Chapter 1 : A Special Kind Of Hike

The trek had been rather uneventful so far. Others would probably find such a hike rather boring, and while Abdul could certainly get glimpses of that sentiment, he didn't share it. For him, this lack of action, lack of things happening, seemed like a hidden blessing. The peace and tranquility that came with this uneventfulness was like a form of medicine for him.

It helped him clear his thoughts, put his emotions in order, and think of something other than his future obligations. A brief respite. A break from real life. An opportunity to, just for a while, forget everything and everyone. Right now, for the time being, it was just him and the mountain.

He took a deep and greedy breath, eagerly taking it all in. Yes. If only such tranquil moments weren't so few and far in between. But he couldn't complain about what he had right now, so he might as well enjoy it.

Abdul kept blissfully looking around him, taking in all the sights. He was alone on this path, yet he didn't feel lonely. If anything, he felt more "connected" now with his surroundings than he felt anywhere on his walks back in town. Perhaps he really was an introvert after all, but he didn't care. He felt at peace and that was good enough for him.

He closed his eyes in quiet relaxation, not paying attention to the path in front of him. He wasn't concerned. This was not the first time he had walked this path on his own. He knew that it was a straight line for about a few more kilometres before he had to change paths. He could simply enjoy the moment for now.

Unfortunately, such tranquility did not last long.

A sudden gust of wind began to hit him. This by itself did not surprise him. It was not unusual in these places for such air currents to pick up one moment, seemingly out of nowhere, then the next vanish without warning, just as suddenly as they had arrived. He couldn't remember the name of that phenomenon.

However, what was weird was that the wind did not let up, like he expected. In fact, it picked up in speed and volume. The other odd thing was that he quickly looked around, yet nothing else was being affected by it. No trees shaking, no leaves falling. Nothing.

But that did not make sense ! He could feel the wind hitting him ! He shivered at the coolness of its currents ! Yet it was like the air had a mind of its own, and was specifically targeting him !

'A gust of wind holding a grudge against me ?' He lightly scoffed at himself. 'Man I must be really out of it.' He thought.

And then he heard it. The wind picked up even more around him, to the point where he could hear nothing else around him. At first it was so low in volume, that he dismissed it as thin air. But slowly it grew in intensity, until he could no longer mistake it, or deny it.

"Help me !"

It came off as a whisper in his ears, yet somehow the words shook Abdul to his core, causing shivers to roll down his spine. He wasn't sure if it was the words being said or the way they were being said that shook him the most.

"Help me !"

The tone of that voice. Abdul wasn't sure who could speak like that. Just enough to be understood, yet not able to tell anything about themselves. He couldn't tell whether the voice belonged to a man or a woman, an old man or a child. It was like something else was trying to talk to him.

"Help me !"

Abdul reluctantly looked around him. Disturbing and uncanny though it might have been, it was still a cry for help, and he couldn't bring himself to make a run for it. He was the only person around, as far as he knew. It could be hours, days, or even weeks, until the next person came around. By then, it would certainly be far too late.

"Where are you ?" He asked, looking around in vain. As much as he tried, he could find no sign of the person in need, or even trace the source of the voice. This stupid gust of wind was certainly not helping, making the voice sound like it was all around him simultaneously.

"Help me !" The voice cried again.

'Well, I can't help you if you don't tell me where you are, can I ?' Abdul thought in frustration. Then, he had an idea.

"Hang on !" He yelled. "I'll try calling for help !"

As quickly as he could, he pulled his cell phone out of his backpack, and dialed the number of the local police station. This wouldn't be the first time he had to contact them, after all.

However, his rising hopes were quickly dashed away, when the call was suddenly cut off. He tried calling them again, only for the same thing to happen twice. Frustrated, he took a look at his phone's settings, and his eyes widened.

"No signal ?! Seriously ?!" He muttered angrily, cursing his phone company's mobile network. "Nation-wide mobile reception my ass !"

"Help me !"

He would have time to dwell on that later. Abdul let out a deep sigh. No one else around to help, and no way of contacting someone. It looked like he would have to do this himself.

'Fingers crossed.'

"Hey !" He put his hands around his mouth, trying to sound louder. "Can you hear me ? Where are you ?"

"Help me !"

"How can I help you ? Please, just talk to me !" Abdul had to admit, this was getting kind of annoying. It was like whoever it was didn't want to be helped.

Then, the gust of wind changed course. Before it was blowing all around him. Now, it was like it was pushing him in one direction. He looked at the way the wind was pushing him. It led off the beaten path, towards a forested area.

Abdul hesitated. He had been here before, true, but he had always stayed on the path. He had been warned in the past not to tread far from it, since the mountain hadn't been thoroughly explored.

Maybe that's what he was dealing with ? Some curious traveler that ventured into the wilderness ? But then, wasn't it possible that he might share the same fate ?

He wasn't given time to dwell further. The air current picked up again, pushing him towards the forest. Weird, it was like the wind was guiding him. Of course, that was just ridiculous, wind currents didn't do that.

'They also don't do, whatever all this is.'

"Help me !" His eyes widened. The voice had come from the treeline. He was sure he heard right. Whoever was in trouble, had to be there.

Grumbling a bit, he put his cell phone inside the backpack, and made his way towards the trees, the wind eagerly following him.

"Hey ! Where are you !"

"Help me !" The voice came from further into the foliage, louder than before. He was making progress.

"Hang on !" He yelled, trying to encourage whoever called out, and to calm his own nerves. "I'm coming !"

He rushed into the green foliage and soon broke into a sprint. He tried to traverse through the forest as quickly as he could. That gust of wind finally became useful, as it seemed to be pushing and silently egging him on, somehow making him feel as if he was going faster.

The voice continued to call out for help, yet every time it somehow seemed to get a little louder, and a little bit closer. Yet despite being more distinct than before, it still somehow sounded disturbing and uncanny. He wondered what its owner even looked like.

Unfortunately, he soon came to a dead end, as a wall of solid rock blocked his path. He took a quick look around. Rock wall in front of him, thick vegetation behind him. And no way to tell where he had come from. Oh yeah, he was officially lost.

'Great.' He thought in frustration. 'Can't wait to see how in Jahannam I'm going to find my way back. Especially if I somehow find this guy.'

"Help me !" The voice was calling him again, its direction coming from somewhere to his left towards … the rock ?

He made his way closer to it. He had to squint his eyes, there wasn't much sunlight left anymore, yet he soon saw a dark opening inside the rock wall.

'A cave ? Here ?' He wondered.

"Help me !" There was no mistaking it, the voice was coming from the cave.

Abdul hesitated once again. If this guy had been a cave dweller, and he was stuck in there, what chances did he have of actually helping ? This could actually get very dangerous for him. Wouldn't it be better if he quickly got back into town and called for help ? Someone who was an expert at things like this ?

Of course, it would have been better, if he really knew how to get back, and hadn't run off into the woods chasing a creepy voice and pushed along by a weird gust of wind -which by the way still kept pushing him towards the voice-.

Abdul sighed. Whether he liked it or not, he was stuck here, just like the one who called for help. Might as well try to be useful and help out somehow. He would cross the "How do I get back home ?" bridge when he got there.

'One problem at a time.'

He pulled the phone out of his backpack, turned its flashlight on, and taking a deep breath to calm himself, he slowly entered the dark cave.

"I'm coming in ! Just hold on !"

If there was one positive about being inside the cave, it was that the annoying gust of wind had finally vanished, just as quickly as it had appeared. Odd, he thought that he would feel relieved now that the air currents had stopped chasing him, and while he did also feel that, he also felt nervous and worried for some reason. As if something supporting him had suddenly disappeared.

He felt shivers running down his spine. He wanted to blame it on the coldness and the dampness of the cave, but his gut instincts were telling him a different story. Something was not right about this. He didn't know what exactly, only that it was.

He continued to traverse the dark cave, the light of his cell phone his only company. It was quiet. Far too quiet. Where did that voice crying for help go ? What of whoever had been calling for him ? It had been so loud a minute ago. Why the sudden shift ?

Abdul's body stiffened in quiet contemplation.

'You don't think …' He mentally asked himself.

It couldn't be, could it ? Had whoever was calling for help succumbed to his injuries ? Had he been too late ?

'I have to hurry !' He thought.

"Hey, uh, whoever you are, don't give up on me, okay ? I'm almost there !" Abdul wasn't sure if he was trying to calm the person in need, or himself.

He picked up the pace, now almost running through the cave, which almost made him slip and fall on the ground a couple of times. Yet he couldn't let up. He had to keep going.

Before long, he stopped dead in his tracks. The cave, once dark and only illuminated by his phone's flashlight, began to become more clear to see. Soon, he saw some kind of blue light hitting the cave's walls. Abdul noticed that the source of the mysterious light was coming out of a room further inside.

His curiosity piqued, he ventured onwards, entering into the radiant room. His eyes widened at the sight.

An interior chamber, possibly larger than his house, greeted him. Its walls reflected the same blue light that had led him in here. He looked towards the source of the blue light. It came off a pool of water, placed in the middle of the chamber. Its water, just like the light, was also bright blue.

Abdul closed his mouth, which had been hanging open, and took a quick look around. The only thing of any note in this chamber had been the glowing pool. But then, where was the man calling for help ? Was he somewhere else in the cave ? But Abdul hadn't seen any other rooms in the cave, and this was a dead end. So where could he be ?

"Hello ? Can you hear me ?" He asked aloud. He made his way towards the pool. Maybe the radiating light could help him see better.

"Is anyone here ?" Abdul looked around the room. No one answered his question.

Curious, he inched to the edge of the pool. And looked at it. Once again, he was stunned. He had never seen water so radiantly blue. It made it somewhat difficult to notice his reflection in the water. He couldn't even see the bottom of it, though he doubted it would be very deep.

Abdul lowered himself towards the pool and placed a free hand inside the water. It didn't feel any different from any other source of water. It was quite cold, though he was in a cave, so that didn't give him pause.

What did give him pause was that the water began to glow around his submerged hand, as if responding to his movements. Slightly taken aback, he pulled his hand out of the water. He looked at his now-wet hand, which was thankfully still in one piece. Then, he looked at the water, which kept glowing for a moment. The shining soon stopped, yet the water did not lose its beautiful radiance.

"Ya Allah." He whispered to himself.

No sooner had he uttered those words, that he heard it. An all too familiar by now gust of wind began, its source coming from the entrance to the chamber, where he had come from.

Abdul turned towards the entryway, wary and on his guard, yet refused to move from his kneeling position. He could feel his heart on his chest, beating faster and faster than before. He pointed his flashlight towards the entry, not knowing what to expect.

The air did not reach him, yet somehow it sounded louder than ever before. As if it was right in his ears. He began to take quick breaths, desperately trying to calm himself down.

'It's not real. It's not real !'

The wind now began hitting him. Abdul braced himself. He didn't know what to brace himself for, yet he did so anyway.

'This is all in your head ! It must be !'

"Hello ? Is anyone there ?" He asked not knowing who might answer to him.

And then, he saw it. A dark shadow stood in the entrance of the chamber. To Abdul, it looked like a puff of smoke, standing, no, floating around the entrance. Though he couldn't discern any characteristics from the shadow, and couldn't see any features, like eyes, on it, Abdul had the distinct impression that the shadow was looking right at him.

No. Not at him. Into him. It felt like it was staring right into his soul, scrutinizing him in silence. Abdul stood where he was, too afraid to make a move.

"Hello ? Can you hear me ?" He asked. Maybe if he struck up a conversation with it, showing that he wasn't a threat, it would calm down. Or so he hoped.

Yet the shadow stayed silent.

"I-is this your home ? Do you live here ?" He tried again. More silence followed.

"I-I-I didn't mean to trespass. I was looking for someone calling for help. T-the sounds came from here." Abdul tried to explain himself. "M-maybe you've seen them ?" He added hopefully.

For a moment, Abdul expected the shadow to remain silent, leaving them both at an awkward impasse. But the figure did not do that. It did something worse.

It moved.

The shadow slowly marched forward, its "body" touching the ground of the cave. Then to Abdul's further horror, it began to change in shape. Limbs sprung out of it, forming into shadowy legs.

"L-look, I-I am not looking for trouble." Abdul uttered, trembling. "All I want is to help whoever was calling for me. As soon as I find them, I'll leave."

A body had now formed over the legs, giving the shadow the appearance of an animal, walking on all fours. Abdul could vaguely see a tail behind it.

"Or … Or I could just leave right now. P-please, just let me go, and I promise you'll never see me again."

'I'm sorry, whoever you are, but I didn't sign up for this.'

Abdul silently cursed himself for his show of cowardice. But this was simply far too much for him. He had agreed to help a person in need, not … whatever was happening right now. He hoped that whoever had cried for help would forgive him for leaving him alone with that … thing.

Of course, all that implied that the shadowy creature would let him go, and so far it was showing no signs of doing so.

Finally, a head appeared where Abdul guessed the shadow's head was supposed to be. The head slowly morphed into that of a wild predator, and when its transformation was complete, the shadow-creature closely mimicked the appearance of a dark …

'A Lion ? Oh no …'

The lion of shadows took a few steps closer towards Abdul. He looked at where its eyes were supposed to be, searching for any hints of emotion. To his horror, he found none. Only a pair of black, seemingly lifeless orbs staring back at him.

'Allah Yahmini ! Allah Yahmini !' Abdul silently prayed. "You don't have to do this." He pleaded. The lion stared.

"Do you even understand a word I'm saying ?" The lion stood motionless.

'What is it waiting for ?! If you're going to do it, just get it over with already !'

Was the lion toying with him, waiting to see what he would do to try to get out of this ? Was it giving him false hope, some false sense of security ? He had heard of cats playing with their prey, before killing it. Was it doing something similar ?

For a brief moment, frustrated by the beast's inaction, Abdul's fear was subsumed by another emotion. Anger. He looked furiously at the dark lion, and yelled at it.

"What are you waiting for ?! What do you want from me ?!"

Seemingly waiting for this moment, the lion answered him. The wind hitting him increased dramatically, blocking all other sounds around him. Abdul, once again overcome by fear, could only watch hopeless as the beast made its move.

It lowered itself on the ground, until its belly was touching the rough surface. Then, before Abdul had time to snap out of his stupor, before he even had a chance to think of something, the shadow pounced.

It defied all common sense, yet Abdul saw it with his own eyes. As the beast was in the air, it released a mighty roar, which somehow pierced through the strong wind, as if it was yelling in his ears. And through that roar, Abdul heard a scream. A voice crying for help. Ethereal, uncanny, and inhuman. A scream distinct and powerful, yet somehow incapable of revealing anything about its owner.

"HELP ME !"

Abdul, with horror in his eyes, realized too late that he had "found" the "person" he had been looking for, the one in need of his "help". He wouldn't have time to dwell on that, however.

The shadow lion was almost about to tackle him. Finally, Abdul's instinct of flight kicked into high gear, his need to survive suddenly overpowering any other function. He acted subconsciously. Self-preservation instructed him to avoid the predator's incoming attack. The most quick and efficient way of doing so was to jump backwards. And in any other scenario, this tactic might have worked.

But not here. With so much happening in such a small amount of time, Abdul had completely forgotten about the radiant pool of water behind him. Or the fact that he had been kneeling at the very edge of it. So when Abdul jumped backwards, in an attempt to dodge the shadow-monster's attack, he didn't land on solid ground, as he had hoped. He found himself over shining blue water.

The laws of gravity took over from there.

"OH SH-"

Before Abdul could do anything, he found himself underwater with a loud *Splash*. His vision quickly became glowing blue, and soon the water was shining so much around him, that he couldn't see past his hands. Abdul tried to swim to the pool's surface, yet no matter how much he tried, he couldn't lift himself upwards.

Worst of all, he was sinking !

Panic began to overtake him. He hadn't taken any breath before his unexpected dive. He did not have much time. It didn't matter if there was a lion of shadows waiting for him up there. He had to get out of the water now !

Abdul doubled his efforts, trying to get to the surface, yet all his efforts failed. It felt like, no matter how much he tried, his hands simply couldn't get a grip. It was like he was slipping, but underwater. But, that didn't make any sense ! None of this made any sense ! What was even happening ?

Abdul continued to sink into the pool, the depth of it seemingly having no end in sight. He wasn't sure if it really was that deep, or if his senses of coordination were just that messed up. Slowly running out of air, as time passed, his struggles became less frequent, less intense and had much less volume to them. Soon after that, he stopped struggling entirely, losing all motion, yet still sinking deeper.

'This can't be happening. This can't be happening !' His vision began to darken.

'Please, it can't end like this.' His eyes closed without him willing them to. He could no longer hear any noise coming from his ears.

Then, he finally felt his back hitting something hard behind him. Guess he finally reached the bottom. Without him willing it to, his mouth opened, releasing what scraps of oxygen he had left.

'It's not fair …'

"Help me."

"Help me !"

"Help me !"

"HELP ME !"

As if struck by lightning, Abdul jerked himself off the ground's cold surface. He instinctively tried to breathe for air, yet only water entered his lungs. Gagging, he forced his mouth shut, and without any time to waste, he jumped off the bottom of the pool, making a mad dash for the surface.

He did not understand. He didn't know what was going on. He did not understand why his hands were able to get a grip now, when they couldn't before. He did not know why or how he hadn't yet drowned, when he had lost all his senses only a few minutes prior.

He didn't care for any of that. The only thing that concerned him was getting to the surface. Now ! Nothing else mattered !

His vision was blurry. He could only see glowing blue in front of him. He couldn't even make out his hands. But he could still feel them, and that was enough for him. He could feel himself swimming upwards. He could not see the surface, but he knew that it was close.

After all that had happened to him, after all that he had been through, he refused to die here. He wouldn't go down like this.

'Just a little bit more !' He tried to cheer himself on. He was close, he could feel it.

*GAAAAAASP*

Finally, he reached the pool's surface. He gasped for all he was worth, greedily taking in fresh oxygen. He furiously coughed in-between breaths, yet he couldn't care less.

Without missing a beat, he used what little of his strength he had left to drag himself ashore. It took him a lot more time and effort than he would have liked, but his desire to live was stronger than his exhaustion.

Finally, he crawled out of the pool, dragged himself a little bit further from the edge, and only then did he allow himself to collapse on the cold, hard rock. The cave's surface was by no means comfortable, but Abdul didn't care at all. After what he had been through, he might as well have been sleeping on clouds. He just lay there, panting heavily and trying to rest.

The water suddenly stopped glowing behind him, its radiant blue colour becoming dimmer and dimmer. The light soon stopped reflecting on the chamber's walls, seemingly retreating back to its place of origin. The once shining room slowly began to darken. Abdul was too tired to care.

Before the light fully vanished from the chamber, he did notice the bizarrely golden colour that now decorated his right hand, yet he paid it no further mind.

'One more problem to deal with later.' He thought.

Soon after that, the light withdrew completely from the chamber, leaving Abdul in an utterly pitch-black room. Without any fanfare, and having completely exhausted all his energy reserves, Abdul closed his heavy-lidded eyes and gave himself into complete darkness.

Sleep came to him almost instantly.

Translation(s)

Jahannam : Hell

"Ya Allah." : "Oh (my) God."

'Allah Yahmini !' : 'God Protect me !'