Darkly Rising (Dark Island Series Book 3)

by J. D. Matheny

  “Right back here.” Blaine led them through a door on the opposite side of the room as the entrance. Beyond the door was a hallway that ended in a ’T’. Blaine pointed to the right. “Down there is a restroom, should you need it. There’s a laundry and storage room as well, but I don’t imagine you’ll need that.”

  He walked down the right hall, which was longer than the left side, and had three doors, two one side and one on the other. He opened the single door and walked in.

  Inside the room were two pod shaped tanks approximately eight feet in length. The lids were partially open, and an aqua blue light was pouring out. In the near corner of each side of the room were showers and a small wooden bench. The entirety of the room with covered with large tile.

  “They look like spaceships,” Kai said.

  “In a way, I suppose they are. People have a tendency to get transported inside these things, I guess you could say. What you’ll do is hope in the shower, just to get any loose debris or chemicals off, then walk over to the tank and hop in. Close the door and center yourself in the tank so that, hopefully, none of your limbs touch the sides and disrupt your meditation. Would you like any music to help relax?”

  Kai shook his head no. “So, I float in there naked?”

  “That’s the way of it,” Blaine said with one of his charming smiles. “Some people find it a little strange the first time, but I promise you’ll adapt quickly.”

  “And the other tank?”

  “Well, this room is for doubles. We get friends and couples that like the idea of floating together. I thought, being your first time, you’d feel better doing your float with a partner. I can let you get showered and in the tank first before I come in. If you prefer, you can go solo, no problem.”

  “Did you float with my mother?”

  Blaine raised his eyebrows, taken a little by surprise at the question. “We have, yes.”

  Kai almost ended things right then and there, but managed to stifle the rage and jealousy that was threatening to burst forth. He took a deep breath and looked over the room once again to buy time before speaking.

  “I think a partner would be fine.”

  “Great! It’s always fun to float with a virgin.” He laughed and left the room, letting Kai get himself ready.

  After a quick shower, Kai stepped naked out onto the tile floor. He eyed the strange pod with some trepidation. It’s smooth white surfaces and contours made for a strange appearance, giving it the look of some futuristic cryogenic sleep chamber. There was a sense that if he entered the thing he might wake up in a different time and place, inhabited by robots being attended to by human slaves.

  He moved up beside it. The water filling the interior was glowing blue and served to shift his opinion of this being a space-age technology. Now it left him feeling more like he was going to be transported to the tropics, drifting afloat on island waters so clear that he could see for a hundred feet underwater in any direction. He swung a leg over and slid down into water that was a foot and half deep and smelled strongly of salt, though it wasn’t unpleasant. Indeed, it furthered the effect of being on the sea. It felt like going home.

  He reached up to grab a handle on the pod’s lid and as he slid fully down into the water he brought the lid down with him, feeling for a moment like he was sealing his own coffin, until it latched shut. As it did so, the light blinked out and he was left in complete darkness.

  A voice came to him then, muffled by the insulating effect of the pod’s shell. “I’m getting in the other pod now, Kai. Just center yourself in the water, clear your mind, and focus on your breathing. Enjoy!”

  Just go away, he thought, forever.

  But he did as Blaine suggested, reaching out his arms and legs until he estimated that he was centered, then pulled them back and floated on the thick salt water. The interior of the chamber was warm, as was the water, as if everything was the same temperature, matching his own temperature. The result was a feeling of losing himself in the space around him. Though the pod’s interior was not large, he quickly got the impression that the blackness that enveloped him went on forever. It was a strange feeling, but he liked it.

  For a time, his thoughts kept coming back to Blaine and his mother, with their obvious romance, and the dream he’d had of their animallike union in the vehicle. Then he thought of Jenny, sitting quiet and timid as her condescending and controlling father sat at his very own table, in his very own house, and told Kai that he was not good enough for his daughter. Realizing the purpose of the float—not his true purpose, but a secondary one—was to lose himself and shed all thought and worry, he began to cut off thoughts as quickly as they entered his mind. It wasn’t easy. He’d never tried meditating before. Quieting one’s mind was a challenge.

  But soon his breathing took over and in the dark quiet of the tank, his hot breaths came loud and soothing. That was something he could focus on, so he did. A few times, he snapped to, realizing that he had been drifting in a world somewhere between sleeping and wakefulness, then he would drift again, until he didn’t snap to.

  He found himself walking in a jungle, surrounded by leaves and trees and flowers uncountable in variety. The air was steamy and hot and the sweat that coursed down him was cleansing. The landscape was foreign but somehow familiar. He recognized certain bumps and sways of the earth as he walked over them. Then he brushed aside some branches and entered a clearing. There he saw a small river running from left to right, and directly before him, it split around a small island, only to join itself back together again before running off into the jungle again. No, not a jungle, a forest. Sitting on the island was his temple, no longer just half-finished stone walls, but a complete building.

  This was his place. Looking around at the landscape, he noticed a smattering of pine trees, the last stubborn remnants of the old world. Soon, they would be gone, replaced by palm trees or the smaller, hairy-leafed trees with their spiny looking fruit. The new world. His world.

  He walked through the water, a cool rush sweeping past his calves and up to his knees, and up the opposite embankment. There were only two steps leading to the doorways of his temple, not what he envisioned, but a start. Someday it would be different. Grander. He walked up the steps and appraised the interior. There was about eight feet of stone wall before the wood roof took over, rising another twelve feet or so above him and ending in a point. The floor was concrete and there were two metal sconces to hold torches, but they were currently empty. Hanging down from the roof, suspended by twine four feet above his head, was his lantern. Its bright glow bathing him and filling him with energy and confidence.

  It was also filling him with thoughts. Whispers in his mind that suggested things. Talked to him about how important he was, about how this was his world now, and how he need not share what was his. His mother would have a place with him here, and he would take care of her. There was no place for Blaine. Jenny would be at his side, share his bed, bear him sons. There would be no treacherous preacher standing between them, beside them, nor anywhere else around them. He was the King in this new place and he need not abide any challengers. All men who were intent to rule would have challengers, and all men who took the rule did so by eliminating those challengers.

  In the inky darkness of the pod, Kai’s black eyes opened. A long and muscular arm reached up to the handle and pushed the lid of the pod open. The lights of the room were off and only two candles burned, but even that small light was more than he needed. The darkness held no mysteries for him.

  He stepped from the pod, water dripping off him to splash on the cool tile floor. The candlelight flickered off his naked body, lean and strong, more mature than any seventeen-year-old had right to be. But he wasn’t seventeen anymore, not really. In truth, he was something different. Ageless, and yet, a newborn. He was learning fast though.

  He stepped over to the other pod and stared down at it, feeling both anger and curiosity mingling together. Inside lay a man, a challenger, dangerous yet obl
ivious to his own danger. Kai wondered what he was experiencing at that moment. Was his mind gone on some transcendental fantasy? Or was he thinking of Sophie, envisioning their future together. Dreaming of a time soon to come when Kai would vacate the home, off to college maybe, and he would take his place?

  Kai smiled through a growing hatred and knelt down in front of the pod. He placed both hands down upon the lid, then he let his own mind drift. He thought back to his earlier visions, his dreams of the other island, of his father exacting vengeance on those followers that were abandoning him. He thought of the black smoke billowing in the sky, of the body parts littering the ground, and the bright red blood pooling at his feet. The villagers ran in fear and he drank up their fear like wine. The villagers screamed as they fled, and his mind danced to their screams like music. He could hear them now, screaming and begging, and his blood boiled with the heat of battle and conquest.

  The screams, the begging, they seemed all too real. He opened his eyes. He heard the screams. He heard the begging. He felt the heat. He felt the pounding, the vibrations of thumping on the lids of the pod.

  “Help! Kai, help me! Open the door!” Thump, thump, thump. “Kai! Kai! My pod, help, open the door! More thumps, then the screams. The pleading for help, the words, now nothing more than cries mingled with terror.

  He poured forth more hate, more violent intent, and the heat from him grew. He could feel then not only the thumping, but the gentle vibrations of water boiling and bubbling against the walls of the pod.

  Then the screaming and the thumping stopped.

  Kai got into the shower and took his time washing away the salt from his hair and his body. The towel Blaine had provided was thick and soft and he enjoyed the feel of it dragging across his skin.

  He dumped the towel on the floor, put his clothes on, and blew out the candles before leaving the room.

  Then he slipped out the front, unseen as a shadow in the night, and started out on his walk home.

  The morning was a clear but cold one. Ice crept up the bottom of his window in flowery webs. It made no difference to Kai where comfort was involved, he still slept with no sheets and needed no heavy coat to insulate him against the weather, but the ice and cold were an affront to him nevertheless. Hot seemed natural. Nature thrived in the heat and there were many wondrous parts of the world that stood testament to that fact, but the cold was a different beast entirely. Cold leached the life from things, leaving all it encompassed dead and lifeless. Nothing grew in the cold. Nothing except the misery and glumness of all those who were wrapped in its embrace for too long.

  Despite the disagreeable weather, Kai’s mood was exceptional. Last night had been a great accomplishment. Not just in the elimination of a rival to his mother’s attentions, but in the growth of his power and understanding of it. He felt new, both physically and mentally. He felt changed. There were thoughts before that were like those he had now, but they were weak and distant. Now those thoughts were powerful and at the forefront. He would take what was his. He would eliminate anybody that deserved it. He would have the adoration of those around him, and more would flock to him with time.

  With a deep sense of contentment, he finished dressing, brushed his teeth, and strolled out into the kitchen area where Sophie was making pancakes and coffee.

  “So? Tell me?” Her smile stretched from one ear to the other.

  “It was nice.”

  “Nice? That’s all you have to say?”

  “I don’t know. It was kind of neat, you know? With the light and climbing into the things, like boarding a spaceship. The water felt cool, being able to float like that. But my mind, I couldn’t shut it off, I guess.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” She crossed over the kitchen and sat a plate of pancakes in front of him. Then grabbed some peanut butter and syrup out of the cupboard and pushed those over to him as well. “It’s tough the first time. Most people take two or three floats before they’re able to really relax and lose themselves. Once that happens, it’s amazing, and it gets easier from then on. Did you tell Blaine you wanted to try again, or are you not interested?”

  “Actually, I didn’t stay in nearly as long as him. Like I said, my mind wouldn’t shut down. I got restless and got out after maybe a half-hour. He was still in the tank when I left.”

  “Oh, well, I hope he wasn’t worried or anything. How did you get home?”

  “I walked.”

  “Kai! You should have stopped to call me.” She shook her head in amazement as he just shrugged and filled his mouth with food. “Anyway, I can call him and have him set up a second float, if you want.” Really, it was what she wanted, but she hoped he didn’t catch on to that. It was important to her that the two spend time together. She had a feeling Blaine was going to be around more and more, and for a long time.

  “Sure,” he said, swallowing down his bite. “I’d do another one. Why not? Just tell him to book an available opening this time. I don’t want the poor guy having to stay late for me. I might relax better.”

  Sophie walked over and kissed him on the forehead. “You can be such a thoughtful kid, you know that? I’ll tell him when I talk to him again.”

  “Ah, it’s nothing, mother. He’s a great guy. I really enjoyed our time together last night.

  32

  Jenny huddled beneath the blankets, using her arms and legs to tuck the edges beneath her in an attempt to create an airtight cocoon. No matter how hard she tried, she felt as if she just couldn’t get warm enough. The cold always found a way to seep in. Her flannel pajamas twisted around her but she dared not try to adjust them lest her movement create gaps and she’d have to start all over again.

  The morning light glared through the window above her nightstand and cascaded over her, but that brought no warmth either. It only served to highlight the shine of ice that had creeped its way up the bottom of the windowpane during the night. She stared at the layer of ice, thinking about how beautiful it should have looked to her, only now she didn’t see any beauty in it. She saw only a prison. It made her think of a frozen wall slowly enveloping the house that would serve to keep her contained.

  Her eyes went to the nightstand and latched on to a small picture there, its silver frame glinting with sunlight. One arm ventured out from the blankets to snake its way up to snatch it and bring it quickly back down again. Looking at the picture was like looking in a mirror. A magic mirror that showed her the future. The face staring back was incredibly beautiful, with silky red hair and pale skin dotted with light freckles. Kind green eyes like the sea stared back at her with both love and pity.

  “What really happened to you, mother?” She paused for a moment, desperately hoping for a reply of some kind. Her finger traced along the cold glass, following the graceful contours of her mother’s face.

  It was a lucky thing that she had this picture at all. Very few pictures of her mother remained in their home. Her father had one that he lost himself in at times; she’d seen him staring at it now and then in his study. This picture had been taken from her more times than she could count, whenever Dennis would go off on one of his rants about how she was too much like her mother. Usually this happened after he’d catch a boy looking at her too long, as if that were her fault. Dad would storm around the house, telling her she drew too much attention to herself, even though she dressed more conservatively then most girls her age. He’d make comparisons to her mother, who also fancied the attention of other men, according to him. Of course, she’d never seen her mother do anything to draw the affections of other men, but she wouldn’t tell her dad that.

  As if her thoughts acted as a summons, heavy footfalls echoed up the stairway with the approach of the man she had just been thinking of. A light rap sounded at the door, and before she could respond, the door swung open. There he stood, looming in the doorway, still dressed in his own flannel pajamas, his salt and pepper hair poking up at odd angles.

  He looked at her for a moment, then stepped in the ro
om and swung the door shut. The clicking of the door latch closing was like the sound of a jail cell shutting behind him.

  For a moment, he just stood there staring at her, then his eyes moved to the picture she was holding. He moved to the edge of the bed and sat. Dark curls of hair poked out from the top of his pajama shirt, and seeing his chest hair made her feel suddenly uncomfortable.

  Without saying anything, he took the picture from her hand and brought it up to his face, staring at it for long seconds. “Your mother was a stunning woman, as beautiful and sweet as an angel. I felt I was the luckiest man in the world when she agreed to marry me, that life couldn’t possibly get any better. Then we lay together for the first time and the love I felt was overwhelming.”

  “Dad, please.” She didn’t want to hear about them laying together. All she wanted was to be left alone.

  “You’re a woman now, Jenny. As much a woman as your mother was. There’s no need to feel embarrassed or ashamed. It really is amazing, isn’t it? The comparison is uncanny. The green eyes, skin like cream, the freckles aren’t the same, but you’ll get there.” He smiled at her. “And that shiny red hair. I used to stroke that hair at night as we lay in bed together. Most nights I couldn’t get to sleep unless I was stroking your mother’s hair.”

  Jenny stared at him, saying nothing. She was too busy trying to understand why he was there, sitting on her bed, telling her these things. He liked to make comparisons between her and her mother, but since the ‘cleansing baptism’ in the pool, it had increased. Not only in frequency, but in the manner that he did it. He’d even called her Julia twice in the last day. Her mother’s name.

  “I didn’t sleep last night, in fact. Just laid in bed, thinking about your mother and wishing she was there so I could stroke her hair until I fell asleep.” He reached out a hand and ran it through her hair. She pulled the covers tighter around her. His hand was trembling against her scalp. “Tonight, you’ll sleep in my room. I’ll stroke your hair and we’ll keep each other warm. Things that two people who love each other would do. You love me, don’t you Julia?”