by Kim Cormack
They were all dumfounded. Uh, oh…that timeline was a touch off five years.
Mel enquired, “What year was it again, when you guys came in here?”
Haley cautiously answered, “1994. I guess it’s almost the year 2000. That is going to be so much fun. We could be out of here for New Year’s 2000.”
Zach looked at Melody and then back at the others. He clarified, “You guys came in here to do your Testing in 1994?”
Haley grinned and said, “Yes, in 1994.”
“Do one of you guys want to tell them?” Zach said while trying to pass the buck. “I’m a guy alone with four girls. I’m afraid you will all turn on me.”
When nobody volunteered, Kayn decided it should be her. Why not? She met Astrid’s eyes as she said, “The year is 2014.”
Astrid shook her head and laughed, obviously assuming it was a joke. She sparred, “Very funny, but there’s no possible way that we’ve been stuck in here for twenty years.”
Kayn knew how to clarify the time line. She said, “I’m Freja’s daughter and Melody is Orin’s daughter. We’re both over eighteen years old. Arrianna is with Markus.” Kayn had been told she looked just like Freja. If they had known Freja then they would know her explanation of her lineage to be the truth. Melody looked nothing like Orin but she looked just like Jenna. They’d assume that Jenna was her mother. Haley and Astrid both looked shocked and neither one of them spoke for a minute or two. They sat there on the stairs in awkward silence. Astrid stood up and began to walk up the stairs without speaking. The rest of them followed her obediently. Kayn tried to avoid eye contact with them. What could you say? Sorry you lost twenty years of your life in an immortal version of hell? Sorry your clan left you here for twenty years? Kayn honestly had no idea how long they’d even been in this place. Time was irrelevant while you were being repeatedly slaughtered.
Haley was the first of the two to speak, “I guess it’s safe to assume the world has changed. How much has it changed?”
Zach smiled at her as he said, “We have cell phones that we carry in our pockets…That’s pretty cool. We take pictures with them instead of cameras. There are still cameras but you don’t have to get film developed. The internet turned out to be a pretty big deal. We have social media sites and we tell each other about our day and bitch about things. Tell jokes and stuff like that. We have flat screen T.V. We don’t all drive spaceships or anything. We have cars still. I don’t think things have changed so drastically that you will appear different.”
Astrid shrugged as she commented, “I’m a little bit disappointed about the no personal spaceships thing. Is Star Wars still cool?”
Kayn carried on walking up the marble staircase. She chuckled, “Star Wars will always be cool. You and I are obviously going to be friends.”
Astrid grinned as she enquired, “So, who are you in love with? Do you have a boyfriend... a girlfriend?”
Kayn attempted a smile. Astrid didn’t know about her past. She replied, “It’s complicated. That is the biggest cliché ever, but the truth.”
Astrid paused on the staircase and appeared to be confused as she enquired, “Why is ‘it’s complicated’ a cliché?”
Kayn started to laugh. This was going to be strange to explain. She answered, “On these social media sites you put your relationship status. You can put ‘it’s complicated’ as your relationship status. It’s sort of a joke status for people that break up with people a lot.”
Astrid knit her brow and said, “You’re serious?”
Kayn started to giggle. It did sound crazy. They had been climbing this staircase for a long time. How long were they going to keep doing this?
“I need to sit down for a second,” Zach said. “It’s possible we may be climbing these stairs forever.”
Kayn sat down next to him on the stair. She looked him over. How had she not even noticed the change in him?
Zach stared back at her. He cracked a giant smile and teased “Is there something wrong?” He reached over and tucked a stray ringlet from her crazy mane of hair behind her ear.
Kayn shifted away from him and stood up. She started to climb the stairs without saying a word to the rest of them. She felt so disoriented. How had she not even noticed that Zach’s bloody hair had changed? He’d bulked up quite a bit too. He was way more muscular than when he’d come in to this place. It occurred to her that she might have changed. She paused and looked down at her body. She lifted the bottom of her thigh-high sarong. She was pretty damn toned. She’d always been though. She felt her butt and wondered, Was it smaller?
Astrid cleared her throat, she laughed and asked, “What in the hell are you doing?”
It was then that Kayn realized she’d flashed a stair case full of people, while wondering if her butt had shrunk during her time in the crypt. Kayn mumbled, “I was just wondering ...And then… Oh, it’s nothing… I wasn’t thinking.”
Zach grinned and said, “Explanations are never necessary where you’re concerned my friend. Our Kayn has personally embarrassing accidents all the time. Once you get to know her, you won’t even flinch.”
Kayn shook her head. As she scaled the stairs, she asked, “Don’t we have to share our stories?”
Astrid declared, “You’re first Kayn. I personally want to hear the reasons behind the ‘it’s complicated’ status joke.”
Melody attempted to step in and hint that it was a sensitive subject. Kayn looked back at Melody and responded, “It’s okay. I can talk about it. I think we’re supposed to talk about it. They have been stuck in here for the last twenty years. I can share my pathetic tale of teenage angst.”
Haley stared up the middle of the staircase and exclaimed, “Well if we ever want to see the end of this staircase, you’d better get started.”
Kayn grinned. She kept climbing as she said, “I’ll start us off. Hello, my name is Kayn and my family was slaughtered including my identical twin sister. I was chased through the bushes and stabbed a dozen times. I was in a coma for seven months. I fell in love with my best friend Kevin. Frost showed up to give me the, ‘you are partially immortal’ speech. In a twist of fate my best friend slash boyfriend Kevin had psychic lineage and was also claimed by Ankh. I had to absorb my twin sister’s spirit because we share a soul. Tiberius turned out to be Kevin’s Grandfather. Triad stole Kevin and erased his memory. They killed my brother Matt and Jenkins. Chloe loved Frost. Chloe was the twin sister that I absorbed. I started to fall for him, but he wasn’t allowed to be with me. I spent a week with an altered version of Kevin before the Testing. We became close again. It was both incredible and heartbreaking. He was ordered by Triad to kill me in a violent way during the Testing. Apparently, my own clan set it up. They thought it would trigger my Enlightening. So, we made out and then he dumped me for the thousandth time. He snuck up on me and slit my throat. I killed him and a room full of Triad and Trinity in a homicidal rage. I blew up his psychotic girlfriend. I died a countless amount of times in extremely messed-up albeit creative ways. Kevin kidnapped me and fed me to a pack of demons that gutted me and ate me. That is when you found me, Astrid.” There was a long awkward moment of silence after Kayn’s story.
Astrid paused on the stairs. She grabbed Kayn’s arm and said, “That’s awful. I’m sorry I asked. I definitely didn’t see that coming.”
They all stopped for a moment on the stairs. Kayn was the first to sit down.
Zach sat down beside her, placed his arm around her and said, “You realize the next time I see Kevin, I’m going to kick his ass.” He gave her a brotherly one armed hug. He was visibly furious but she felt nothing, having quite successfully tucked her emotions away. They all stood up and continued their walk up the never-ending spiral staircase.
Astrid spoke next, “Well, my name is Astrid and I’ve been in here for a couple of decades. It all blends together. I was here but not here, if you know what I mean. I guess I had a pretty idyllic mortal life with my mother, father and five siblings. Everybody die
d, as is always the story. I don’t remember what happened that day. I guess I became Enlightened during my Correction. I disappeared into my happy place. I was in a sanitarium, in a catatonic state for years. When I was released, Frost was waiting outside, he told me to get into the car and I didn’t have anywhere else to go so I got in. I was with Ankh for a few years before we came here for our Testing.”
Kayn huffed as they trudged up the stairs. She was in amazing shape but this was becoming physically impossible to continue to do. They were scaling stairs to nowhere with no end in sight. She questioned, “I wonder how many gifted people with incredible imaginations are stuck in sanitariums?”
Astrid began to laugh. She answered, “It’s a scary thing to think about, isn’t it?”
Kayn replied, “It definitely is.” She was beginning to feel dizzy from climbing the spiral staircase. She started to look at the others. Who was going to go next? It had helped her on some level to talk about it. She’d needed to say the words aloud. A weight felt as though it had been removed from her chest.
Zach looked at the pack of women that were eye balling him and chuckled, “Am I supposed to go next?
Kayn responded to Zach’s question, “I know I want to hear about your life before all of this.”
He winked at her and teased, “You may regret asking to hear about it. It wasn’t a good one.” After a moment or two of silence he began to speak. “I had a bunch of siblings, six of them to be exact. I was a pretty dorky teenager. My father was a horribly abusive drunk douche bag. He beat the crap out of my mother. I wasn’t biologically his child, so he beat the crap out of me almost every day until we ran. We spent years running from him but he always found us. It didn’t matter how far we ran. The last time he found us he beat me and buried me alive. My older brother must have tried to stop him because he was buried with me. He burned the rest of my family alive, including my grandparents. Tiberius was there when I dug myself out of the dirt. I was with Triad for a year. I was taken by Ankh, after Triad left me behind and they became my family. I guess my brother wasn’t dead, because he was with the Abaddon we fought at the rodeo grounds. I’m in the Testing and this has sucked in a morbidly epic way. I became Enlightened but I still have no idea what I can do. I met you guys and we’re walking up an endless flight of stairs for no reason. Soon, I’m going to pass out cold and you ladies are going to have to carry me.”
They all took that last comment as a signal to stop walking and sit back down on the stairs. Kayn noticed that Melody could not stop looking at Zach. It was the buried alive thing. That is why he’d panicked after being buried alive in the sand. Kayn hoped they wouldn’t have to be buried alive again…for Zach. She wasn’t sure he could take it. Kayn instantly regretted allowing it to cross her mind. They had never gone into detail while talking about their past. They would mention the shade of a carpet or a familiar pattern of wallpaper. They had only spoken about their past in random thoughts. It felt like they were climbing the stairs towards salvation, ridding themselves of their battle scars through confession.
Haley began to speak, “I was hit by a car and I woke up in the hospital with no memory. Nobody came to claim me. I was a Jane Doe. I still don’t remember anything from my life before I woke up in the hospital. I used to look at those posters in grocery stores and wonder why nobody was looking for me. I was staring at one of those posters in a grocery store when I met Lexy. She said she liked my hair and she told me, I was supposed to come with her. I named myself. I was with them for almost three years before my Testing. The time with Ankh is the only life I remember. I’m extremely grateful for Astrid’s gift. I guess it has kept us alive in here for twenty years. I had no idea we’d been in here that long. I’m not sure how I feel about that. I met you guys and I feel like real things are happening. It’s hard to explain but we have been living in a fantasy for such a long time. It’s been what saved us but it’s like living in limbo. I’m praying with everything inside of me that we can get out of here with you guys. I don’t know what I’ll do if we can’t.”
Kayn couldn’t help but feel sad for Haley. She had no memories of her childhood and she’d spent most of her existence living in a dream like state. Maybe her family was still alive somewhere? Haley was just a lost teenage girl with funky pink hair that wanted to find out who she was.
Melody nudged Astrid and whispered, “While we are speaking of living in limbo, how long are we going to go up the stairs that quite obviously have no end?”
Astrid looked at Haley as she replied, “She’s the one I’m following. Haley is always right.”
Haley confirmed, “I know this is what we’re supposed to be doing. I never get to know why but the reason is always clear later.”
“That’s good enough for me,” Zach declared. “I feel like I have a bit of my steam back now. We should keep moving.” He held his hand out to Haley and helped her up. They all continued to scale the endless staircase.
Melody began to talk as they climbed, “I had two little brothers, a mom and dad. I was crazy in love with the most incredible guy. One night my mom came to pick me up from his house. My little brothers were in the car. We all decided to go for ice-cream. My mom told me she was pregnant while we were there. On the way home, she passed out behind the wheel. I took my seatbelt off to try and step on the brakes. I was thrown out the window and down an embankment, but I could still see the car. My baby brother was still alive. He was crying and begging me to help him. His little hand was pressed against the window. I couldn’t move. I tried but I couldn’t move anything. A big rig hit the car as it came around the corner. I heard the grinding of metal and an explosion. I woke up a few days later in the grass by the side of the road, completely healed. They had assumed I was in the car with the others. I climbed up the hill and wandered down the road until I came across a memorial for my family. My dad found me and I got to go home again. I healed my ex-boyfriend and my horse. My current boyfriend saw me heal my horse. My Correction happened but I’d already been Enlightened. They killed everyone. I was filled with so much rage that I blew up my house. I walked out of the fire untouched by the flames and Lily was waiting there. It was that whole, ‘get in the car if you want to live’ thing. My first stint with Ankh was short lived. Trinity ran us off the road, chased us down and stole me from Ankh. I was with Trinity until a couple days before my eighteenth birthday. I was with them long enough to fall in love with Thorne and then I was stolen back by Ankh.”
Haley looked impressed as she clarified, “Superhero voiced Thorne? Otherwise known as the hot leader of Trinity?”
Melody’s face cracked into an enormous grin as she replied, “That’d be the one.”
The group had been walking upstairs for an illogical amount of time when Haley abruptly stopped walking and directed, “Stop right here.” She placed her hands on the stone wall. A hologram appeared about an inch off the surface of the stone, in English. It was the word ‘Confess.’ Haley announced, “I think we can get out through this wall. We must have to confess something.”
“Isn’t that what we all just did?” Kayn asked.
Haley grinned and replied, “It wasn’t good enough. A piece of the puzzle must be missing. One by one, let’s walk up, place our hands against the wall and confess everything you can think of. No matter how big or small.”
Melody shrugged as she volunteered to go first by walking up, placing her hands on the wall and saying, “I was a cheerleader and I teased a few people in school. I broke my first love’s heart when I fell for someone else. He never saw it coming. I tried to atone for that by healing him when he got hurt during a game. I tried to heal my horse. I blew up the farm.” The wall didn’t budge. The word ‘Confess’ still hovered there.
Haley asserted, “You have to confess something bigger. Don’t worry about what we think. We all have to do this.”
Melody continued to confess, “I did a lot of things when I was in Trinity I wasn’t proud of. I tried to kill myself more times than I
can count after my father and boyfriend died. I know that was wrong. I just felt so guilty for being the only one that survived. I had this amazing friendship with Thorne. He was always so wonderful. He was so patient with me. He didn’t judge me even though I must have been an enormous pain in his ass. I couldn’t see past my own pain. The last night I was with Trinity I was going to jump off this cliff. I knew I wouldn’t die but I felt like I deserved to be in pain. He stopped me and we ended up sleeping together. I loved him but knew I wasn’t supposed to be with Trinity. I broke his heart when I went with Ankh. He may have thought I was stolen, but I willingly went with Ankh. I did it on purpose. When I attached Kayn and Kevin’s souls so they could say goodbye, I understood I was making a conscious choice to change clans. I knew I would never have the energy to get back out myself.” The wall still didn’t move. The word ‘Confess’ still hovered there.
Haley winked and urged, “There must be more?”
Melody looked into Haley’s eyes as she said, “In the in-between. I was on a self-destructive kick and I was with Grey before I knew he was in my clan.” The wall still didn’t budge. Melody grimaced. She looked directly at Kayn and Zach and confessed, “We slept together on various random occasions after that and kept it a secret.”
The wall became transparent and Melody was allowed to pass through but it solidified before anyone else could. Zach and Haley were both granted passage. One by one they confessed their sins to the wall.
Astrid looked at Kayn and pleaded, “I need to go last. I promise, I won’t ever repeat anything you’re forced to say but I need to confess alone.”
Kayn nodded with silent understanding. She suspected there were some feelings that Astrid was not ready to put out there. Kayn placed her hand on the wall and the word ‘Confess’ hovered above it. She started with, “I used to feel guilty for being the twin that survived. I felt like I caused the death of everyone I loved. I felt guilty for allowing people to die even if it was for the greater good. I had very real feelings for two people at the same time. I loved Kevin because he was my best friend. Whenever I was with him there was that indefinable feeling of coming home. I wanted everything in that week to be real. He killed me and I didn’t think he would be able to do it. He unleashed a terrifying version of me.” The wall didn’t allow her to pass. Kayn knew that she would be forced to say the words she’d been afraid to say. The things she’d felt, but had been afraid to admit. She looked at Astrid and silently hoped she could trust her as she continued, “There was a rush when I killed those two clans to get to Kevin. I don’t know how I did it but it felt amazing. Kevin had killed me first but there was this burst of agony when I killed him and then it was as though somebody turned off a switch inside of me. I enjoyed killing Stephanie, there was no confusion there. There was a feeling of absolute power that I want to experience again.” She paused for a second before she admitted to the secret in the back of her mind. Kayn added, “My crescent shaped birthmark is on the right side behind my ear. My twin’s birthmark was on the left. I know what that means. She’s inside of me. Chloe’s a part of me now and I know her darkness is a part of me too. Before Kevin killed me, I didn’t feel it but now I know what I am. I’m not a lion anymore. I’m a Dragon.” The wall opened. She’d said the words aloud. She’d known it for a while. She was becoming a Dragon. Kayn turned and looked at Astrid as she walked through the wall into the other room. Astrid did not have judgement in her eyes though, she appeared to understand her.