Apparitions - Ch. 1: Friends In Low Places
The mist hovered near my feet, faint and hazey. The presence emitted a vibe that flow about the cavern. Emotions filled the air. Tension and hatred were some of the more apparent feelings. Every second a glimpse of a different face could be seen within the dense fog, non alike, some not of earthly form at all. None of them held contentment in their gaze. An aura of disdain overtook my body after a while.
Several stale moments were spent exchanging blank stares. A chill in my bones gave me a feeling of old age. The expressions on the apparition's face faded into ones of sorrow and sadness to an extent that my eyes wheled up with tears. Faint images of war and death washed over me. I was reminded of the previous events at Fort Bringher, but the images that gave me these thoughts were not of my once cherished home. The place I lived for - even to die for - was out of my reach. If I could get back at all, not more than rubble and ash was likely to be found. With all of my being I wished to return. I sensed a bit of that feeling in this odd celesial form as well.
Many different feelings could be taken from this ghost, in fact. At least I had come to the conclusion it was a ghost. It had done me no harm yet and failed at any attempts of communication if it had tried so far. Perhaps its expressions were a vessel to somehow portray knowledge or evoke a desired reaction from me? Whether they were or not, I'd need a more obvious sign to understand.
My urge to run had passed by now. My initial feelings of danger were false it seemed. Perhaps a warning; a sign to run before something terrible occured in this underground world I had fallen into. The only word I could find to describe what happened next was "dancing". The ghost and I drifted in a tight circle. A spark of joy was reflected in its face, a joy long forgetten in past lives. Its fluid movemont around me reflected excitement. Perhaps I was the first person it had met in awhile? At least the first nice one. Without a doubt the ghost was laughing now. The laugh wasn't ordinary at all though. It was distorted and faded to different tones, that of many different beings I presumed. This laughter sparked a thought. If the ghost had many laughs and voices, could it talk? So far it hadn't tried, but assuming things is never a guarantee. If it can't, there's no harm in trying,I thought.
"Hi-o, mate, you come here often?", I said dryly. No response or even acknowledgement was given. "Ah damn creature, can't even speak. A little gesture or something wouldn't be too much to ask, would it?" It was worth a shot at least. By now I half-expected to wake up despite how real this all felt. It seemed impossible, but stranger things have happened. Actually I wasn't sure if that was true in this case. Weirder and weird things were sure to happen soon, I thought. Sure enough I was correct.
"Sir, I beg of you. Do not leave me alone like so many before you," the celestial being said in a low, drull voice. It was cryptic - sort of demonic even - yet soothing at the same time.
That was not the first time I was frozen where I stood that day. "W-what... in Lloyd's name? You... you..." I was having trouble getting out that one last sentence.
"Please, do not be alarmed. You see, I am alone here, too. It has been that way for some time now... It is quite a long story," the misty figure explained. Its tone constantly changed, much like its face. The only similarity with each voice was that they maintained an authoritative quality, even if just an undertone of it. A little girl's face shone with a small glimmer, a teardrop running down her cheek.
This entity was just afraid and alone, much like me.