What is this feeling? Why am I …warm? I'm supposed to be dead? Does that mean I could still be alive? Wait, what am I saying? That damn bastard Ned ran a sword through my intestine! I wonder if I can wake up.
Johnny slowly opened his eyes, which was much harder than he thought as his lids felt as though they were lined with lead. His pupils dilated as they took in the first, rather dim, light of life after death. The world poured into his eyes. As he slowly looked around, he saw that it was the world of hell.
After all that I've done, I deserve to be here…
He could feel powerful gusts of rather unnatural wind fly past him accompanied by either the sound of rushing or loud blaring. His body felt as though he had been limp for days, not just minutes. With much time to regain the ability to stand up without immediately falling back onto the ground, he eventually was able to stand straight up. He looked around his surroundings. It was definitely Hell, but not the Hell that he had always imagined it would be. It looked more like Detroit back on earth. It was there that Johnny realized that he was standing in the middle of a street packed with rushing cars that probably weren't in any mater going to avoid him.
A bright candy red truck was quickly approaching, smearing the air with dark clouds of exhaust. The engine was roaring like a beast. Johnny scampered and practically dove into a crowd of hobos on the sidewalk to avoid being ran over. His first experience with being struck by a moving vehicle wasn't very pleasant and still isn't something he wanted to relive.
A particularly filthy and unkempt looking man of the hobo's crowd glared down upon the sickly thin and shadowy character that hurtled as them, but it quickly turned into a smile.
"Well, bless my boots," he held out a grubby hand for Johnny to take, which he stared at for a moment before accepting, "It's Johnny C."
His hobo companions turned with interest to his name. Johnny was slightly confused how a bunch of men who slept on the cruel streets in raggedy coats and dressed in whatever garments others had lost use for knew his name so well.
"Um, I'm afraid that I don't know you, sir hobo man." Johnny looked at each of them; their eyes were lit with joy.
The man laughed heartily, "Well, we certainly know you. There isn't an old broken down homeless guy anywhere within the Midwest that hasn't had their day lit up by the joys of Happy Noodle Boy."
Johnny now understood, "Oh, yes, I remember now. It seemed like only homeless people could really appreciate it."
The hobos really seemed to like Johnny with his rather random works of creativity. It took him practically forever to escape them. The more he wanted to leave, the more they wanted to discuss the comic, such as when the next issue was coming out. It took one of the most clever and strategically used verbal tactics that few people were capable of performing correcting.
Johnny shouted and he pointed out somewhere, "Look, that fat guy over there just threw away a half finished corndog!"
They ran, and disappeared. Johnny wiped his gloved arm across his forehead. That was that. He proceeded on down the sidewalk, walking right past the gaggle of hobos digging around in a trash can for something that wasn't even there. He just whistled and passed by without a hint of notice.
Hell seemed to be thriving with people that looked possibly normal and might not have even committed a sin in their lives. The way God and Satan judge whether who goes where is still a mystery to Johnny, but exactly where he belonged was a step above obvious. This is where he belonged after death. After all, he's admitted to doing horrible things with salad tongs. But Hell looked more to him like earth than a fiery blaze pit of eternity from which pain to the best and worst thing that you have to look forward to. And as he watched everyone else just carrying on with their everyday routines as if they had never even been condemned to Hell, he realized that perhaps this place wouldn't be as bad as he imagined. There were a few aspects of the scenery that he found quite beautiful. The sky looked as though it were on fire, not a sunset, but actually in flames.
What truly caught his attention was a giant, almost heavenly looking mansion that towered over every other building and house in all that he could see. It didn't seem very Hellish at all. In fact, it appeared to have been constructed of white marble that the flaming sky cast a reddish glow upon. There were eight great pillars on what seemed to be the front porch. It was a truly magnificent house. And to Johnny's thought, it must have been where Satan lived, which was rather surprising.
He spent most of his time kicking an empty and slightly dented soda can in front of him until he found something more interesting to do. There wasn't really anywhere he could go until he found out more about this place. He kicked the can viciously into the street; where it was suddenly crushed flat by the tires of the same red truck that nearly crushed him flat earlier. But the truck came to a halt, and the darkly tinted windows rolled down, unmasking the driver.
It wasn't a man he was too familiar about. He seemed like someone he might run into on the streets or something, but no one he knew personally. His hair was deep black and shined like a raven's wings, not to mention it was rather well tussled. His skin was slightly darker than pale, but slightly paler than dark. It was difficult to make up one's mind about the tone. Either way, he had a light pink scar at the height of his jawbone. His unforgiving sunglasses gave him a cool look and he dressed completely in black, with the exception of a red tie with many white skulls in a laughing pose.
He leaned towards the window, his voice very tenor and shrouded with a brisk English accent, "Hey, are you Johnny Colt?"
Johnny looked at him, "That depends, are you familiar with Happy Noodle Boy?"
The man raised an eyebrow, which obviously indicated that he had no idea what Johnny was talking about.
He removed his sunglasses, revealing crimson red eyes that any woman with a romantic fascination for a man with a dark side would instantly fall head over heals for. He spoke, "My Lady informed me to fetch you to bring you to her Home. She wishes to meet you."
Johnny shrugged his shoulders, his hands tucked into his pockets, "Where does she live?"
The stranger nodded his head back in the opposite direction, towards the other side of the street, "In that house."
Johnny peered over the hood of the tall truck to glance at this mystery woman's place of residence. All he saw was a second rate Laundromat.
"Uh, sir," Johnny looked at him with an eye of wonderment, "That's a Laundry place."
The man shook his head, "No, I meant, that big house."
This time, he pointed at the towering mansion so near yet so far away. It never looked so huge until now.
Soon enough, Johnny was strapped down in the passenger seat of the next closest thing to a monster truck, headed towards the largest house he had ever seen in his life (and death) with some mysterious guy with an eye discoloration to meet a lady he had never before met in his time down here and yet she wished to see him. It was all kind of overwhelming. Whoever Johnny's driver was, he seemed to be a very good driver. There had been a total of six car crashes and at least a dozen people fell straight out of the sky (Johnny now came to the conclusion that that is how people arrived into Hell, as ungraceful as it gets) that he easily avoided.
"So," Johnny uneasily broke the silence of screeching car tires from every vehicle that couldn't drive around the edge of a coin without wrecking, "What's your name?"
The man took a left as he turned into the smooth driveway of the mansion's estate, "My name is Gerald Wolfen Chefant the Third, but everyone just calls me Jerry for short."
The truck pulled to a stop before the great mansion. All Johnny could really do was gaze upon the magnificent house. In fact, he had to crane his neck back painfully to see that there was actually a little golden clock near the top of the fourth pillar. The walls were perfected whitewashed and polished.
Jerry slid his sunglasses back onto the bridge of his nose, "This is where I let you go, but there should be someone inside waiting for you. My sister, she's a maid in there, she'll take you to my Lady."
Johnny opened the door and slid out of the truck, more like dropped out of the truck, being so high off the ground. The car door slammed shut behind him. And with a heavy rev of the engine and the screeching of huge rubber tires on cement, the Jerry and the giant red truck were gone before Johnny could even turn around to say thank you. Only a pair of black tire print burn out streaks remained. With nothing to turn back to, Johnny proceeded up the polished marble stairs towards the great red elm doors. His feet felt rather heavy.
The doors stood tall before him, a large brass knocker with a crest of a leafless tree set aflame neatly engraved in it. He slowly reached out and wrapped his skinny fingers around the cold metal handle of the knocker. But it had to have weighed a ton! Johnny couldn't lift it more than an inch away from the wood. He gritted his teeth and latched onto it with both hands and pulled with all his might. It barely even budged. It even came to the point where he had to use both hands, and press both feet onto the door! How odd he looked, trying so hard and straining his sticks for arms just to knock on the door.
"Come on," Johnny snarled through his locked jaws, "Move you stupid son of a b-"
"Can I help you sir?" A woman's voice came up behind him.
Johnny turned very red. He loosened up and set his feet back on the ground. Boy was he embarrassed. He turned around and his jaw practically dropped off his face. Did Jerry just come back with a more feminine voice, smaller and daintier facial features, longer hair, a hair band of white roses, a neat navy blue dress, and an apron? This must have been the sister he told Johnny about. She looked so very similar to Jerry that it would have been a shock if they weren't related. She was holding a basket piled to the brim with newly picked carrots. This girl must have been a maid here.
Johnny unclasped his hands from the handle of the large door knocker and hid them behind his back, "I, uh, I'm supposed to be meeting someone inside."
She smiled kingly, "Oh. You must Be Mr. Colt. Yes, the Lady wishes to see you.
She moved towards the door and Johnny stepped aside. But first, the girl eyed the doorknocker, inspecting it all over. Then she lifted it up, all the way up. Johnny began fuming on the inside.
"Hmmm," She spoke to herself, "Maybe this old thing is getting rusty."
She abandoned the knocker and tugged on the handle of the door, which creaked as it slowly swung open. The wanderings of the inside just poured right into Johnny's eyes. He had never been anywhere near a mansion before. This was like from an episode of the Lifestyles of the Rich and the Famous, which didn't last long after Johnny put his foot through the television set for such hatred to the over-glorified celebrity of the day. Johnny wasn't sure what heaven was like, but this house surely belonged up there, not down here in Hell.
A massive and intricate crystal chandelier hung from the high up ceiling, which had a detailed painting of the night sky upon it. It was so realistic you could mistake the ceiling for being missing under the stars. But down on floor level, everything was white, with the exception of the dark doors and wood tables which held various little decorative touches like pure white vases. There were two grand winding staircases trimmed with gold railings that curved around the low hanging chandelier up to the higher level.
The maid set her basket of carrots on one of the nearby polished tables and turned to Johnny, "Follow me please."
She turned to proceed up the left staircase, her black leather shoes clicked briskly on the marble steps. Johnny followed a short distance behind her, running his hand along the golden rail. The two of them marched up the steps and followed a hallway that stretched quite a distance. Towards the end, Johnny could just make out a wooden spiral staircase towards the end. He eyed several paintings on the long walls that somehow portrayed someone rather familiar. Whoever it was gave Johnny a feeling of hate. Johnny followed the maid up the curling steps and they stopped before a door at the peak.
The girl knocked softly on the door, "Milady, Johnny is here to see you."
A gentle voice came through the other side of the door, "Send him in, please."
The maid turned the brass knob of the door slowly and pulled it open, holding it agape for Johnny to pass through. He walked through the thresh hold, admiring the chamber he had entered. It was a lovely room with a massive four poster bed adorned with a draped canopy of lavender silk. Tall shelves of dark oak cased rather ancient looking books, without a space for a single book more. There was a stout little tree growing straight out of the floor with its roots digging into the stone marble. The leaves were a deep green with a waxy coat. It pricked at Johnny's mind as to how exactly it survived. What caught Johnny's eye was the woman standing a little off the balcony view, facing away from him.
Deep brown hair, long angelic white dress, petite frame, It had to be Rose.
She spoke, her voice was deep and smooth like dark chocolate, "I am sorry, Johnny, but I am not the one you think I am."
His face fell with disappointment as she turned around. It was not his Rose. But this woman looked so similar to her, yet so different. Both were beautiful, but this one had more of a fox like majesty to her, when Rose was more like wandering fairy in the moonlight. Her eyes were shaped and colored as almonds were while her face was slightly thinner. This was not his Rose.
The woman held up the lengths of her white dress as she curtsied, "I welcome you, Johnny Colt, to my home. I am Lady Xiao of Shadow Kamistal."
Johnny nodded his head, feeling to be the proper thing to do in such a high manor place, "It is a pleasure to meet you. May I please know why I am here now?"
Xiao spoke as she walked away from the balcony, "You and I have something in common. We are both familiar with a man on earth by the name of Ned."
Just the sound of his name made Johnny's clenched fists tighten. How his hate for Ned stirred within him.
Xiao stood before him, "I am Ned's true wife, his lover. His marriage upon your Rose has nothing to do with love or desire, but hunger."
Johnny looked confused yet serious, "Hunger? Couldn't he just suck some disgusting street trash dry? Why Rose?"
Xiao sighed, "My father was angry with my choice to marry Ned. He cursed him for all blood other than that of his wife would turn to ash in his mouth. Our punishment would be that either I would die from being drained, or he would die from starvation. I chose to die. He survived by remarrying only to drink their blood, all of them resembled me as your Rose does."
A knock sounded at the door. It slowly creaked open, revealing a bright a curious eye peaking inside. The door opened more and a young lady, who also resembled Xiao in a navy blue apron and curly hair, stood outside the door with silver water pitcher in her hands.
She squeaked, "Um, Lady Xiao, I have the water you asked for."
Xiao's voice was gracious, "Thank you, Erica. Please set it by the basin."
The girl's shiny black shoes tapped across the marble floor. Johnny could hear the heavy pitcher clunk on the wooden table on the other side of the room which also held up a large copper basin. All that Johnny could mindlessly think about was dejevou as he watched the girl walk back into the hallway and close the door behind her.
Xiao strolled over to the table that was just attended to and picked up the heavy silver pitcher.
She summoned him, "Johnny, please come here. I think you should see this."
Johnny curiously approached the table with utmost apprehensiveness. He slyly edge around Xiao to see what she directed to. She tilted the pitcher and crystal clear water poured from its spout, splashing into the large bronzy bowl.
Johnny stared at it, seeing nothing unordinary about it. To him, it was only water settling in a fancy bowl. The only odd thing about it that struck Johnny as nothing but strange, was the fact that the pool of water did not have a reflection, yet there was plenty of light to reflect in the room. It was there that something happened. It was like a picture was softly fading into the water's surface. Johnny and Xiao watched carefully, Johnny the one being fascinated. It was as if a television screen was slowly becoming visible under the water. It was a slightly foggy image of two figures. Every moment, the picture became clearer. The two shapes began to fill with color, one white and the other black. The back round was a dark grey. Soon the black figure manifested deep crimson red hair, while the white one had dark brown. It finally sharpened into vision to reveal Ned and Rose in the chapel of the castle, Johnny's blood soaked body off a little ways.
"Rose!" Johnny's eyes widened to the size of tea saucers.
It was like the introduction of a tragic movie. Ned was laughing, Rose was crying, and he was dead. It only became worse when Ned proceeded onto grabbing her by the wrist and dragging her away. The picture followed the two the whole time. Ned tossed Rose onto the floor of his bed chamber. Johnny could only watch in horrible suspense as Ned began his ceremony to drain Rose while she tried to escape. She appeared injured.
Then, Rose slowly lifted off the ground like a marionette. It was like he was hanging off an invisible wall. She was only inches off the cold stone floor. Johnny could have only imagined how terrifying this was to Rose. If only he could be there for her. If only he could save her. Ned smoothly approached her as she wringed and squirmed to free herself from the invisible restraints. Johnny intently stared down into the water, eyeing every advancement Ned made, nervousness and anger boiling up in his stomach. The next thing he saw made him practically growl like a beast. Ned tilted his head down to meet Rose's lips, ignoring her refusal.
"That bastard!" Johnny slammed him scrawny fist down onto the table. Xiao jumped a bit with surprise.
The copper basin rattled on the table and the water was disrupted, making the infuriating image tremor.
"See what happens now, Johnny." Xiao recomposed her calm, wise composure and turned back to viewing the situation on earth. Johnny breathed deeply and peered back into the looking water.
He must have missed something during his little uproar. The only thing Johnny saw was Ned collapsing to the floor with little Squee holding a dagger into his heart. He couldn't help but feel a great swell of pride for his little friend with his first kill. Ned fell to the floor, inert and motionless for the rest of time. It was finally over.
Xiao turned to Johnny, "It was wise that the weapon you gave the child was made of silver."
Johnny scratched the back of his head with a little color to his pale face, "I, actually, didn't know what it was made of. It was one of hundreds I found in my house."
Xiao closed her eyes and waved her hand mystically over the base of magical water, the image slowly fading into the clear liquid.
Johnny started, "No, why did you do that! I wanted to watch them forever! I'll never see them again!"
She sighed and strode to the center of the room, "Johnny. You do not have to worry anymore. Ned is gone, and things will be better. Soon, you and the others will be reunited."
Johnny raised an eyebrow and pleased for answers, "What do you mean? Are they going to die soon? Tell me!"
Xiao raised her hands above her head and her eyes slowly closed. Johnny was feeling a little lightheaded. What was happening? A bright light slowly began eminating from where she stood, the room eventually becoming almost blinded with whiteness. The last thing Johnny saw was Xiao opening her eyes and staring at him, then a brilliant white flash that stung his eyes.
He could hear Xiao's voice, "Farewell, Johnny. We will meet again when the time is right. Until then, you must care for those who need you most."
Where am I?
The Maiden of Light: Yeeeeeeeaaaaaah! I finally finished it! It took me forever with distractions and all, but it is done. Only one chapter left, and it's over. Read, Review, and Rejoice! dances around, throwing confetti into the air