped and turned around completely. There was obviously someone trying to get my attention. But as it was, I couldn't see anyone. It was quickly getting dark; I was seemingly still the only one left standing outside in the rain. For a second, I thought it might have just been the whispers rising up from inside the back of my head like they normally did. There were times in the past where the whispers got so loud I thought There was an entire crowd of people standing right behind me. But something about the voice I was hearing in that moment sounded external. And I only just took my medication a few minutes before leaving campus, so it couldn't have been the whispers.
"Hello! “I called out. "Is anyone there?!"
There was the sound of rain. But there was no reply.
"Hello! “I called out again. "Is someone there!" I asked, starting to get a little frustrated. But there was still no reply. I was just about to give up, ignore the person completely, and go home. But then,
"I am here."
A disembodied voice suddenly spoke out to me, causing me to nearly jump out of my skin. It sounded like the voice of an elderly man, weak, but still familiar. Realizing where the voice was now coming from, I quickly spun around and came face to face with the entrance of the alleyway. "Hello!" I called out to the stranger. "Are you in there?! Are you hurt?! Do you need help?!"I was still feeling a little jittery about the whole situation, but I just needed to ensure whoever was calling out to me wasn't in some kind of medical emergency.
Once again, the reply wasn't immediate. While I stood on the lonely sidewalk with an umbrella over my head, waiting for a response, I stared intensely into the alleyway desperately trying to see through the darkness. But I couldn't. It was almost like a thin layer of blackness stood shrouding the entrance, And I was never going to be able to see what was on the other side, not unless I was willing to...
"Come forth. Step into the darkness." said the disembodied voice of the elderly stranger on the other side. "We don't have much time."
"What?!"I asked, confused. "Who are you?! Where are you?! Why can't I see you?!" Once again, I was shocked at how familiar the stranger's voice sounded, but I was too much in a panic state to figure out where I might have heard it before.
"We don't have much time." the voice of the elderly stranger repeated, much quicker this time. "You must step into the shadows. Now! Before she finds you."
Scared and confused, I was frozen in place for a minute, not really sure What else to do. On the one hand, getting as far away as possible from the voice and the Alleyway should have been my number one priority, but for some reason, I didn't. In that moment, I wasn't really frightened at whatever was inside of the darkness of the alleyway, calling me inside. I was more frightened at whatever was standing outside with me, that the voice was trying to warn me from.
"Wait. What do you mean?! Who is looking for me?!"I asked, still standing in front of the alleyway, still the only one left alone in the streets. I briefly turned around, terrified, and began searching my immediate environment for any signs of danger. That's when I saw it.
Up on a rooftop some couple blocks away, was a bird. The same bird. Amber colored eyes, disheveled black feathers. It was perched on the roof of an apartment complex. Looking at me. I remembered seeing it outside my classroom window the day before. It must have been following me. But why.
Still watching the thing, a terror began forming deep within the lower parts of my chest. Then, without warning, the strange bird gave an impossible hawk like shriek as it spread opened its wings and free fell rapidly down the length of the building. Towards the ground.
For a second, I thought it was not going to make it. I thought I was just observing an abnormal looking bird carrying out an abnormal suicidal freefall. But then, at the very last minute, I watched as black smoke began to erupt from the body of the thing, rapidly consuming it and trailing behind as it fell. And just as it was several inches from nose diving into the pavement, I witnessed as its entire body exploded in a fine mist of purple and black smoke, which then showered onto the sidewalk an instant later.
For a moment nothing happened. There was just the sound of rain, the rain itself, and the sound of my beating heart. I had almost completely forgotten about the voice in the alleyway, I had almost completely forgotten What part of the now darkened city I was even standing in. I was just so transfixed on the purple and black smoke swirling on the sidewalk several yards ahead of me, I didn't even care for my safety, or whether what I was looking at was real or not. Then, after what felt like a small eternity, a face finally emerged at the center of the now quickly dissipating smoke. It was the head of a woman. With bright red eyes, and an evil grin stretched across her lips. I couldn't believe it.
As the reality of my situation struck, something in my head finally clicked and I wanted to get out of there as fast as I could. I wasn't dreaming. Terrified, I began to move backwards towards the entrance of the alleyway well I kept my eyes trained on the crimson eyed woman standing in the street across from me. As if reading my thoughts, Akuno, the shape shifting demon who only ever existed within my nightmares up until that point, responded to my retreat with a smirk, before shape-shifting into a nightmarish horrifying creature an instant later, taking on the form of a massive black wolf with razor sharp teeth, a powerful muscular build, and a pair of glowing amber colored eyes.
I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
Then, while still glaring at me, the monster began growling before, without warning, suddenly burst into a sprint down the street right towards me.
I croaked.
At the sight of the massive creature galloping its way down the street towards me, I was suddenly unable to move any part of my body. I was in shock. Frozen with fear. My mind completely blank, my heart thumping in horrified anticipation of getting mauled by the creature. Was I dreaming? Did I somehow fall asleep in the class and was now having another one of my many nightmares? So many thoughts were going through my head at that very moment, desperately trying to make sense of everything that was happening. But then, at the very last minute, just as the creature sprung into a dive towards me with its claws out stretched, two red beams of very powerful laser energy shot out from the eyes of the stranger standing behind me and struck the creature square in the chest, sending it flying backwards and crashing back down in the middle of the street.
What the hell was happening?
"Come with me boy." The strange and yet familiar elderly voice from earlier suddenly spoke out to me from behind, and I snapped out of my horrified state before turning around to find a figure I recognized. It was the old man. Dressed in his kimono styled white robes and straw hat.
Again, what the hell was happening? Why were aspects of my nightmares suddenly occupying my waking world.
"She won't stay down for long." said the old man who was still standing in front of me, gazing at the massive wolf creature which was still laid down on its side in the middle of the street. Two streams of steam were billowing up from the wounds in its chest, from the points where the lasers had found meat and struck home. Although the old man looked relatively the same as he always did from my nightmares, his eyes were now a charged red from the lasers, and his skin was turning black in certain parts of his exposed body. His neck, arms, feet, chest, and a portion of his face. Also, just as it was from the horrific dream I had the previous night in Teenyma’s apartment, he was now missing his left hand. Almost as if it was sliced off at the elbow.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
However, in his left hand, he held an ancient mystical object I recognized almost immediately the second I saw it.
The spirit sword.
"Quickly. Come. We don't have much time." the old man said, turning around and taking off running straight through the darken entrance of the alleyway. I hesitate it at first, still having difficulties processing everything that was going on. But when I turned around and found the beast behind me had started to wake and shake off the effects of the laser blast, my decision to follow the old man into the shadows of the alleyway suddenly became that much obvious. Whether I might be dreaming or not, I wasn't ready to find out by letting Akuno tear me to pieces. And so, with my mind made up, I turned around once more, and with my backpack on, I ran after the old man, right through the darkened entrance of the alleyway.
…
12.
We went through a series of turns and corners, moving deeper into the part of the city I did not recognize, and getting as far away as possible from the shape-shifting demon I was hoping had not fully recovered and was not coming after us. I still had so many questions on what was happening and why any of it was happening, but any and all attempts at having my questions answered by the single-handed samurai running in front of me had gone without a reply. I was confused, scared, and frustrated, and I was gradually beginning to hear little whispers emanating from somewhere inside the back of my head. But I couldn't risk stopping to take my medication right then, so I kept on running.
Eventually, we came to a stop in another dark alley as the old man began coughing violently and we were unable to move forward. Immediately, I lowered my bag and reached in for a water bottle which I then handed over to him. But he declined. "Poison." he said, showing me the back of his left hand where the blackness on his skin was actively spreading. "Water is not going to help." he added. "I don't have much time. We must do this now." He arranged himself so he was now sitting on his knees in the middle of the alleyway, with his sword, the spirit sword, laid out on the ground between us. I utilized the brief window of peace to quickly take my medication, and as soon as I was done, I was finally ready for him to start answering my questions.
"You. I know you. But how? Who are you?" I asked, trying my best to remain calm despite knowing a massive demon wolf could be on top of us at any moment. "Who was that? “I pointed behind me, in the direction of said demon wolf that I secretly hoped wasn't anywhere close by. "Why did she attack me? Why has she been following me? What is going on? “I briefly waited for the old man to reply, but he didn't. He just sat there quiet; head lowered; eyes fixated on the sword in front of him.
The spirit sword. My breath was almost entirely stolen at the sight of it. It was long, dark, and sharp at the edges. Its cross guarded hilt was long enough to accommodate for a two-handed grip, and a singular round crystal sat at the center of the handle. In the chaos before, I was unable to get a good look at the sword. But now, I couldn't believe I was once again, gazing at an aspect of my nightmares I've always thought to be just that. A dream.
"The realms are in peril." the old man Suddenly spoke out, snapping me out of my gaze and ignoring all of my questions. "I have failed to carry out my duties as the samurai, and because of that, darkness is sweeping through the lands and corrupting everything in its path. “The old man lifted his head up to stare directly at me, just as lightning flashed and thunder rumbled overhead. "I don't have much time." he continued, coughing a bit. "So, pick it up." He glanced at the spirit sword laying on the ground between us, and I was momentarily thrown away by his demand.
"What?!" I asked, confused and a little frustrated. "You answered none of my questions! Who are you?! And what the hell is going on?! Why is there a monster after me?!" The old man was quiet for a moment while it continued raining all around us. It was well past 5:30 at this point, and I could only wonder what might be going through Teenyma's head now that I was running late again. Last time was a blackout at our school which caused the school to dish out an additional 2 hours to every class in order to catch up on missed work. Now what was I supposed to say. Sorry, but I was held up by a monster from my nightmares somehow come to life in the middle of the streets and was trying to kill me? No matter how you put it, I was slowly proving myself to be both unreliable and mentally unwell. And that made me angrier than afraid at everything that was going on.
"Answer me!" I yelled out to the old man, allowing my desperation and frustration to carry out through my voice. "Please.” I begged. "Just tell me. Why is all of this happening to me? Why is any of it happening to me?" There was a brief moment of silence as the old man still wasn't responding. Instead, he just sat there in the middle of the alleyway, head lowered, staring at the spirit sword in front of him.
"Pick it up." the Old Man repeated, once again completely moving past everything I had said.
"What? “I asked disbelievingly. "Didn't you hear anything I just said?"
The old man waited for a little while before responding. "Pick it up." he repeated yet again, and this time, I was unable to hide the venom in my voice.
"No! “I yelled out. "Why the hell should I? It's not like you've answered any of my questions so why the hell should I do what you asked me to!" If the old man was affected by my sudden outburst, he did not show it. I on the other hand, was enraged. I had an annoyed look on my face, I was breathing heavily, And I had both my hands balled up into fists beside me.
"You will pick up the sword because," the old man said, still gazing at the ground in front of him. "Because, it is now your destiny." He lifted his head up to stare directly at me, and before I could react or voice my confusion at everything he was saying, he continued speaking.
"The nightmares. The whispers. The voices. The hallucinations and moments of complete memory loss. I know you experience these things. Just as I know you also frequently experience dreams where it is as if you are living some other person's life and memories. “I was momentarily stunned at how correct he was at his assessment, so I listened attentively.
"I know these things about you because, I've experienced them myself. And the reason I experienced these things, is because of who I am. But the reason you experience such things, is because of who you will be. Who you must become." I had difficulties understanding and following all of what the old man was saying, but he just kept on talking.
"There is not much time." the old man said, coughing violently. "You must pick up the sword now." His one remaining hand was almost entirely black, and the insides of his eyes were quickly turning a sickly yellow. "The poison." he said. "It's almost at my heart. I have but a few seconds of life left. So, you must do this. You must pick up the sword, and carry on with the task." I had no idea what he was talking about. I had never been more confused before in my entire life, like I was in that very moment. I had so many questions, I had so many concerns I wanted to talk to someone about ever since all the shit began happening to me 9 years ago. But now, to have the only person who could potentially provide me with those answers die in only a couple minutes after meeting him, what unfortunate luck of mine.
"Boy." the old man spoke out after some time had passed without me saying or doing anything. "I understand your hesitation and reluctance to act at this very moment." he said. "All this must be foreign to you. And strange." he continued. "But also understand this. Your entire life is about to change and not for the better. Demons like that shape shifter out there are going to start coming after you more often, putting not just your life at risk but also the life of your loved ones as well." An image of Teenyma suddenly appeared in my mind at that very moment as the old man continued speaking, causing the sense of dread already gripping my chest to tighten even further.
"You are a part of something much bigger than yourself." the old man continued. "You always have been, but just didn't know it. An unbelievable amount of power resides within you, waiting to be unleashed. And those who want that power for themselves, are going to try and take it from you at any means necessary."
I don't know how long I stood there speechless, eyes wide and gazing dumb-stricken at everything the old man was telling me. I couldn't believe anything he was telling me. I didn't know how to. Some part of me at that very moment still wished, hoped, and prayed I was somehow dreaming and none of what was happening was real. Because I just couldn't believe any of it. I just couldn't. The old man. The spirit sword. Akuno, the shape shifting demon trying to kill me, these are only things I see and experience within my nightmares. So, I had to be dreaming. I just had to.
Just then, tiny particles of flake like dust began floating off a side of the old man's body, and I realized in horror what was happening.
He was disintegrating.
"No no no. Wait. You can't go. “I said, still desperately hoping for answers.
"I'm afraid I have no control over that." the old man responded calmly, despite knowing half of his body was now nothing but tiny particles in the wind. "It is my time."
"But I still don't understand anything. “I cried out. "I still have so many questions." The old man was still rapidly disintegrating, and half of his body including parts of his face, was now completely gone. And as the rest of his body followed suit, he said to me with his last breath,
"Pick up the sword and we will meet again. Only then, will all this become clear."
And just like that, he was gone.
For a moment, I didn't do anything. I didn't move, I didn't speak, I didn't blink, I didn't even think. My mind was blank, And I just had my eyes fixed at where the elderly stranger once sat on his knees. Obviously, there was nothing there now, just empty space and tiny particles of dust on the ground being swept away by the breeze. If it weren't for the fact that the old man had left something behind, I would have easily convinced myself that I must have hallucinated the whole thing. But he had left something behind.
The sword, the spirit sword, was still laying on the ground in front of me, exactly how the old man had left it. Taking a second to carefully consider my next action, I allowed the last words of the old man to echo through my mind, guiding me to eventually make the decision to walk forward and pick up the sword. If there was even a slither of chance that I was going to see him again, I had to take it. And if that meant getting myself involved in some otherworldly and bizarre ritual, then so be it. Plus, if picking up the sword was going to somehow guarantee that Teenyma will be out of harm's way, then I honestly had no other choice.
Now standing alone in the dark alleyway, I briefly closed my eyes and took in a deep breath, before opening them back up and exhaling. Not giving it a second thought, I made my move. Clutching the umbrella over my head and my backpack over my left shoulder, I walked forward and bent down to pick up the spirit sword, but hesitated and reframed from touching the hilt at the last minute. My life was about to change. That much was obvious. But according to the old man, it wasn't about to change for the better. In fact, it was the opposite. But what if picking up the sword had some connection to that. What if my life becoming a lot worse was as a result of accepting these "tasks" the old man had mentioned, but not explain? I wasn't sure about anything, and I was never going to be sure about anything. Not unless I got to speak with him again.
And with that, my decision was final. I reached out and placed my hand on the cold hilt of the spirit sword laying on the ground in front of me, and I was not at all ready for the sensations that followed an instant later.
I don't really know how to describe it. But if I was to try to put it to words, it was like a shock. That's what it was. Like a jolt of electricity traveling up my hand from the hilt of the sword, up my elbow, through my arm, passed my shoulder and into my back, spine, and head. Then came the images. Flashes of blood, fire, slaughter, and destruction Suddenly came flooding into my mind and showed no signs of stopping. Then came the voices. The screaming. The wailing. The shouting. The suffering. It was quickly becoming too much.
I immediately removed my hand from the handle of the sword, and all at once, the sensations stopped. I tossed the umbrella aside and back crawled on my hands away from the thing, keeping my eyes locked on the sword the entire time. I couldn't tell what had happened, but whatever it was, I really wasn't looking forward to experiencing it all over again. But then I remembered, the only way things were eventually going to make sense, the only way I was going to see the old man again and finally get some answers, was if I picked up the sword as he requested. So, with a reluctant but renewed confidence, I braced myself, readied my mind, and went back to pick it up.
And I did.
For like 2 seconds.
Before a sharp pain suddenly shot through my skull, causing me to let go of the sword and collapse on the ground a second later unconscious.