Chapter 12: Swirling Tentacles
Did I die?
Before she could further ponder this, Mindy emptied the contents of her stomach... Well that answers that question…what happened…? Where am I?
The only sound that she was able to hear was the faint static noise from before, but it was steadily fading away into nothingness, much to her relief. Her head felt like it had been hit by a pile of falling bricks, and there was something pressing into her torso that prevented it from settling into a rising position. She was so numb that she couldn't even feel her own heartbeat thumping. As Mindy struggled to lift her heavy eyelids, her ears picked up the sound of a bone-chilling voice whispering inside of her mind in a singsong tone:
"Rise and shiiiine."
Suddenly, opening up her eyes wasn't so much of a challenge anymore… It wasn't until some unseen force pried her eyes open against her wishes, that she realized the severity of her situation. Her breath came out in strangled gasps as she bolted upright and came face-to-face with a pair of beady crimson eyes.
Mindy instinctively sprung to her feet, and took off running in the opposite direction as fast as humanly possible.
"Where do you think you're going dear thing?" She didn't get very far before she was accosted by a thousand tendrils. "Don't you know it's rude to just up and skedaddle whenever I'm talking to you?"
She wasn't able to form a response. A million blades of pure ink pierced into her body from all directions and encased her in a gooey cocoon that she couldn't break free from. This is it… this is how I die.
The luminescent eyes appeared directly in front of her trembling form.
Mindy shrieked as a searing pain engulfed her mind and set her very soul aflame. She grunted as she struggled to recoil away from her tormentor. It didn't stop the agonizingly gut-wrenching sensation from spreading, but it provided her with just enough relief to keep her from screaming.
But it didn't stop the tears cascading down her cheeks.
"Let's get a look at you… shall we?"
She couldn't protest as the slimy tentacles swept over her head and mindfully unveiled her face to the satanic creature glowering down at her. "Now that I've got your attention, perhaps you can explain WHO THE HELL YOU THINK YOU ARE; WEARING THAT RIDICULOUS PENDANT, AND WALTZING INTO MY PERFECT EUTOPIA OF ORDER?!"
Mindy flinched at the voice's unexpected outburst. She struggled to break free as the blots of ink continued to dissipate out of her sight, but this only caused them to grip her tighter. The tears blurred her vision, and she could barely make out the looming shadowy figure that was the owner of those horrifying bloodshot eyes. Despite how frightened she was, she couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of curiosity as to who or what the eyes belonged to.
"I'VE SPENT COUNTLESS YEARS FIGHTING TO KEEP THIS REALM FROM DESCENDING INTO MADNESS, AND I AM NOT LETTING AN INSIGNIFICANT MORTAL SPAWN FROM THE OTHERWORLD UNDO ALL MY HARD WORK BY TAINTING ITS SPLENDORS!"
The ringlets snaked around her torso before bringing her even closer to monster.
Her nose wrinkled as she caught the potent smell of… cologne? She took another sniff to make sure that she wasn't hallucinating… Sure enough, the rustic scent of mint, spice, and cigarette smoke flooded through her nostrils. Before she had enough time to process how disgusted she was, a sickening mouth appeared underneath the eyes and formed into a hostile scowl. "Now… you listen to me, you sniveling worthless pile of manure… you may think that you're a valiant heroine going off on a quest in order to save your people from a malevolent villain, but in reality… you're nothing more than a cowardly little mouse who fled in their time of need. So take my advice, and get out of our kingdom before you do or say something you'll regret… Do I make myself clear?"
Mindy was speechless… her lips twitched as she tried multiple times to utter a sentence, but all of her attempts ended in vain.
"I believe I was asking you a question." It hissed. "Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?"
Once again, she made no sound…
She flinched as a feral snarl emanated from the figure. "It seems as though my message has not gotten through to you… well… we'll just have to fix that now won't we?" The creature was just about to squeeze the living daylights out of her, when the remaining tentacles moved aside, and the creature viewed her face in full-detail.
Mindy shut her eyes as she braced herself for the worst…
When nothing happened, she thought that she had died out of sheer terror. However, she could still feel the pulsing vice-like grip of the blots of ink around her waist, so she was obviously alright. So… why was it hesitating to end her life right then and there?
She cracked open one of her eyes, and was taken aback by what she saw… she didn't see a creature, a beast, or even a monster standing before her… instead she saw (for the most part) a normal-looking man, and his face was mere inches away from her own.
Mindy took in all of his features with an immense amount of fear as well as fascination…
His waxy skin was as pale as frostbitten snow, and he had shadowy hollowed cheeks that rivaled a corpse's. The nose took up half of his face, and was slightly hooked in an awkward angle. He also had a distinctly pointed chin that stretched far beyond proportion, with a bizarrely crooked goatee. His dark brows were like two brushstrokes that were perfectly symmetrical in every way, and his glossy black hair was swept neatly over the side of his head. His eyes reminded her of two crimson laser beams that pierced into her own, staring directly into her soul. He wore a black-and-white checkerboard suit with an inky tie, and held a cane that vaguely resembled a pen. He also wore a pair of velvet silver colored tights, and polished ebony leather boots.
For a moment, the two stared at each other in astonished silence…
Mindy tried not to make eye-contact, but she always found herself staring back into those mesmerizing orbs even when she had turned away from him. She shuddered as an uncomfortable sensation swept over her… it made her feel as though she had just woken up from falling asleep with her eyes open. Words could not describe how utterly helpless she was at that moment as the suspense practically ate her alive.
"A-Annmarie? Is that…you?" The man spoke in a hushed whisper.
She shook her head in bewilderment.
"No… No… you must be her!" He insisted in a half-crazed shout, "You look… the same as you did all those years ago. But…but how is this even possible? Are you an illusion?"
Mindy winced as he reached out and grabbed her face.
For her to say that his hands were as cold as death would've been an understatement.
She felt as though she had accidently fallen into a frozen lake in nothing but a two-piece bathing suit. Her teeth rattled as he meticulously inspected her features. Who was Annmarie, and why did he believe with all of his heart that she was her?
This went on for approximately five minutes, before Mindy found the courage to gently bring his shaking hands away from her. "I'm-I'm sorry…b-but that's not my name."
The man's eyes filled with tears, "Who are you then?"
"I'm- AHHH!"
The ground opened up underneath her feet, and sent her tumbling into the abyss with an Earth-shattering scream. The man reached for her hand, but his fingers passed right through hers. To her horror, the remaining tentacles swirled around her as she continued her descent down the unending tunnel of nothingness...