Underworld (Dark Passage)

by M. L. Woolley

  I am drenched in cold sweat and my body trembles as I push forward through the narrow, maze like tunnel. My only thought is to get out of the tunnel and into some light. It dawns on me that the realm of the dead may consist only of endless dark tunnels. There is a sense of urgency to escape and I am compelled to walk faster. My foot catches a large object and I nearly fall on it but for my quick response. Whatever is lying on the ground has a stench that brings a wave of memories. I have smelled death before and have a good idea that this is a human body. When my sister hung herself from the beams in her bedroom, her body had been suspended from the rope for a day before anyone noticed she was missing. She had begun to decay and the smell of her rotting flesh emitted a putrid odor- Thoughts of her bulging eyes and bloated head brought a sob from deep inside me.

  Stop doing this. If you don’t get a grip you will die. I tell myself in a whisper. You are going crazy. You’ll never get out of here and end up rotting in these tunnels. Who cares about you anyway? Do you really think anyone would miss you? I put my hands over my ears and squeeze my eyes shut. A flood of emotion comes and my legs feel as though they will betray me and sink to the floor.

  Ivy- you have been through much worse than this. It’s not real and you must keep going. My mind is racing now with thoughts- both good and bad and it feels as though I am spinning out of control. Tears spring to my eyes and I stumble forward.

  “Someone. Anyone. Please help me”. I whisper to no one in particular. No one can hear me in this forsaken place. I wish that someone had come along. If there was someone with me then my mind would not be playing tricks on me. It can’t be tricks can it ? The putrid smell is no illusion so it must not be my mind playing tricks on me. You can do this. You have faced horrible things and somehow come out on the other side. You will get through this too. You are close to the other side now. Just a little bit further to go and you will be out. I pinch myself and the pain on my arm is immediate. I focus my mind on listening for the footsteps.

  I stop, and strain my eyes in the darkness, to see ahead. I think I see something dart across the tunnel ahead of me. I try and slow my breathing down and suck in air through my mouth and exhale through my nose. It really doesn’t help and it feels as though I am hyperventilating in this putrid air.

  Out of the darkness there is smoky mist forming. I try and focus on what is ahead and a figure

  materializes out of the mist. It is about seven feet tall and hovers above the ground. The long, sinewed arms and webbed hands look unnatural in size. The figure has eyes, the color of fire, peering out of a hood. The fire of the eyes, illuminate a grey face that is dwarfed by a sinister grin. It feels as though the eyes are burning into me. There is something trying to get inside my head. I try and clear my mind and eradicate the fear. It must not know I am afraid.

  Paralyzed by horror I am unable to move. I stare into the hood and meeting the penetrating gaze full on. The smell of sulphur and vomit hang in the air and it takes all my will to keep the bread in my stomach down.

  I had forgotten about the footsteps behind me and am taken by surprise when a powerful arm curls around my waist. I am yanked backward, and a large hand cups my mouth, and prevents me from screaming. I pull at the hand but the pressure of the hold is suffocating me. I am frozen by fear for a moment and then the adrenaline finally kicks in and I began to kick and fight. The arm around me tightens and I struggle for air. My mind flashes with images of Jeff and then everything is dark.

  My eyes slowly open, and wander around, trying to figure out where I am at. The pounding in my head is making my vision blurred and it’s nearly impossible to focus on anything. I find myself in a world of dark shapes, eerie looking trees and there are rows of twisted elms in the distance. It appears to be night, as the sky above is dark. There is a sliver of moonlight shining through the darkness and I am surprised because I didn’t expect there to be a sky or any life here. The otherworld seems to mirror the geography of where I came from-only muted.

  The wind is whipping through the tree that is near where I am lying. I strain my ears to listen for sounds but it is eerily quiet. Off to the side I catch something moving out of the corner of my eye. Two burning eyes are peering out at me from the foliage and the hair on the back of my neck stands on end. I can make out the bulk of a creature, crouched low and just hidden from my view. Then it moves. I hear the foliage crackle and see the weeds sway as the creature moves stealthily forward. A huge black dog steps out of the brush and meets my gaze. There is an instant connection of minds that comesthrough as a man’s voice, very thin and far away.

  “We must get moving from this place soon. There isn’t much time before they find you”. The asphyxiation in the tunnel must have made me delirious. Surely this animal is not talking to me? It feels as though I am having another one of my crazy dreams, and yet, when I sit up I can feel pain in my side. I lift my shirt and survey a few choice bruises; they are a deep purple, with orange on the outer corners. I’ve never felt pain in a dream before. This is something out of the ordinary, as far as dreams go.

  “Who are you? Why should I go anywhere with you”? The dog just stared at me with a hint of annoyance in his eyes. I canhear the man’s voice again in my mind but this time it is closer. “I told you we need to move and we need to do it now. You’ll find out, soon enough, who I am. If you don’t move now there won’t be enough of you left to care. Stay here if you like. You won’t get any complaints from me”.

  The authority in the dog orders intrigues me. How remarkable that some mutt is telling me what to do. I have always been an animal lover, but this mutt is over the top, and sarcastic at that. The crystal blue eyes of the animal challenged me and the sheer size of its razor sharp teeth are enough to motivate. I typically am not one to take orders but the mutt has some good points. Note to self; never trust a snarky dog again.

  My pace quickens as I try and keep up with the mutt. I am climbing up a hill, and toward the top, I start to fall backwards; and grab onto a scrub tree. My hair is clinging to my damp neck and my head is pulsing with pain. A gust of pungent wind blows past me and beads of sweat drip off my nose. I look down, and there is a decaying rodent in front of me. His eyes look like twin raisins that have withered in the sun. My right foot brings me to the top of the hill. I scan the area far below. It is preternaturally dark with a grey cast to the sky. Trees and rocks are all I can see in the distance of this endless wasteland. I become distinctly aware that there is no fire or brimstone or burning bodies here as I imagined as a child. It is eerily quiet and has a sense of impending doom. It feels like the kind of quiet that lingers in the air just before a tornado touches down and causes mass destruction.

  A loud booming sound cuts through the haze in my head and the mutt stops to look over his shoulder. There is a certain air about him and a mournful expression in his eyes. It feels almost familiar, in some strange way. You know, the feeling you sometimes get, that you have met someone before?

  We push on for what seems like miles through a desolate wasteland of scrub brush, rocks and hills. The path we are following snakes its way up a steep slope and vegetation begins to appear. Massive trees, limbs hanging out like arms, stand like sentinels for those who have lost their way. The deep woods soon engulf us and decomposing leaves and the rich smell of pine is a welcome change. It seems peaceful here and yet I have the unmistakable sensation that there are many eyes upon me. I feel like I am looking into a two way mirror and I know with certainty, that my every move is being analyzed. I glance over my shoulder, half expecting to see someone standing there but I am alone. I try and move soundlessly through the giant trees. I have always loved the smell of pine and find comfort walking in the forest.

  White and brown specked lichen hold fast to a rotten stump and I sit down on it to rest.I’d lost sight of the mutt and reached a fork in the trail. While I had no way of knowing which way to go it seems the fork to the left is the easier way to go. It dawns on me that anyone else on this trail would also t
ake the easier path and it was likely that the right fork is the best option. The forest soothed me when life seemed to become too much. Even so, I can’t shake the feeling of terror, in anticipation of what is to come. I have always pushed away my feelings through a boyfriend or going out drinking but now it’s just me and my thoughts. It’s not so much the things I did that haunt me but the things I didn’t do. Courage is doing what you’re afraid to do, and in it, the end justifies the means.

  As I rise up from the stump I catch sight of a figure. From about100 feet from where I stand my baby brother is staring at me. He smiles and the dimples in his cheeks are just as I remember them. He is 8 years old again and as alive as the day our father killed him. He watches me for a moment, turns and scrambles up the trail. I run after him calling his name and he stops for a second and our gazes lock. He gives me his sweet child’s smile and turns again to continue up the trail. His shock of blonde hair disappears into the side of a vine covered hill and there is no way for me to follow.

  All my life I’ve been telling myself “It’s done and over and you need to forget” and it’s only now that I’m realizing how stupid that is. It’s like telling myself “Don’t ever think of him again. Don’t be human. Go on as though nothing happened”. He came into my life and went much too quickly. His death left a hole in my heart that I have filled with hatred for my father. People who are meant to be together will always find their way back to each other.

  I feel like I have been awakened to a whole new understanding. My pain has been destroying me since the day he died. Maybe, it’s ok to walk away, from the person who broke my heart, and get a new start. The voices in my mind have always told me I failed him. I stood there doing nothing and could have stopped dad from throwing him down the stairs. That one time I was afraid to react has brought me to who I am today. The feelings of failure have swirled around my head like ghosts, telling me I am worthless and no good. I felt like I deserved whatever happened to me and that nothing good could ever come from anything that I did. Jeff is alive and he smiled at me as though I had done nothing wrong.

  The voices from the other realm had tried to tell me all along but I refused to listen. It amazes me that I still believe my upbringing and the things that happened to me are my fault. There are ambiguous times, when I put myself in dangerous situations, and make poor choices simply because of that belief. I have been hard on myself and couldn’t allow myself a chance at happiness or even easier life circumstances. At this moment, I am painfully aware, that I have lived with the conviction that I don’t deserve anything good in life. Somehow this place has given me closure on that chapter of my life. Jeff died in vain, but it wasn’t my fault, and there is a purpose to my life.

  Somehow I know that it was meant for me to come here. I don’t know why but I have a keen sense that the mutt has something to do in all of this. I try to remember when I last saw him. It dawns on me that I don’t know who or what he is. For all I know, he could be out to kill me. But-if he wanted to do that he had ample opportunity to do so before now. I feel like I am at the end of a long tunnel with no way back. There is no choice but to keep going until I’m out the other side. I keep to the trail that Jeff was going up and hope that I will find the dog.

  A guilty thought flashes across my mind as I recall that I am supposed to be looking for Lisa and Davidif that’s at all possible. Before now, I wouldn’t have given them a second thought, or cared if they lived or died. I mean, why should I care? Conflicting emotions arise as I think about them.

  The forest explodes with activity and my reflexes have me on the ground in a moment. Suddenly, a sharp sickly smell fills my nostrils. There is no mistaking the smell of blood, and a lot of it. This place had been said to be a place of savagery and torture so the smell of death is not unexpected. Who knows what strange and unknown creatures lurk here. My heart quickenswith anticipation and I can’t help but wonder if someone is being butchered.

  There are screams coming from the distance and it sounds as though someone is in great pain. It’s like a horrible nightmare I had once when I came across someone being murdered. I stood off to the side watching as a man was dissected alive and his agonizing screams are burned into my mind. Bits and pieces of the nightmare come to me, in vivid flashes, here and there. Have you ever had the feeling of Déjà vu? You know, the feeling that you have been somewhere before? I have this creepy feeling that I have been in this exact moment before. The events of the here and now are rolling out like a movie that has been seen before.

  I know instinctively that I must find cover quickly. My legs somehow take action and I am running toward the hill where Jeff disappeared. I run up to some dense brush and there are thorny vines that I can’t identify making a protective barrier. I know just where there is an indentation along the hill where I can inch my way behind the dense brush. I struggle with the vines and push as close as I can against the side of the hill as I inch foot by foot sideways. Within a few moments I can feel an opening behind me and feel my way down to find out what it is. There is a hole just big enough for me to squeeze into and offers visual protection from anyone in the area. There are rotting leaves inside the shelter and I somehow know to rub them on me and cocoon myself into the leaves.

  The eerie shadows slowly fade away as daylight emerges, which is a huge relief, since I assumed it would always be midnight-black in this place. As the sound of screaming and groaning moves closer, I start to wish it was still dark. I am well hidden here but would feel safer in the cover of darkness. The piercing scream of a woman rings out.

  “Help! Help!” The screams are coming from a short distance away. I can hear intense crying and a woman is begging her captor to let her go.

  “Please. Let me go. Please”. There is a faint scream and the crying fades away. The smell of blood permeates the air, and I push my face into the moldy leaves to keep from throwing up in my mouth. I squeeze my eyes shut and try to think about something else. I can hear the sound of feet shuffling. The sound is within 100 feet of my hiding place and I estimate that a half dozen people are out there. It is impossible to think straight with the sickening odors and I feel as though the world is closing in on me. I am lying as flat as possible and restrict my breathing so that I will not be detected.

  I must have dozed off in the musty, humid place I am hiding. I can’t recall if I have been in the Underworld one or two days. It all seems to blend together and it is difficult to measure time here. I wonder if the people I heard were real or spirits. Gramma June said once that spirits go through the same actions over and over again and don’t realize they are dead. It has been said that spirits that end up in the Underworld experience torture for eternity and that there is no escape.

  How is it that Jeff is here then? He looked so innocent and happy go lucky- just as I remembered him. I wonder why he is here in the Underworld? Maybe that’s not him at all but an illusion. I shake my head no because there was life in his eyes when he smiled at me. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is Jeff and he is trying to lead me somewhere.

  The humidity inside the hiding place has made me thirsty and I remove the water from my backpack. I gulp it down and drain the bottle in no time. I immediatelyregret that I didn’t ration the water instead of draining it all at once. I am out of water and there is not much food left either. The camping trips with Jen’s family hadn’t really prepared me for roughing it to this degree. Back then, not having a flat iron for my hair was a major setback when on a camping trip. Not that the bears cared what my hair looked like or anything.

  It’s only been a couple days but I have covered a lot of ground. My long walks after a bad date have really helped prepare me for this. Never thought I would be thankful for the jerks that caused me so much grief. It’s kind of amazing, how the really bad things that happen to a person, can turn out to be something worthwhile down the road.

  Chapter 3

  I am surrounded by a thick mist. I try and push back the feeling of fear that is creeping
into my bones. My sanity is eluding me at the moment as I survey the miles of forest below me. It looks like it belongs in some freakish fairytale and not really my current reality.

  The landscape looks like I am at the top of a precipice in the Olympic Mountains. Many summer camping trips were spent there with Jen’s family. The only difference is that this forest has a sinister feel about it. The pine trees are so thick you can hardly see between them. The thick mist hovering above the trees makes me think this is just another setting for one of my nightmares. The fresh smell of pine trees is the only thing that makes me certain this is not a dream.

  Inside me I know that something is wrong. I should be moving with urgency but my mind seems to be in slow motion. My backpack seems to be filled with bricks and my legs ache from walking. I am exhausted and so weak my cat could knock me over. My legs are shaking and my heart is skipping beats. The water has been out for over a day now and there have been no streams or watering holes. How strange for a forest to not have water for miles. But then I guess this place is meant to be for the dead not the living. What easy prey I am!

  My heart jumps in my throat as I see a man walking to the left of me. He stopped and stares at me with hollow eyes. His skin is sickly white and his head is bald. He is wearing what has to be an expensive suit. His shoes are shiny and his hair is cut in the manner of the very elite. The energy about him is dark and foreboding and yet he looks like he belongs in a grand setting with marble floors and platinum fixtures. The stranger suddenly smiles at me and I notice blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. His eyes seem to burn with fire, and it is as though the empty shell he had been just moments before, is now alive.

  The fear and alarm coursing through my veins quickens my pulse. My back straightens and the energy that had eluded me before has returned. A breeze stirs through the clearing, lifting the limbs of the tree next to me. The man’s face contorts and blackens as his gaze locks with mine. He gives me one final, long stare and then turns on his heel and disappears into the dense trees.