Blackrift Gate

  Gepetto took a step forward.

  Mephisto clenched his teeth. The force increased on Gepetto. As he was feeling weaker, his vision faded, and the only thing he could see were the intense pair of eyes of Mephisto. Still he held his ground. Shaking, trembling before the power emanating from the evil wizard like a leaf against a storm, but still holding hard to its stalk.

  “Insolent ghost! It is useless! Stop wasting my time!” The crystal at the end of the wand glew brighter and another violent push of unseen energy pushed Gepetto back several inches. The tentacles touched his back.

  Gepetto cried out in an otherworldly pain, as he felt his mind break. The draining of his mental power, slipping sanity, intense dullness, all in a fraction of a moment.

  And then it stopped. He could feel the thoughts of the creature. He could not understand most of it, but he could feel the hate, the vengefulness of the creature towards Mephisto. It was not a dumb creature. There was something disturbingly human inside its inhuman appearance. It was aware that Mephisto was exploiting it. It did not like him. And it had a plan for Gepetto, and he hardly had any say in it. In a moment, he became a part of its plan.. His mind was not broken further, but he could intensely feel the need of laying in wait, feeling of a hunter from the void that hides in the prodigious chasms and crevices of unseen masses that float in the primordial darkness, waiting for its prey, suddenly pouncing on unfortunate victims and draining their life essence to nourish itself! Ceterum Sanguis! That is what Mephisto had been draining from it, at the cost of countless humans. Gepetto could not fathom how Mephisto was able to capture such a being, but there was a keen sense of betrayal coming from it, and the wanton, inhuman vengeance and hate. Gepetto’s limbs went flabby but he also understood what he had to do. Mephisto walked a bit closer, pushing Gepetto a bit further into the tentacles, and reached out to adjust a tube attached to the creature side of the creature. He pulled it out, and picked up a new tube from the floor, the other end of which went into another metal pot. He possibly wanted to put this new tube in its place, to collect the essence of Gepetto when it would be sucked out by the creature, but right at that moment Gepetto got his power back, and then some more. The wand of Mephisto was within his reach. Possibly, he was already certain that Gepetto had become a harmless, mindless husk. Even if he was not, it was doubtful if he could have done anything to it as a ghost. But at this moment, he was filled with inhuman voidic energy, and he grabbed the wand and yanked on it. The crystal burned his hand, but he kept pulling. Mephisto was grabbing the wand pretty tightly too, so he was pulled closer as well. Closer, close enough for the tentacles. For a moment, Mephisto looked at Gepetto in sheer disbelief and shock.

  In the fraction of a second, the creature left Gepetto and its only free tentacles wrapped around Mephisto. They seemed to be digging into his flesh.

  He let out a bloodcurdling scream, and in a reflex to push the tentacles away from his body, lost his grip on the wand, which Gepetto was already trying to wrestle out from him. As soon as Gepetto got the wand, he dropped it on the floor. The crystal was burning his hands.

  “Give it back to me! Give it back!”Mephisto cried out with a horrified face, desperately trying to stoop down and grab the wand, which was out of his reach.

  The tentacles driven in the back of Gepetto had withdrawn. As soon as he was freed, Gepetto sprang out of the reach of the creature.

  “Give it to me! Help me, I will help you!”Mephisto begged, reaching out his fingers to the wand.” Anything you want!”

  Before anything he could do, the tentacles grasped the wand, inhuman strength almost crushing the handle, driving cracks through the material. In the next moment, the wand and the crystal was pulled under the body of the creature. Mephisto gave out a hopeless shriek and fruitlessly clawed and kicked at the creature, cursed and begged it to give the wand back. The creature did not seem to mind. The destroying of the wand seemed to have increased its strength. It yanked at the chained and tentacles, freeing itself by breaking some of the chains or tearing through its own tentacles.

  Mephisto was crying in pain and cursing, and trying to chant some spells, but the creature mercilessly pierced his body with its tentacles and pulled him closer. Mephisto flung his limbs in desperation, and Gepetto watched in horror as many shadows started to float into the room.

  “Help me! Free me from it!” Mephisto reached his hand out to the shadows.”I will free you all! I will return all your memories!”

  But they all stood there silently. Witnessing the demise of their master.

  The creature was sinking into the floor somehow. Along with Mephisto. It was going into the watery bath it was sitting in, which Gepetto now realized was just an opening to some deep chasm.. maybe a doorway to hell, or some other place even more forsaken and forbidden by God.

  Gepetto ran away into the next room, and quickly grabbed the bottle he felt familiar sensations with. He found Mephisto had left this room open, so he took the bottle with him. Mephisto’s apprentices were panicking and running around. From the horrified disbelief on their faces, most of them did not seem to know what exactly was going on in the workshop of Mephisto. They were busy fleeing the compound. Gepetto was not sure if Mephisto would be able to survive what he had seen. He just wanted to get out.

  As he was getting the bottle out of this mansion through an open window, he found a few shadows following him. He ran as fast as possible and shook them off from his tail. Soon he was back at an alleyway in Vermont. He was not feeling tired, but mentally exhausted. He placed the bottle carefully beside him, and rested. After a while, he picked up the bottle affectionately and kissed it, smiling, and went on his way.

  Chapter 6

  Soon he was back on the steamboat back to Tirki. He had carefully hidden the bottle in some dirty clothes and some empty barrels lying at the bottom of the boat, and as the boat reached Tirki he waited long till late night, so that he can take it out without letting the guards see it. It was not hard for him, since the guards were already half drunk and their only job was to see that the boat itself was not stolen or harmed.

  Gepetto ran with the bottle towards Pellosi. He did not fear anymore. He knew there would be no more shadows waiting for him. Still he wished if he could return faster.

  “If I could fly!” Gepetto thought, and found himself to be floating. He laughed and floated higher and higher, and dashed towards his home village.

  He dropped to the ground as he reached his village so everyone do not get to see a floating bottle.

  He passed the village gate. Moonlit paths of the familiar roads greeted him.

  He rushed past the shops and houses. He passed Alvaros inn. He passed his shop. He felt his imaginary heart thumping again, as he neared his house. He went past the waist high fences behind his house, and passed the bottle through an open window to his Peters room at the back of the house. Peter liked to watch the moon.

  Peter was sleeping inside. Moonlight was falling upon his bare chest, all ribbed and rickety. Soon he is going to be better, though he was never going to see his father again. Gepetto wiped away his tears. At last. His last duty to his son. He did it. He won.

  He wished if he could take the blanket and cover his chest.

  Should he touch his son? At least he would know what he was thinking! Maybe he would feel him.. maybe see him in his dreams! And the next day, he would see the bottle on his table. He would know. He would understand. He is a smart boy.

  Gepetto carefully, very gently touched his chest.

  Nothing. No thoughts. It was silent. Gepetto stood still.

  It was then he realized that Peter was not moving. He was not breathing. His body was paler than usual. The posture was not right too.

  Late. Too late. Gepetto wailed for the first time. The pain was unbearable. Even more than what he had experienced when he was being attacked by the otherworldly beast. He collapsed to the ground.

  “Hello Papi.” He raised his head as he heard a familiar voice. It was
meek, apologetic.

  Peter came out from the shadows. He looked calm. Healthier. As if he had grown up without disease.

  “Yes, son?” Gepetto looked up, his eyes tearful.

  “Sorry, Papi. I failed.” Peter came closer. He was in tears too.”I tried hard, but I was getting weaker and weaker…and then I slept..and when I woke..”

  Gepetto grabbed him and drew him close to his chest. His voice was breaking as he caressed on his back.

  “I am dead, am not I, Papi?”

  “Don’t say that. Don’t think about it.”Gepetto wept and muttered.”It is not your fault. I should not have left.”

  “You are dead too?”

  “It does not matter anymore.”Gepetto caressed his son affectionately.

  “What will happen to us now, Papi? What shall we do?”

  “Want to go to the beach, son?” Gepetto’s voice broke as he said these, weeping.

  “Why not, Papi? I always wanted to go there. Would you take me there?” Peter’s eyes sparkled.

  “Sure I will, my boy! My child! My son!” Gepetto said as he remembered the countless nights they had been talking about it. Him and his son. In this very room.

  They got out from the home.

  After a while, they were seen near the beach. The sky was clear tonight, and stars filled the entire firmament. Phosphorescent waves came washing the sands.

  “It is beautuful!”Peter said, sitting beside Gepetto.

  “Yes it is.” Gepetto ran his fingers through his hairs, ruffling them.

  “Why did you bring that here?”

  “I liked this bottle.”Gepetto sighed.

  A shadowy figure came forth. From the bushes, it came staggering and shambling and stumbling through the air.

  Gepetto turned around and stood up. The shadow stopped. Gepetto held up the bottle.

  “You came for this?”

  The shadowy figure said nothing.

  Peter hid behind Gepetto.

  “Papi, what is that thing?”

  “Nothing to be afraid of, Peter.” Gepetto came closer and opened the lid to the bottle.

  The shadow stood close to it. Shimmering lights floated out from the bottle, dancing around the figure, being assimilated into it like thousands of faint fireflies.

  The figure started to glow brighter and brighter.

  Gepetto breathed in deep. He could smell the wild roses again.

  “How did you know?”

  Sisilia asked, as she regained her form.

  “Mama?” Peter came out from behind Gepetto and ran to Sisilia. She embraced him as he buried his face on her.

  “Who else would follow me? Besides, I had understood how the shadows came to be, so I realized if the dream was true you must have become one yourself.”Gepetto said.

  “Thank God you had grown some intellect after death.”Sisillia smiled.”I am sure you would not have figured that out when you were alive.”

  Gepetto smiled and came forward, wrapping his arms around them.

  “But now, I do not know what to do.”He said after a while.

  “Come with me.”Sisilia smiled.”To our home.”

  “Where?”Peter asked.

  “Out there…beyond the stars and the horizon! Come..come with me. “Sisilia floated upwards, holding hands with Gepetto and Peter.

  “Are we going to heaven?”Peter said, his eyes open widely.

  “It is a broken heaven, my dear.”Sisillia smiled.”A place for us human souls that we have wrestled out from the things in the void. A broken heaven for our orphan world. Come, you will see it all.”

  Soon, three dots of faint light flied away into space, away from the world of the living. A night bird cried out in the sky. An owl, hooted as it returned, satisfied. Far away, a dog howled up. And the world of humans continued sleeping, oblivious to other little things.

  About the Author

  The human form of Parijat Mukherjee is known to be a doctor with masters in Anatomy, usually found living in the foothills of Himalaya with his family. He can usually be successfully lured out with coffee. He has a passion for writing, good food, and mysteries of the world. When he is not busy teaching medical students, or dissecting cadavers, he is usually sighted writing his stories, or more often procrastinating about it. Often a few cats are seen around his habitat. He is presently working on the second book set in this same world, further exploring the bizarre anomaly that lead to this world to turn out like this. He has many other writing projects at work including a grand fantasy series.

  You can connect with me on:

  https://parijatverse.wordpress.com

  https://twitter.com/parijat_verse

  https://www.facebook.com/Blackrift-Chronicles-100506512177369

  https://www.instagram.com/parizat1000

  Also by Parijat Mukherjee

  The Second Book of the Blackrift Chronicles is under work. The subsequent books dive deeper into the mysteries of the Orphan World and the voids, and a very strange man.

  Legends of the Old Water

  Newfound knowledge changes the life of a prehistoric tribe, but it also brings with it new problems. Both inside and outside the tribe, trouble brews in the horizon.

  A few prehistoric people must brave the winter away from the tribe, but sinister things have been paying visit to them.

  Waering family secrets are slowly unraveled and curtains are lifted over a weird history. Old Lord Waering was said to have died after a period of insanity, but is that even reliable now? These and some more stories are brought in the second book: Legends of the Old Water.