“Yeah this is all lovely and dandy, really it is but can we not forget that our friend just picked up my car with his bare hands…with us in it! What are we just gonna act like that never happened?!” The other two looked at Jaime with concern as his words hit home.
“So what do we do from here then?”Asked Adam. Jaime turned to him with confusion on his face, as he rubbed his head. Josh then butted in with an idea.
“Look, let’s just enjoy the rest of the night. Only us four know what happened. Tomorrow we’ll try to make some sense of everything when we’re all sober and in the right state of mind. But right now I just wanna celebrate winning the finals and get smashed, and in turn smash something, if you know what I mean.” He smirked troublesomely. Jaime didn’t like the idea of his words but knew what Josh was saying was the most logical course of handling the situation they were now involved in. They all agreed.
“Right on that note, I’m gonna find me some booty. See ya later fellas.” Josh bopped over to a group of girls and into his usual routine. Adam looked at Jaime, “drink?” Jaime nodded in unity. They headed to the kitchen.
As the party went on the four friends found themselves ending the night differently. Josh climaxed in true jock fashion and left with a beautiful cheerleader.
Adam shared a taxi back to Jaime’s. During the car ride, he explained to Jaime how he used, what he called ‘simple’, mathematics, trigonometry and trajectory to win the beer pong competition. They stayed up into the early hours theorising until they eventually passed out amongst a mess of books and documents.
Andrew spent the rest of the night with Louise. They danced and drank into the early hours of the morning. As the hours wound down, they found a quiet space and relaxed on some bean bags, talking all night jumping from subject to subject. Their conversation had no focal point, no steady manner of order and there was never an awkward silence in-between. They simply enjoyed one another’s company. So much so that they talked themselves into exhaustion and inevitably crashed out, surrendering to the concoction of tiredness and alcohol.
Louise lay across his lap. She was the first to slip away into the land of the sandman. As he adjusted himself for comfort Andrew looked down at her seemingly motionless body. He ran his fingers through her long curly golden locks smiling to himself. His touched stirred her and she curled up to him some more, feeling content and secure enough to rest peacefully. He fought off his heavy eyelids for a few moments to watch her sleep, only to eventually succumb to them and slip away into slumber himself.
His body relaxed and his mind fell into a deep, intense sleep.
CHAPTER 6
He awoke to find himself alone. He looked around and he was still in the frat house but all the party-goers had left. Looking down, he was startled by the absent body of Louise. Screaming out for her, he became unsettled when he didn’t receive an answer in return. Concerned he hopped to his feet and perused his surroundings and found everything was still where it had been from the night before. The DJ set up was still there, the pool was covered in floats, even the ping pong table was still set up. Red cups littered the floor and hall way as his feet kicked through them. Andrew searched every room one by one. As he became more disturbed to find no one was present in the house, his calls for Louise quickly changed, as the fact that he was completely alone began to dawn on him.
“Hello?” His voice echoed through the house. “Hello? Is anyone here?”
His heart began to beat faster as he started to panic.
“Where is everyone?” he whispered to himself as he ventured upstairs. Again he checked the rooms one by one. He politely knocked on the bathroom door before entering. However, no reply came. As he opened the door, the site that beheld him left him in a state of confusion. It was an identical replica of his bathroom at home.
Hesitantly proceeding in, a bemused look was generated by what his eyes were seeing. How could this be his bathroom? He was just in the Alpha Gamma house and now he’s at home? Scanning the bathroom trying to piece together how he had come to get there, the door suddenly shut sharply behind him. Turning around in panic, he darted for the door handle. Gripping both hands around it, he pulled as hard as he could to open the door, but to no avail. It was shut firmly. Again...his heart began to race.
Looking around, he tried to find something that would assist in his escape. Searching the cupboards frantically, his focus was only disturbed by the sound of the door clicking open, by itself. It slowly creaked open. Cautiously he edged his way to the exit but noticed something was different. The hallway of his frat house was no longer there. His eyes were instead met with pure darkness. The sheer sight of this fathomless shade produced a fear in him that he had never felt before. Backing himself up against the sink he tried to muster some bravery to approach the doorway.
Come on Andrew get it together. You can’t stay in this bathroom forever, he thought to himself.
Slowly he edged towards the shadowy portal, unknowing of where it would take him or what was inside it. As his mind filled with dread a minuscule part of him was intrigued as to what lay ahead. Fear of the unknown had mixed his emotions. He ebbed closer, carefully. Suddenly chains rushed out from the darkness and ensnared his arms. They were black in nature, hot and smoking. He screamed in agony as they burned into skin, his flesh melting around the heated metal. As they wrapped around his forearms and became taut, they began to pull him towards the impending black hole that was before him. He resisted with all his might as they pulled him closer into the darkness. It took every ounce of his strength to stay positioned, but he grew fatigued and could feel his footing beginning to slip. Sensing his impending failure, one more chain shout out from the abyss and entangled itself around his neck. Writhing in pain, the smell of his own burnt skin filled his senses. He fell to a knee and attempted to give one last stand but as he observed his arms, he noticed something was happening. A hideous metamorphosis had begun. The black taint that stained the chains seemed to seep into fleshy wounds of his burns and were slowly contaminating his body.
His veins and arteries began to turn black as the accursed affliction spread through the bloodstream. Watching in disgust, he cried out in torment as the virus travelling through him felt like fire boiling his insides. Next to change were his hands, as they began to mangle and distort, aging to a gaunt form. His nails started to grow in length and rot in condition. Trying to gain control over them he clenched his fists tightly but this did nothing. He felt his face and to his horror, it had taken a similarly ghastly transformation. The normally well-chiselled striking jaw line he had was totally gone. Replacing this was now a malnourished bone structure, covered in a flaky, rough exterior. What was happening to him he dreaded to contemplate.
The chains began to tighten and the pulling commenced fervently. It was as if the darkness had a consciousness and knew it was close to capturing its prey. His feet were now inside the black chasm and Andrew couldn’t feel a foundation underneath them. He knew there was nothing there and a fall awaited him. Preparing himself and closing his eyes, the chains dragged his carcass into the darkness, totally consuming him.
He fell for what seemed like an eternity, landing with a solid crash on a rocky, gravel-like terrain. Looking around, he saw nothing...However, his senses were clearly in a state of unrest. A presence of something evil could be felt within him and he shuddered with terror as he slowly made his way to his feet. Examining his surroundings was futile as he could see nothing. The chains relinquished their grip on his flesh and collapsed to the floor. Rubbing his wrist and neck, he eased the pain of where the chains had been, only to find his skin had healed.
The transformation was still ever present though.
“What the fuck? My hands...my face!” He shouted. His cries of despair echoed into the emptiness. Just then a rustling of movement caught his attention. The chains on the floor begun to move as if on a reel, being pulled back to their origin. Cautiously, he followed them until they finally retracted back, lost be
hind an object in the distance. Andrew looked around, bewildered.
What is that? He thought. Stepping a few feet closer, he managed to make out the image of what looked to be a full-length mirror. A Mirror?
Curiosity sweeped over him...How did a mirror get there? Was it a trap?. Creeping slowly towards it, he finally got within reflective distance. The sight before him sent a single chill down his spine so disorientating he fell to his knees and shivered in revulsion. Speechless, he tried to find words..
“M-my face. What’s happened to MY FACE?” Feeling his features and looking at his reflection, he couldn't believe what he was seeing!
Gone were his striking good looks and defined attributes... His forehead was extremely prominent and protruded down into his recently enlarged brow. Moving his hands over his emaciated cheeks, he raised his upper lip with his fingers. What he saw set him back. Most of his teeth were in a state of decay and the ones he had left were almost fang-like in appearance. To accompany this repulsive transformation, his tongue looked like that of a snake’s. Lastly, he checked his eyes. Pulling on the lower right eye lid, he proceeded to examine the blood-shot sunken in sack. His eyes were a dirty yellow colour with a single distinguished black dot in the middle. What was he becoming? Thoughts of his friends and family began to flood his mind. Slumping back down to his knees, he languished in sorrow. Breaking down, he sobbed into his hands and defensively shielded his face. The revelation distressed him beyond belief that He failed to notice that his own reflection was still standing upright.
“Pathetic!”
Andrew scanned his immediate surroundings to focus on where the voice was coming from. Wiping his eyes, he searched the impending darkness.
“Look at you. I can't believe we're the same person...you disgust me!”
He stared at the mirror and fell back as he realised his own reflection was now talking back to him.
“Yes, yes. Look upon me. Look upon everything that you could be...will be!”
The mirror began to crack. Andrew shuffled back to avoid the splintering debris. Instantaneously, the glass exploded violently; scattering the remains across the floor in a heap in front of Andrew. All of a sudden the splintered pieces began to melt into thick black ooze. Andrew was frozen in awe of what he was seeing...
Whipping and sliding, the black bob journeyed across the floor, gathering itself steadily until it was approximate in mass and consistency. The mixture writhed, twisted and contorted in size and dimension until it finally morphed itself into a tall oblong shape. What manifested filled Andrew with terror.
From the dark mass came an exact picture perfect replica of Andrew’s current form. It stood completely still but Andrew could sense it was alive. As he stood to his feet, the doppelgangers eyes flicked open, followed by an eerily sadistic smile.
“Guess who?” He cackled.
Andrew was lost for words. “W-who are you?” He stuttered
“Who am I?” The being nonchalantly sighed, “I am you.”
“No. How can this be?!” Andrew begged for answers.
“Don’t fight me Andrew. I am what is to come.” The figure howled in laughter, which then amplified into a roar. As miraculously as he was created he melted back into the black pulp. However, the transformation wasn't over...The puddle began to bubble and distort. Andrew could sense a strong feeling of hatred, pain and suffering fill the air and accordingly started to distance himself from the dark liquid. His retreat turned into a run...He didn't know where he was heading but his instinct told him to get away now...
The morphing fluid was now gathering itself again. This time, growls could be heard coming from it even before it had taken full shape. In slow motion, a paw emerged...shortly followed by a leg and then eventually a full body! Unlike the transformation before, this manifestation was already animated and was aggressively trying to advance on Andrews’s position. The only thing stopping it was the fact it had no head to see. As the neck of the beast took shape, a jaw line slowly developed. Razor-sharp teeth followed; drenched in slobber. Finally, the unmistakable head of a Rottweiler materialised. Then another. And another. Although all 3 heads were joined to the same body; they were totally independent of one another. They snarled and growled violently. The monster's multiple, fiery-red eyes were totally transfixed on Andrew. Eventually, it shot off; with a target in sight. Its feet shuffled as it accelerated, determined to catch its prey.
Slowly and sluggish, Andrew desperately tried to accelerate. However, the monster continued to advance with great speed. He could feel it gaining on him. It’s breath could be sensed on the back of his neck and the saliva of its impending jaws could be felt spattered against his legs. As it grew closer, he did what he thought was the only thing left to do. Desperately he called out into the abyss,
“God, if you can hear me please, please help me. Please!”
In an instant, as soon as the words left his mouth, the ground underneath trembled mightily and gave way...collapsing, like a giant earthquake had hit.
Inexplicably Andrew found himself falling again. However, this time he was amongst the clouds, thousands of feet up in the stratosphere. As he identified himself with his surroundings, he realised he was falling again and he panicked uncontrollably. He screamed as he fell; his limbs flapping in the wind. Looking down on the earthly landscapes below, the thought of hitting the ground ran through his head. Therefore, he braced himself for impact. However, unlike the fall he had before, this one seemed different..
He was falling at a slower rate and there was an unbelievable calmness to his situation. Once he poised himself from acting erratic, he realised he wasn’t falling but actually gliding tranquilly. He composed his body into a more streamline position and restfully dipped between the clouds. His sight was met with a beautiful view of the sun rising above the clouds, piercing the darkness with a distinctive light, powerful and warming. The sky filled with a barrage of colours; affectionate oranges blurring into pleasant yellows that dispersed the darkness into beautiful deep purples and blues. He could literally feel the clouds caress his skin as he floated past them, his flesh sun-kissed from the morning star.
Amidst all this wonderment he hadn’t even noticed that the gruesome metamorphosis his body had undertaken had totally reversed. His skin looked even more vibrant than before, as the sun glistened off him. A heavenly brightness shone from his crystal blue eyes. He closed them and breathed in the freshest of air. The rushing breeze swept through his body and consequently, his soul felt totally cleansed and reawakened. Exhaling, he rejoiced in splendour.
“Thank you.” He called out to the heavens gratefully. “Thank you.”
When he opened his eyes, he was on the ground. He stood at a cliffs edge overlooking a coastline. The view was breathtaking! Waves of the ocean crashed against the beach below, whilst the rays of the sun-stroked the surface of the waters, giving off a sparkling shimmer.
As he observed the serene scene before him, his senses were interrupted by the sound of thunderous trumpets. Startled, he looked around until his gaze met with the sky above him. Again, the trumpets sounded.
Andrew felt like the trumpets were calling to him. The booming noise repeated numerous times.
The imposing resonance of the horns didn't scare him. His body seemed to welcome it and his spirit felt uplifted.
Slowly, he tilted his head upwards and outstretched his arms to the heavens. An intense light flooded his senses and consumed him.
CHAPTER 7
Andrew awoke abruptly in a cold sweat. Breathing heavily and visibly shaken, he checked his surroundings. Louise’s bushy head was still in his lap, which was a good sign. Relieved by the sight of other humans and the morning shuffling of drunken hung-over bodies, he moved onto check his own person. He patted his face and checked his hands. Everything was normal. He sunk back into the bean bag. Reaching into his pocket, he checked the time. It was almost midday. Checking his social media and the coverage of last night’s finals, he was interrupt
ed by a group message sent from Jaime’s number.
'Meet in Kennedy park in an hour. Josh do not be late.'
The message alert woke Louise from her sleep. She came to slowly rubbing her eyes to adjust to the daylight.
“Hey, sleepy head. How you feeling?” He asked her.
“I need juice.” She laughed.
Andrew got up and headed into the kitchen. He grabbed two cups and ran the tap. As he waited for the water to get colder, he felt the grasp of arms surround his waist. Still ever vigilant, he jumped and took up a defensive stance, only to turn around and see it was Louise. She looked at him peculiarly.
“Are you ok?”
He knew he needed to calm down and get a hold of himself. Consequently, he brushed off his strange behaviour.
“Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Still drunk I guess. You surprised me that's all.”
She picked up the cups he had knocked over and filled them up, handing him one and drinking the other. She went to embrace him once again. This time he received her and playfully ruffled her hair.
“So champ, what are your plans for today?”
He remembered the text he received. “Well, Jaime wants to meet up around 1ish. I dunno what for but sounds important. After that I'm free though! Wanna do something?”
She smiled and accepted his proposal. “Ok. Holla at me once you’re done.” She clasped her hands around his neck and pulled him into her. He tightened his grasp around her waist until his arms fully enclosed her. They kissed deeply. Her soft, supple lips caressed his own. He pulled her closer...
Immediately from when their lips touched, Andrew's mind was miraculously filled with the inner thoughts of Louise’s psyche! Her deepest fears and concerns, her aspirations and dreams. From childhood to present day. Everything. He broke away from her slowly, kissing her lightly as his lips longed for more. Eventually, they came to a halt...She smiled.
Nephilim Page 8