Gateway to Astria - Part 1

by Isaiah Gray

Chapter 4

  There was something about the small alcove that daunted your spirits. I was slightly disgruntled, my weapon gave me a stronger sense of security. I approached the door slowly and came to a halt right in front. I bent over and grabbed the handle and pulled up harshly. My body was prepared for it to whip open with ease. Instead I think I pulled something in my shoulder yanking on the locked door. Biting my lip, I tried to stretch out the tension in my shoulder. I don’t know why I expected I would be able to just walk in.

  I took a deep sigh and examined the door. My thought process was abruptly interrupted by the sound of a few “thud”s and scuffles. I didn’t bother turn around; I just figured Resh tripped or something. The ground here wasn't exactly smooth. I squatted down and gave a shove around the edges, seeing if anything was loose. It was perfectly sturdy despite being extremely wet and damp. Again more background noise was heard, this time followed with a giant splash. “Resh! Will you stop fooling around and-” I turned around and didn’t see what I expected…

  Resh was standing looking at me, holding a sopping wet boy by the ankle, clothed in crude black rags. He was coughing water up from his lungs. It was a funny, peculiar sight to see him hanging upside-down in such state. That wasn’t much of a hassle, as the boy was a skinny fellow. He stood based on Resh’s height, roughly less than six feet tall. His torn, dirt stained jacket was too big for his slender body.

  “Well, what have we here?” I stated, curious how this came about.

  “Let me go!” the boy said, flailing his arms at Resh. In response, Resh dropped him to the ground and yanked him up to his feet, standing upright now. The boy looked exhausted, Resh on the other hand looked like he barely broke a sweat, and besides a small slit of blood close to his shoulder – was completely unscathed. It was almost like a semi-circle around his arm.

  “He attacked me with this.” Resh held up a silver sickle, a longer handle with a hooked blade, which must have hooked around Resh’s arm to give him the cut.

  Resh tossed it aside. The sharp ring when the blade hit the ground echoed in my ears. The clamor created from the object hitting the ground sent the same sound throughout the alcove, at least I thought it did. Regardless, I felt a piercing ringing in my ears, something I’ve never felt before. The pain it created wasn’t like other pain, it felt like my brain itself was being tortured. My thoughts briefly hazy, it took me awhile to collect my thoughts, but a high pitched noise continued in my ears.

  I shook my head briefly and walked towards the boy, examining him. Something about him screamed that he didn’t know what he was doing wielding that thing. He looked like one of those kids who would mess around pretty much anytime he got a chance.

  “What’s your name?” I asked as I tapped my ears; it helped calm the ringing a bit.

  “Something the matter Natalia?” Resh asked.

  I shushed him abruptly; he flinched like it surprised him. I’m not sure why, that’s what he gets for asking silly questions. I’m perfectly alright… I told myself.

  “Natalia? That’s your name?”

  “I asked first.” I snapped back.

  “John Smith”

  I raised an eyebrow. “That’s really what you’re going with?”

  “Why does everyone always say that!?! My first name is John, my last, Smith!”

  “Really?”

  “YES, REALLY!” He yelled. His yell heightened the ringing in my ears again.

  “Shush! Talk softer, will you?”

  “What? Like THIS!?!” He yelled again. It spiked once more.

  “Gah!” I hardened my grip on my gun and slammed the butt of the stock into his face. He yelped in pain and gripped his nose. I motioned for Resh to drop him, he immediately let go and he fell to the ground. “Geez lady! What is wrong with you!?”

  “You tried to kill us, a slam in the face is the least of your problems.”

  “Oh, Gosh… I think my nose is bleeding!” He moaned and wiped some blood away that was running from one of his nostrils.

  I turned my attention back to the boy. “How old are you.”

  “Why should I tell y-“

  “How. Old. Are. You.”

  “16, most people say I uhh… look older than that though.”, He brushed his hair back and straightened up. I’m not sure if he was trying to look more mature or something, but it didn’t work very well.

  “You’re a terrible liar. Your overconfident and the hesitancy shows it.”

  “No I’m not!”

  Resh after watching the conversation unfold, finally chimed in. “Don’t argue… you’ll get smashed again. Besides, you are a very terrible liar anyway.”

  “Hey! Who’s side are you on!” The boy remarked to Resh

  “Hers… Why would I take yours?”

  “Uh, no reason, I just have always wanted to say that.” He stared at the ground and scuffed his toes in a slight embarrassment.

  “Alright, 13…” I changed the subject back.

  “No way! I’m 15… Sheesh.”

  “14” I replied again.

  The young boy kicked the dirt in frustration and grumbled something about annoying adults. "Yea..."

  “Who sent you?” I asked. The interview began.

  “Nobody, it’s my dad’s watch night. But I’m in his place, he’s off…. you know.” John pretended to be chugging a drink. It wasn’t hard to figure out what he was getting at.

  “So…” Resh started. “You have watch nights?”

  “Yup.” The kid replied. “I live not too far from the entrance here. I honestly never got why they wanted a guard here. Regardless, the guard is paid to kill on sight.”

  “So why would the Golden Voice hire a single person to guard?”

  “The Golden who?” John responded.

  “This isn’t their headquarters?” I asked; a single eyebrow rose.

  “Headquarters? Who says that anymore? Are you peoples military?” John remarked. He looked up and down at Resh. “Well, I know what he is…” he boy chuckled and spat at Resh’s feet.

  Resh’s eyebrows narrowed and his whole stature tensed. I could see he felt like taking his anger out on the boy, but thankfully he didn’t. I still had questions.

  “Maybe I am, maybe I’m not.”

  “Right. Don’t ask, don’t tell.” He made jazz hands in the air before looking at Resh and grumbling. “Can you let go of me? I ain’t going anywhere…” Resh looked at me for approval as John piped up again. “I know better than to cross you guys. I already was thrown into the lake once.”

  I sighed and nodded to Resh, who set him down. John shrugged Resh's hand off of his own shoulder and took a few steps sideways, spacing himself. “So what are you here for? You don’t look like anybody else I’ve seen.”

  “We don’t?” I inquired.

  “Nope, nobody down there has wings… everyone I know hates wing people. Are you from Australia?”

  I could see Resh chuckle. “No, Astria.”

  “Oh… right. I’ve never seen one of you before.” He examined Resh closely, walking around him in circles. “Hmmm…”

  Resh chuckled and tightened his wings back behind him before letting out a smirk. With a strong flap of his wings, he sent a current of air towards John. He was lifted off his feet and thrown back onto his rear end.

  “Owww-what the? That was awesome?” He said getting up and rubbing his back and rear in pain. “I wish I could do that…” he continued.

  Their words started to drown out, I tapped my ear again, this time it didn’t get any better. Soon I couldn’t hear a single thing but slow constant drip of water from a stalactite. I whirled around in its' direction as it startled me. I tried to see if I could see where it was coming from, but it was dark. To make it worse, the ground started to spin. I turned around and looked at Resh and John talking and neither of them was moving. It had to be all in my head. I had an idea of what was happening, but there was something about this place that was different.

  A thick blac
k mist started to seep through the walls, yet Resh and John were doing nothing. It was happening again.

  I tried to fight it, but the mist just crept towards me, the edges of the room were disintegrating into darkness. The mist burned away anything in its path. I took a few steps away, but it was behind me also. Sweat poured from my forehead. My breathing slowly deeper. With every second the beats of my heart became farther and farther apart.

  The mist thickened to a wave of black, tangling itself up my legs, the higher it reached the weaker my legs became. Gravity doubled in strength, and it felt like I was hit in the back of the knees at the same moment. The harsh, rocky surface cut open my jeans at the knees.

  All my senses were slowly disabling: I couldn’t feel my own arms, the air was odorless. There was not a chirp in the air. And the darkness was all around. Though all I could see was the pitch black around me,the black itself felt alive.

  Until, a small glimpse of hope appeared as a white light. It started faint, only a few feet from the reach of my hand. Slowly it grew stronger and closer…

  And closer.

  And closer.