Blackrift Gate

by Parijat Mukherjee

  Kendall hacked at the pedicle hastily, and made Rhett free. Just as he thought, it did not affect him at all that he lost his vital organs. He seemed to be much more free now.

  “How am I alive?”Rhett cried out.”Why am I alive?”

  “This place keeps everything alive I suppose.”Kendall said, looking at Rhett’s unnatural form.

  ”Though I do not know what to do now that I am still living..”Rhett sighed, looking at his remaining form, moving his only arm to his side. “I must thank you for freeing me from being merged with it…I guess.”

  “I guess we will have to figure that out later. What do we do about that?”Kendall said, pointing at the approaching vast shape that was slowly seemed to be growing as it was coming closer.

  “Nothing. That is the “Parent”, the source of all these evil things that made us like this..the unseen thing that had killed us all and sent us here to be merged with this tree…this evil-root I suppose? And now this Root is calling for the Source..the parent of these all… We can not stop it. “That” is coming here as this godforsaken tree-root-thing is calling for it…using us as bait.” Rhett looked at the growth with a vitriolic hate.”Still I came to know something from being one with this wretched thing…this may be of use to you.”

  “What is it?”Kendall said.

  “I am as good as dead if I go back, but you can still escape I believe, from the light of the top. That is the gate to our world, through which that unseen thing came to our mansion and sent us all straight to the messy root thing you found us in.“Rhett said, searching something near the parts where he was embedded in the growth. It was fast closing up with lots of tendrils interlinking with each other.

  “That light?”Kendall looked up.

  “Yes.”Rhett tore apart some of the thin tendrils, exposing the raw surface again.”That is the gate, through which this root maintains its ungodly link with our world, through which it had first sprouted the thing into the mansion. You go escape through it, and try to find a way to close the gate from there. That is the only way to save everyone from that devil thing from spreading to our world.”

  “I will try to do everything I can..but what about you?”Kendall asked as he started to swim upwards.”Would not you be coming? It is our land…if you are to die, it is better to return.”

  “I am already dead enough…”Rhett searched deeper into the raw surface, some of the tendrils trying to get back to him. He swang them away from his body.

  “What are you searching for?”Kendall said.”You want to stay here?”

  “I am alive here, Kendall.”Rhett said, burying his arm deep into the raw surface.”Now pull me out.”

  “What are you doing?” Kendall said.

  “Do not waste time!”Rhett groaned.”It wants me back. Pull me out. Now!”

  “Why did you again go back in that mess?”Kendall reluctantly went there, and with disgust, grabbed hold of whatever mass Rhett was formed by, and placed his feet on two sides of Rhett, who was again slowly being dragged into the raw surface by many thin tendril. Kendall made quick work of a few thick ones with his cleaver, and pushed against the mass holding Rhett in his arms. Rhett was pulled backwards.

  “What were you doing?”Kendall asked, displeased and rubbing off whatever slimy things were stuck to him.

  “I was looking for this.” Rhett said with a grim face. In his hand was a greatsword that was embedded in the alien growth, deep into the disturbing depths of merged alien tissue and human flesh.

  “I know what to do.”He said, looking at the grotesque mass with a murderous gaze. “I was killed, and I am still alive, so I will kill what killed me.”

  “I still think you should come with me.”Kendall said.

  “No.”Rhett shook his head.”Just promise me that my children do not end up in the streets. If there are any streets left, that is. That is one more reason I must kill it.”

  “What do you mean?”Kendall said.

  “If “That” reaches the gate it will end our world…end all the humans..”Rhett said, pointing at the horrific undulating mass on the horizon.” This evil-root-tree thing calls out to “That”..calls it here so it would pass to our world. I must kill this thing before “That” reaches here. Then maybe “that” will not find out the gate. It may be the only way to make everyone safe. At least that is what I can only do.”

  “You are a brave man, Rhett.”Kendall said.

  “I am no man anymore, Kendall.”Rhett sighed, looking down at his nether region.

  “You are more man than any other.”Kendall came closer, and reached his hand out to him.”And I promise that as long as I am alive, I will see that your children are cared for.”

  Rhett stabbed the mass with the greatsword, and shook Kendall’s hand.

  “That is all I needed to hear from you.”Rhett said.”I can now die and kill in peace. You go and stop Loudy. Remember, this gate must be sealed, at any cost.”

  “I will, Rhett.” Kendall said, tightly clenching the butcher’s cleaver, swimming upwards.”I will pray for your soul.”

  “Tell my children I died in some battle..Kendall.” Rhett started to float downwards, keeping his face towards kendall, smiling a dead man’s smile.”Do not tell them I became this.”

  “I will. Do not worry about them.”Kendall said.”Keep faith in the lord.”

  “There is no Lord here, Kendall. Only That, and us.” Rhett grinned, as he let himself fall backwards, sinking into the darkness as his back tentacles swang gently, taking him downwards.

  “Kendall watched his inhuman form descent into the strange half light of this place, like a specter.. which perhaps he now was, being already dead.

  The light upwards seemed to pulsate once as the mass sent out another wave. For some reason, it seemed like the light was vibrating and undulating. Kendall wasted no more time, and swam fast towards it.

  Chapter 15

  Rhett looked at the looming mass in the horizon. He was not feeling as horrified as Kendall while seeing it. In fact, it looked quite attractive to him, to go into it and merge with such a magnificent being! Such joy. He shook his head. Driving away the alien thoughts bugging him. Though his half alien body now instinctively craved weird things, he knew what he needed to do. He swam effortlessly down towards the root of the grotesque mass, as various limbs and protrusions moved towards him. Some were human limbs, some barely identifiable anymore.

  One of the legs touched him, as if it wanted to draw his attention. Rhett stopped, and looked at it. It was a rather good looking feminine leg, and somehow it felt familiar. It was coming out from a large bulge of tissue that was pulsating and throbbing, and there were a pair of eyes on it. Two jointed tentacles reached out to him from the mass.

  Rhett came closer. The eyes almost appeared to have some intellect left, and maybe, a hint of utter despair, as the remaining humanity was being eroded out from it’s leftover mind.

  “Dorothy?”

  Rhett was shocked. Dorothy was one of the prettiest maids of Sir Houston’s workers, and had a lot of servants and soldiers revolving around her. Almost every man in Sir Houston’s house had known Dorothy quite intimately. No wonder she felt familiar.

  The jointed tentacles waved again.

  Rhett took his sword and cut around whatever he thought belonged to the eyes and the leg, freeing it from the mass. The mass clung to him with the tentacles. Rhett felt strange. His tendrils started to quickly mingle and entangle themselves with this mass’s, and for a moment, he started to feel it as an extension of his body, though he could also acutely feel another mind within it, extremely thankful for being freed.

  Rhett worked fast with the sword, and it did not take long for him to cut it out.

  The grotesque chunk of alien mass swam as fast as possible into the darkness, wriggling its tentacles and dangling its leg underneath, in the opposite direction of the approaching horror in the horizon.

  It almost felt like it waved at him while going away.

  Rhett
looked at it go, and turning his head, looked at the approaching menace. He chuckled, and had a brilliant idea. But he had to test it out. After some time spent in selection, he cut a stout arm for himself. It soon grew roots in his body, and in a few moment he was moving it around. He swang his sword gleefully, driving deep cuts into the alien flesh, and sending quivering pulses through the body of the entire structure. Then, he took his time picking up some other parts, including a choicely penis with scrots, sticking it where it should have been for him. After that, he swam down to the root of the tree like structure.

  There, he saw the mass emerging from the ground of the floating islandlike place. There were other things growing here too, slender thing that slithered into the space, like long algae under the sea. They did not look harmful to him, so he inspected the growth itself. This grew from some weird looking place where something was written on the ground. What language it was he had no idea, since he could not read much anyway, but somehow in his half alien state he felt that these looked familiar. He shook his head, and tried cutting around the thick roots that went into the ground. Sword was not the best for this job, still he had little other option. And apparently, this grotesque mass was not as hard as wood, in fact, softer than human flesh itself.

  The first slash cut nice and deep, sending a wave of most repulsive squirming into the mass. He could see the appendages wriggle and thrash around, clutching at the empty space. A strong pulse of energy went out from the growth, calling out to its approaching target. Rhetts thoughts blurred for a moment. His alien instincts wanted to just move into the grotesque mass. But there was this repulsive whitish liquid coming out from the thick root, and the whole growth seemed to be in agony. The sweet taste of revenge made him feel good. He grinned viciously. The calling pulses kept on thrumming in the space, but Rhett did not care. He chopped and stabbed at the roots like a madman, not caring about the approaching horror, that was ever getting closer.

  Chapter 16

  “Why did you bring us here, Loudy?”Houston asked as they stepped into the cellar near the kitchen. Marie was close by him, looking at the huge barrels of ale and other beverages standing in the cold darkness of the cellar, and the darker gaps between them. It was silent in here.

  “Because this is the only place safe sire.”Loudy said.”I have prepared it. Come here quickly, before the miscreants of outside breaks in. We have a lot to prepare.”

  Sir Houston and Marie followed Loudy to the end of the cellar in the light of the lamps in hand of Loudy and Marie. Here, they stopped before a black rope, on which various threads of different color were tied in stange manners.

  “Stay safe, sire. Do not cross this rope under any circumstances before I tell you.” Loudy himself crossed the rope and went to the other side, where the wall of the cellar had receded into a crack, on the other side of which the bricks sank down in a bizarre, unreal manner, as if they had faded away. The abyssal blackness gazed at them from the crack, or the rift in world as it may be called.

  “What is that?”Houston said.

  “A tear, a gate into our world, sire. Through this that bastard thing came into your mansion.”Loudy said as he put down his sword and lamp in a corner, and started to lay down a series of strange candles from a black bag he dragged out from behind a small barrel kept on the other side of the rope. The barrel was filled with some pungent liquid, some of which was spilled over the floor, giving out an obnoxious odor in the closed space. The candles he was laying down did not seem to be ordinary ones used in church either. They were made of a reddish dark material.”

  “And what are you doing?”Sir Houston said, uncomfortably looking around the cellar.”It is a pagan ritual, is not it?”

  “Only to keep you safe sire! And to defeat that thing of course.”Loudy said, finishing up laying down the candles.

  “How come you know these things?”Marie asked, frowning.”If you know all about these why did not you trust us when we said we were being attacked?”

  “Shush, maid! I am not going to answer to you.”Loudy hissed.”I did not certainly expect this to be happening. I have to know many things to keep my master safe. Stay in your place now.”

  Loudy engaged in lighting the candles one by one, and chanting something in an obscure language. The flame of these peculiar candles were reddish too. As he was lighting them, the smell of the spilled pungent liquid on the other side of rope seemed to lessen to a great degree for some reason.

  “Come sire! Come with her to this side of the rope.”Loudy called them after he lit all the candles.”This side is safe now.”

  Strangely, they were stopped by an unseen barrier as they tried to cross it, as if a glass wall was put down just before the rope.

  “Loudy, we can not pass through! There is something invisible in the way.“Sir Houston said. “What have you done? What sorcery is this?”

  “Why, I am only doing what I must sire!”Loudy looked most astonished as a mocking grin filled his face.“I am just doing this to serve my master! Can not you come onto the other side of this little rope?”

  “No I can not.”Houston said sternly, grabbing his sword. “Explain yourself at once.”

  “And what if I did not?”Loudy mocked him again.”Would you attack me, your most trusted and loyal retainer for this little reason?”

  “You are no longer my retainer it seems.”Houston tried to thrust his sword on Loudy, but the invisible barrier stopped it. Houston smashed the pommel of the sword on the barrier again and again. There was no sound, but the barrier did not budge.

  “No use sire! Too many have given their lives for this barrier.” Loudy said. ”But please do not mind. I only did this to keep myself safe until my work is done. You see, I have to ensure my master’s glorious arrival.”

  “Who is your master?”Sir Houston said.

  “Why, my master has no name, or at least no name you can speak of sire!”Loudy said.”But I will make you both meet him..or her. My master is no man sire, and is not a woman either, but our tongue is so, so limited to describe all of master’s glory! Master is our true savior. You see sire, my master must be called into this gate, and to call him we need a lot of…things.”

  “And the things were us, was not it?”Marie spat at him.”You bastard! You lying bastard!” The spit stopped in the air, rolling down the invisible wall.

  “Now that you know all this, you must know how it ends, sire!”Loudy said.”Be prepared now, sire. Your carriage to the other world has arrived! It will take you both to the glorious Yigg-Root, where you shall become one with the others, and call out to the master!”

  They heard a slushing sound coming down from the cellar door, blocking the way.

  Sir Houston readied his sword and shield.”Stay behind me.”He ordered Marie.

  He was sweating and his grip on the sword trembled. This thing took out all his guards. What good would he be alone? He was not extraordinary in battle anyway, and can this unseen thing even be harmed?”

  “What Valor sire!”Loudy mocked from the other side.”I would sing a ballad of yours when this world would turn to ashes.”

  “Why are you doing this?”Sir Houston cried.”Did not I treat you well?”

  “Oh you have treated me best sire! You are a good lord.”Loudy said as he started to disrobe. “You see, I am doing you all a favor. I am doing this world a favor. This world is a prison sire! Everyone suffers here unnecessarily. Even you sire! I am freeing everyone. Me and my kin have always known the truth, but now this will not be only for us. When my master will arrive, everyone will know the truth and we shall usher in the real freedom!”

  “You are a raving madman!”Houston cried as the sound of unseen liquid approached down the way between the barrels.”Call this off, I will spare you and send you to get the best therapy possible, I promise!”

  “I will pass, my lord. I will pass.”Loudy laughed maniacally. He was stark naked, and now in the strange candlelight they could see all of his skin was covered in various tattoos and
marks. Scripts of unknown language was filling every inch, and there were figures of horrible monstrosities.

  “You see, sire; I have been preparing for this day for long. All of those who know the truth shall now finally rejoice as we will get true freedom of our soul.”

  “Good lord! Sire, the thing approaches! “Marie dashed to the right side of the path, towards the barrel, away from the approaching sound of water.

  Sir Houston did not pay any more attention to the madman, and instead thought about trying to flee to the entrance by dashing on the other side of the barrels.

  “Sire! I know a way which may save us.”Cried Marie, as she was opening up a barrel.”I think I was saved by the water in the tub. This thing does not like the water of our world. Open all barrels!”

  In a primal instinct of survival, Sir Houston ran to the left side, and smashed a plank stopping a huge barrel of ale with a ferocious force. He then reverse gripped the sword and went onto the other one next to it. Ale gushed out of the barrels immediately, flooding the floor. Marie already opened the cork of two barrels on the other side.

  There was a writhing, otherworldly sound from an unseen thing that seemed to create waves in the flooded floor. It receded from the ale that was quickly spreading over the floor. It was receding to the door, to slight relief of Marie and Sir Houston.

  Loudy frowned and started to chant incantations, spreading his arms to his sides, keeping his back towards the rift.

  The receding slushing sound turned again. It continued to writhe and cry out in otherworldly voice, but it still approached over the flooded floor, making ripples and splashes that could be seen in the light of the lamps and the candles.

  Marie looked at the invisible barrier. The ale did cross it. The floor on the other side of the rope was dry, and the level of ale stood right before the rope, as if there was some glass wall.