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Chapter 23: Pyramid
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Darkness Chapter 24: Glass
As I followed Remi, the pyramid grew taller in front of us. The weird leaves seemed to part before us as we jogged towards the blocky entrance. Remi's dark figure slipped into the blackness of the rectangular opening. I slipped as my foot hit the first solid surface of brick and down I went on my hands and knees. My tote bag slapped my shoulder and slid down to the floor.Remi turned around and hauled me to my feet, righting me. My vertigo swam for a moment before my eyes adjusted to the new light.Remi laced my fingers with his and started us down the main hallways. There was no light source, but the surfaces seemed to reflect light just like the leaves and the bark in the forest outside. It was the oddest sensation. The walls were covered in pictographs, but they were outlined in multiple colors of light. It was beautiful. They weren't Egyptian style, but they were similar in how they told a story. It was almost as if it was a time line as we walked down the hall.I saw a sword. M
Darkness Chapter 25: Mirrors
I crossed the blocky entrance and climbed the stone spiraling steps to the next level of the pyramid. Once we passed the threshold, we came to a dark room lit only by self-illuminated mirrors. There were thirteen six-foot tall mirrors arranged in a circle. I stepped into the center very carefully, looking around me to see if there were any darts or weird traps like in the movies. I breathed out a long breath when nothing came flying out to attack me."Are you sure that's a good idea?" Remi asked behind me.I waved my hand at him. "Hush. Let me figure this out."In the mirrors, I saw the next threshold. I looked around at the rest of the dark room. Remi was walking around the backs of the mirrors."Do you see anything else?" I asked.I couldn't see him in the darkness but his deep voice growled a negative response.So, it had to be the mirrors. I stepped forward to the first one to the right. I saw myself. As I looked around at the other mirrors, I saw a few that showed the correc
Darkness Chapter 26: Lenses
We reached the top floor. I came to a halt as a giant pane of glass blocked most of my path. I stared at it for a minute. Remi let out a sigh and leaned against the hallway wall."I think I see it," I said."See what?" He asked.I squinted and leaned closer to the glass. "I think I see the sword. It's blurry and really small, but I think that's it." I peered at the dark pointed shape in the center of the glass. I inched around the pane to examine the rest of the room. Large spherical lenses sat on pedestals with wheels. On their sides were tally marks. In the floor coming straight away from the glass was a groove where it looked like the pedestals locked into place.I remembered this from optics class. I knew exactly what to do. I started to push the convex lens that had three tally marks on it."What are you doing?""Just stay there." I said. "Let me know how the images changes when I push this into place."I wish I could make out his expression, but I took his silence as accep
Darkness Chapter 27: Escape
I followed Remi up the last spiral staircase to the top of the pyramid which was actually flat. With my new sense of eye sight, the teal leaves of the trees and night sky above was fantastically beautiful. My eyes locked on three dragon almost flying dinosaur type creatures. The screeched and circled around the top of the pyramid. Their talons extended towards me as they descended and dived at us.One came right for Remi and I realized he couldn't see it. "Duck!" I screamed.He dropped and rolled to the side. "I think you mean dino," he said with a huff as he flattened down on the ground."What ever gets you out of the way." I circled around holding the sword up in front of me. "I take it I have defeat these things?""I think that would be a good guess.""Any idea how I go about that?""Well, I don't know. Maybe trying swinging that huge sword at them?"I looked out at the sword in front of me. It had grown to at least three times my height. I blinked in surprise. How was I even
Darkness Chapter 28: Dinner
I woke to excited screeches from the front room. I blinked the sleep from my eyes and wondered if it was a parakeet being murdered or my possessed roommate. Mila burst into the room. She seemed almost back to her usual self. "Kira, come out. Come meet my dad! He's brought stuff for us!" She vanished with a flip of her blonde hair. I rubbed my temples. What the hell was going on? The last thing I remembered was falling into bed around noon after taking a really long shower. I reached under my pillow where I found a black knife. I wondered how that had gotten there. I stuffed it back under the pillow then dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. I took a deep breath then prepared for my first encounter with my real father.I crept out of my room and leaned against the hallway wall with my arms crossed. Here he was, the man I should talk to just arrived in my apartment. A nagging feeling pulled at me deep in my gut. Was this somehow Remi's doing? Was he forcing me to follow this trail? I alre
Darkness Chapter 29: Memory
I trudged out into the sunshine. The afternoon sun lit the street. People passed. Weird things passed. I was still seeing the crazy. Or the unknown. I wasn't sure which side of the fence I was on yet. I walked a long ways, trying to get away from it all. I wasn't going to jump off a bridge this time. Wait, I remembered that. My head stung with pain. Why were things so complicated? I just wanted a straightforward answer. I felt like so many things were being kept from me. I walked on. I could go back. Maybe Matei had some answers. Maybe we could work all this out. But, no. I was too angry. He knew. He knew the whole time. I didn't need a liar like that in my life right now. Maybe never. I wasn't ready to let him in. I kept seeing shadows under the trees. The little ember blinked in and out of my peripheral vision. I wasn't in the mood. I avoided the shade. I didn't want to talk to that liar either. I knew he'd just smile at me and I would forget all my anger.I took the path down to
Darkness Chapter 30: Nexus Point
On my walk back to the apartment, I read through the paper. It had a list of ingredients, a drawing of a pentagram with mathematical looking symbols in it, and, as would be proper for any insane black magic spell, a chant to go along with it. However, to my surprise, it was in English. The first task was to find a nexus point. Scratch that. The first task was to figure out what the hell a nexus point was.It was still before sunset, so I took a detour to the local library. It was small, but still open. I nodded to the librarian at the desk as I walked past the entrance. There weren't many people around, or other "people" either. I did see one with pink skin, but she looked fairly normal. I hoped she didn't catch me staring.I sat at one of the computer desks. It had a flat screen monitor, one of those all-in-one PCs, a small mouse, and keyboard. Once upon a time, I too had a computer, but not recently. I had to pawn it to pay rent a few months ago. I logged in under my library userna
Darkness Chapter 31: Store
I kept my steps lively as I marched down the street towards the store. I only needed a few things. I jammed my hand in my tote bag and fished around for my wallet. I had twenty dollars and some change. That should be enough for some campfire food. I ducked into Grocer Outlet. I knew I shouldn't be here, but it was the cheapest place to get food.I darted around the aisle to avoid eye contact with my manger. If I was careful, I could get out of here without getting seen by anyone that would rat on me. I sunk in low as I waited for the manger to pass."What are you doing?" Angie asked.I nearly jumped out of my skin. I knocked several cans of beans from the shelves as I danced around in an awkward spin to avoid stepping on them and to get a better look at the intruder trying to blow my cover."Shut up," I breathed. "I'm trying to be covert here."His stony face stared at me."What are you doing?" He repeated."Why do you care?" I whispered harshly. "I'm not in any danger so piss o
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