Enlightenment (Children of Ankh series Book 2)

by Kim Cormack

  A voice that seemed to come from both inside of her and all around her whispered, “you want to go to sleep. It’s time to sleep. Close your eyes. Everything is going to be okay.” Sedating warmth wrapped her in its loving embrace and held her close. “Sleep,” the voice whispered. “It’s time for you to sleep.”

  Her struggle ended as her fingers loosened their grasp on Stephanie’s flesh and slid down silky skin into the liquefied weapon of her demise. Her arms floated freely as angel’s wings, having been released from the mortal chains that bound her to this reality. She’d been set free. Her empty vessel floated down the gray liquid corridor. Even though her eyes remained open, they could no longer see. The strands of her golden hair danced through her liquid nightmare to an unheard song. She was gone…

  Kayn awoke with a breath and a gasp, she found herself in the crypt of the immortal Testing once again. She was soaked to the bone and she appeared to be in the same corridor but it was void of the water she’d submitted to. She took a moment, breathing the foreign feeling oxygen into her lungs. Her chest cavity still burned each time she inhaled. Kayn struggled to a sitting position and placed her palms on either side of her oxygen deprived brain. Her head felt like it was on fire. She heard a scraping sound. Her eyes followed the ominous noise to the ceiling. The vents opened and the hallway began to flood. “Seriously?” She stammered. She’d made the wrong decision. The vent above her was not the way out. She stood up and ran down the hall while she still could. Stephanie could not possibly be at every vent. It wouldn’t matter she didn’t have her knife anymore. She had nothing to wedge in the vent to keep it open. Her feet were compelled to leave the ground by the rushing force of the water as the corridor flooded. She began treading water. The tomb had filled much faster the second time around. Less time for pleasantries but also less time for panicking. The water got to the level where she could attempt to pull herself through the opening and of course… It shut. This is bullshit! She allowed herself to swiftly succumb to her watery grave. Kayn understood that after her exploding headache would come a Sweet Sleep. Once again, she floated down the hallway in the moments before she dreamed.

  She awoke and this time, she was on board with what was about to happen. She took an extra moment before she opened her eyes, suspecting this was what set off the crypts internal countdown to her next demise. She was soaking wet and shivering. Her body lay limp and exhausted on the damp stone. She needed time to think. Kayn knew there would be no time to think once she opened her eyes. Where did the water go? If she could find out where it drained, maybe she could find the way out. It began again before she even had a chance to sit up. The crypt had figured her out. The water filled but this time, she wasn’t looking up. She was looking down to see where it had gone. There was not even a ridge in the floor but it had to go somewhere? As the water filled, she wondered how many times she was going to be forced to drown before she figured out the secret of the corridor. She would have to wait for it to fill. She took a deep breath and didn’t even bother touching the opening. Without attempting to get out of the water, it didn’t close. She sunk beneath the surface and scoured the stone floor with her eyes. She swam to the vent, stole a single breath and slipped back under the surface. She could see where it was beginning to empty under the water; it swirled and funneled beneath her. Kayn swam up, took another quick breath and then allowed herself to be sucked into the opening as it drained. She was spit out into another room below. She was still alive. Kayn got up and staggered down the hall as the new room began to fill with water. “Oh… you have got to be frigging kidding me,” she sighed. About halfway up the wall she noticed finger grooves. As the water level grew higher, she swam to the wall, placed her fingers in the grooves and laid the heel of her hand against it. It opened slowly. She used her last bit of strength to pull herself through into an adjoining room. The wall slid shut rather abruptly. She sat there for a second trying to catch her breath. Oh, thank god that’s done. Above her, something grunted. Kayn looked up and all she had time to say was, “Shit!” The hideous inbred looking demon’s teeth sunk into her legs. She struggled as it dragged her away. With both of her legs in its salivating jaws, it swung her entire body back and flung her against the wall.

  Kayn woke up again, on her back staring at the ceiling. The room was morbidly drenched in blood. She imagined it was hers. She laid there for a second with her mind still reeling from her last brutal death. At least it was a quick one. She tried counting the deaths on her fingers but her math skills were non-existent. “I’ve died four or five times already. What in the hell is this place?” She whispered aloud. Kayn stood up and it took a second to regain her balance. It occurred to her that the demon may still be here. She nervously glanced around, before taking a deep breath. She was demon free for the moment. Kayn felt down her torso. She was all in one piece. She didn’t remember much so she must have been killed instantly.

  Anything You Fear Will Be Used Against You

  Fear: a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain. The threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.

  Kayn spoke to the wall furthest from where she’d climbed in, “Please open,” and it did. She darted through the opening and noticed a knife on the floor. She bent down and grabbed it, clasping the unusually cold metal in her hands. Why was it so cold? She cautiously commenced walking down the narrow corridor before her. As she travelled into the shadows, she paused. The end of the corridor was too dark. She couldn’t tell what she was walking into. She stopped moving as an all too familiar sense of foreboding crept into her subconscious mind prodding her to be wary of what awaited her in the darkness. Before she could take another step, she heard the rumbling of a chainsaw and exclaimed, “Hell no! That’s not going to happen!” She spun around and began sprinting in the opposite direction, while scanning the walls for a way out. She didn’t need to look behind her. The vibrating humming echo of the chainsaw was growing louder by the second. Without knowing anything about what pursued her but the fact that it was carrying a chainsaw, Kayn began frantically banging her fist against the wall, pleading, “Please! Open! I’m not into playing chainsaw games today!” The wall slid open slightly faster than usual in response to her urgent plea for salvation. She darted through onto a flight of stairs. The wall slid shut. Would this route be better or worse? The stairs descended into darkness. There was no choice but to proceed down them with caution, especially if the option had a chainsaw. After taking a moment to listen to her instincts, she made her way down the stairs with one hand securely against the wall to keep her steady. She was still shaking a bit and didn’t want to trip and fall. She had no idea how far the staircase descended. She couldn’t see twenty feet in front of her. She heard something scurrying around on the stairs. She took a few more steps down and there was a large rat directly in her path. She wasn’t afraid of rodents, so it wasn’t a big deal. She took a step towards the kitten sized rodent. Kayn whispered, “I’m just going to sneak right past you. I’m not going to hurt you. I promise there is no need to be afraid of me.” The rodent looked up at her and cocked its head. It was actually kind of cute. She was almost tempted to pet it. The rat bulked up to twice its size. Kayn took a few steps back up the stairs as she said, “Well, you’re not a normal rat, are you? It’s okay. I’m not a normal girl. I am cool with you, even at double the size. It’s all good. I just need to get past you little buddy.” The rat bulked up again and now it stood blocking the width of the stairs. It smiled at her. Those long square teeth were more intimidating on a rat the size of a large dog. This was still not that bad. She was still okay with the creature. She just needed to go past it down the stairs. This was not a big deal. Kayn scanned the walls on either side of her for grooves or ridges. There had to be another way out. What was she thinking? Stairs usually had a way out at the top and at the bottom. At the top, there was a chainsaw and at the bottom there was a rat. Granted, it was an enormous rat but it was still just a rodent. She
would venture down the stairs versus the alternative. Kayn quietly bargained, “Hey little buddy, I just need to sneak past you. Not going to hurt you. It’s all good.”

  The rat looked like it was going to bulk up again as its body began to bulge and shift, then out of its torso, eight long hairy legs unfolded. The rat went from passable to utterly terrifying in about five seconds. On either side of its square teeth, long razor sharp fangs grew. Kayn took a very slow step back up the stairs as she whispered, “It’s fine, I’ve changed my mind. I don’t need to get past you that bad. I’m just going to go now and you can just carry on with your giant spider rat transformation thing.” Kayn clutched her knife, knowing as she gingerly moved backwards up the stairs that she’d probably be dead of a heart attack long before the creature touched her. The spider rat had not moved an inch and it hadn’t attempted to chase her up the stairs. Kayn breathed a sigh of relief as she made the conscious choice to brave the chainsaw versus the messed-up creature. When she reached the top, she laid her hands against the wall and said, “I’ve changed my mind. The chainsaw’s not that bad. I think I’m alright with it now. Open up.” Something jolted beneath her feet and she thought, Oh, no. The stairs turned into a slide. Kayn’s feet came out from under her. She landed flat on her back and shot down the staircase at lightning speed. She was going so fast, she caught up with the spider rat. She couldn’t help herself. It was as though the high-pitched squealing was coming from somebody else. She’d been absolutely terrified many times in this new life but in this moment, she was flying down a slide riding on a giant hairy spider rat. She attempted to scramble away, kicking at it and flailing with her hands and her feet. The spider rat did appear to be equally terrified of her screaming. It was hard to tell the difference between terrified and extremely excited as you shot down a slide. She ended up on top of the creature as they shot across the floor at the bottom. Kayn managed to pull herself together. She raised the blade above her head. They were bumping into hairy things as they sped by. Don’t think about it. Just deal with this one first and then you can worry about the rest. Just breathe, she thought as she stabbed the monstrosity. Her mind continued to shoot through the scenarios that she might be facing. She couldn’t see in the dark but she could hear the echoes of scurrying legs across the stone. She couldn’t see but she imagined that hundreds of rat spiders would be able to see just fine. She gripped the knife, prepared to fight until her last breath. She was grateful she couldn’t see anything. She couldn’t handle the visual. Kayn felt a searing pain in her leg. Something was biting her! She reached down and yanked it off. She knew what it was as she tossed it across the room. Oh… Crap! She heard countless scurrying legs. No! No! No! She whirled around in the darkness launching away each abomination that sunk its teeth into her flesh. Her hand pulsed a few times in the darkness. The meager amount of light revealed that she was surrounded by an enormous swarm of the furry beings. She’d faced this challenge before. She had been in this situation. Kayn stood her ground gathering strength from somewhere deep inside. She hissed, “You want a piece of me! Come and get it!” Her leg had begun to burn. Her hand began to pulse allowing for brief flashes of vision in the darkness. It was a slow, steady radiating burn. She glanced down at her leg. It was swollen to double its size and she was covered in hives. Oh, wonderful. I’m allergic to bees and spider rats. Good to know. She stood there slowly rotating around in a circle to keep watch on the swarm of creatures that appeared to be just watching her now during each strobe of light. She had the distinct impression that they were waiting for something. Kayn had seen countless low budget horror movies. She’d given her imagination plenty of ammunition. The swarm of spider rats parted to allow something large passage. Kayn stood there with her blade poised before her and her mind set on one thing and one thing only. She would stab this mutant son of a bitch at least once before she went down.

  Suddenly, it felt like she was breathing through a tiny juice pack straw. Deprived of oxygen, her mind flashed back to the embarrassing fanny pack she’d worn through elementary school, containing her EpiPen. It wouldn’t do a damn thing now. By the light of her flashing Ankh symbol, she saw an enormous creature moving slowly through the middle of the swarm with an ominous rattling. Her ability to inhale air ceased. In her last seconds of consciousness, she saw the monstrosity approaching her. It had a rat spider’s body and a mesmerizing rattlesnake’s tail. Pass out! She needed to pass out! It opened its jaws and sprayed something at her. She felt her body spinning in circles. Why was she still conscious? What in the hell? She was methodically encased in white as her headache ceased and her mind turned off.

  Kayn opened her eyes and of course, she was still encased in white. She could breathe. This was good...or was it? She was afraid to move because she sensed she wasn’t alone. She slowly continued to breathe in and breathe out, knowing she had to figure out how to put one foot in front of the other. Those had been Lily’s words of wisdom. She had the urge to try, but she’d seen how spiders operated. She shouldn’t move. She recalled Frost’s words, keep your eyes closed and pretend to be asleep for as long as you can. They want to see your pain. You can buy time by pretending to be unconscious. She thought of Grey’s words of wisdom, survey your surroundings.

  Kayn could see faint outlines of something moving outside of the veil of sticky silk she was encased in. Spiders save their food and then they drink their insides… Oh, crap. This was going to suck. She grinned because she’d made a joke without meaning to about her impending death. She had prematurely died of an allergic reaction, perhaps that wasn’t how this scenario was meant to play out. Others would have simply been encased in silk to be savoured later. This was the scenario unfolding through the veil of silk. The longer she went without attempting movement the more time she’d have to figure out her escape. She sensed the predators where gone and decided it was now or never. She heard muffled moaning sounds. She was not the only snack being stored. Kayn whispered, “You have to be quiet. I’m going to get us out.” She must have been gripping onto her knife when she died. It was still in her hand. They were probably suspended somewhere on a web. If she moved too much, she’d signal the spiders to come back. She had thrown many a small bug on a spider’s web as a child. This was definitely divine karma.

  Somewhere in the universe a reincarnated fly was snickering, “I got you Kayn Brighton.”

  She shifted the blade in her hand without being able to see which direction it faced and felt it slice into her skin. That was obviously the wrong way. She hoped she wasn’t bleeding too much. That would probably signal them back just as fast as the movement on the web would. She sliced into the silk, knowing she’d have to do this quickly. She couldn’t do that without movement. She swung and sliced her way out and began to fall through layers of web. She bounced and toppled downwards until she hit the stone floor. Above her she could see the cocooned clan in need of help. She ran to one corner of the room and sliced at the supporting web. The cocoon tumbled down and came to rest beside her. She sliced the webbing with her blade and saw that it was Leanne from Trinity. She’d gotten to know Leanne quite well during that week together. They’d been given the opportunity to get to know each other and understand that in the end they were all the same.

  “You’re not going to kill me now, are you?” Leanne asked.

  Kayn stated the obvious, “Why would I go through all of the trouble of helping you to kill you? We should get out of here before those spider rat things come back.”

  “Thank you,” Leanne replied while Kayn helped her up.

  Kayn smiled as she said, “Not a problem.” As the girls turned around, they saw three doorways. Leanne was standing in front of her and there was an ominous looking circular bulge on the side of Leanne’s neck. She should mention it.

  “I’ll take this one,” the girl from Trinity prompted. “You take the other. We probably shouldn’t be seen together.”

  Kayn agreed, “You’re right, but first, I should mention that there’s
something on your neck.”

  Leanne reached up, felt the giant hard blister and said, “I think I’m okay. It’s a bite. Thanks again. If I get the chance, I’ll return the favor.”

  Kayn watched the girl she thought of as a friend as she took off down the dark passageway. Maybe they could just choose to be friends? Kayn began running down the passageway next to the one Leanne had chosen. She was about thirty feet in when she heard her friend’s high pitched screaming. She spun around and raced back to help. She found her on the ground, either dead or out cold with thousands of tiny spiders rushing out of the bulge on her neck. There were shivers up her spine as she tried to brush them off but they just kept coming. It was as though they were in endless supply. This took bravery on Kayn’s part. No matter how many times she dealt with spiders and no matter what the size, they made her skin crawl. Kayn heard a group of people coming. She recognized the voices…It was Trinity. Leanne would be fine now. She wasn’t separated from her clan anymore. They’d take care of her. Kayn turned and sprinted back down the tunnel and dove into the one she’d originally come from. She ran without thinking of consequence down the tunnel until she reached the open space at the base of the stairs. At the top of the stairs there was someone with a chainsaw. At the bottom in a few seconds a whole group of Trinity would appear. She raced up the stairs, this time taking notice of the rim on the stone. She’d jump on that and brace herself with one foot on either side of the stairs if they turned to a slide when she touched the wall. She could hear Trinity’s voices. They were already coming up the stairs. She placed her hand on the wall at the top and the stairs shifted to a slide just as she’d suspected it would. She leapt on the edge with one foot positioned on either side, then jumped through the opening to the echoes of the Trinity sliding down the stairs.