Thursday, April 21, 2005

Is anybody reading these? I had a lot of coms with the first chapter, but the last two got almost none. *sigh* Oh well. I'm still having fun!

Strays part 4 Voices in the Dark It must’ve been the dramatic change in temperature that woke me up, because when I came to for the second time I was freezing. I opened my eyes, but it didn’t make any difference. Everything was pitch black. I was free of the sack though, so I sharpened my senses as I tried to decipher my surroundings. My eyes jumped around seeking any single point of light. My hands felt the stone cold wall I was leaning against and my ass rested on a hard concrete floor. My ears could pick up nothing but my own breathing. I had no idea where I was, I couldn’t see, and everything was deathly quiet. On my own personal meter, I was three notches away from panic. I was about to call out ‘help’, when a small voice came from my right. “Yokata. You’re awake.” My whole body jerked in surprise and I let out a startled scream. The voice came closer. “Gomenasai! I didn’t mean to scare you. Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt you.” It was the same child-like voice I had heard before. “O-genki desu ka? How do you feel?” she asked. I pulled myself together and calmed down a bit. “.... s.. Samui kimochi. Cold,” I whispered. “Hai. Choto mate, kudasai. Wait here.” I waited to hear footsteps or hopefully the sound of a door. But there was silence; not even any footsteps. I called aloud. “Hello?..... Hello!?” My voice echoed in the darkness. It was as if the girl had vanished. Then I had a disturbing thought. Was she ever there to begin with? Did that bump on the head make me blind and was I delirious from hypothermia? Was I loosing it........ if I ever had it? Oh man, I was freaking out now. “HELLO!” I yelled. “Calm down. I’m right here.” Now she was right next to me! I could’ve sworn there was nobody there! “Here, take this.” I reached my hand into nothingness and felt something soft and fuzzy. I grabbed it. It was a blanket. Maybe I wasn’t going crazy. Well, anymore than I already was. I quickly draped the blanket around my shivering body. Whoever my captor was, they sure were friendly. “Dai jobu desu ka? Honka wa? Are you OK? Do you want anything else?” But I was through playing ‘wounded soldier.’ I wanted to get to the bottom of this. “I can’t see. What’s going on? Where am I?” The girl spoke to me in a calming voice. “Don’t worry. You’ll be OK. Your eyes just haven’t adjusted yet. Now, come with me.” I felt a hand grab my arm and help me up. Gently pulling me along, she lead me around a nearby corner. As soon as we rounded the bend, I started seeing a faint point of light. I couldn’t tell what it was just yet. The light was very dim and I had left my glasses at home. I glanced down at my guide. I was just faintly starting to make out her features. She was about 5 foot 2, wearing a dark robe, and white gloves. Her head and face were covered by the robe’s hood. Suddenly I got a real creepy feeling. Had I been kidnapped by some cult and was now to be a virgin sacrifice or something? Er.. I mean.. um.... oh, who am I kidding? “Well, if this is some kind of trap,” I thought, “I’m not going to go down easy.” As we slowly walked towards the dim light, I was ready for anything. As we got closer, I could see that the light was actually a firing barrel, like the kind you’d see bums crowded around in a back alley. The fire wasn’t strong enough for me to fully make out where I was yet. It only illuminated a small portion of the room. I felt like I was in some kind of vampire movie. We stopped about five feet away from the barrel. My guide let go of me and stepped to the side. I firmly planted my feet and curled my hands into fists as I looked into the surrounding shadows. “Here we go,” I thought. A new voice came from the other side of the barrel. “Artukei?” Wouldn’t you know it; a woman. “Is your name Artukei?” I glared into the darkness. “Depends on who’s asking,” I said. “No need to be defensive,” she said. “I only want to talk.” “Yeah, that’s what they all say. Then why all the dramatics? Can’t you talk to me face to face? Or are you just some sniveling worm who hides in the shadows?” I heard a growl from another part of the room. The head voice chuckled. “Very well. I must warn you though. My appearance may..... shock you.” I scoffed internally. “I’ve seen a lot of things. If she can shock me, she deserves to.” As the figure started to inch its way towards the fire, my imagination went wild as I pondered what could be so shocking. Was she horribly disfigured? Was she a terrifying alien? Was she really a man? I started to see a vague but feminine outline. The first thing to come into the light was her foot. The light continued to creep up her body as she came closer. So far I saw nothing shocking. She was wearing white stockings, long white gloves that came up to her elbows, a white thong, and a very peculiar top that only seemed to cover the front and sides of her breasts. She stood almost 6 feet tall, had long dark hair, and wore a white headband. “So she dresses a little provocatively. Big deal.” Yet I had the strangest feeling that I’d seen her before. What did this decadent femme fatale want with me? Why did she seem so familiar? And how could I be this damn lucky?!

Comments (2)