Between Somewhere and Nowhere

Limbo

The fog was so thick Mary Wardwell thought she'd lost her glasses, her hands fumbled around in the dirt she seemed to be lying in until she realized they were still on her face. Blinking, the former Baxter High teacher made out willowy shadows breaking through the fog, reaching up to the sky, and determined she must be in the woods. Sitting up, Mary winced and reached up to touch the left side of her neck where a small wound throbbed as a lingering reminder of her murder.

"Scissors? Really? Of all the things to die from..." A blood curdling scream silenced her and Mary scrambled to her feet, spinning around in an attempt to find the source. Human-like figures dragged their feet and moaned, wandering just out of her reach. The dark haired woman took a few steps forward and was met with the sound of babies crying, their keening wails overwhelming her and forcing her palms to press against her ears in a desperate attempt to shut them out.

"Is this...Hell?!" Mary was certain it wasn't Heaven. Trying in vain to get away from the horrible sound, Mary walked swiftly in the opposite direction, moving towards the figures she could see beyond the fog.

"Hello?" When they didn't turn towards her, she picked up the pace and began to jog towards one. "Excuse me!"

As she came upon it, the figure turned and Mary shrank back in horror; its face was hollowed out as if vultures had feasted on its eyes and the cartilage of its nose, its lips had been torn away to reveal a ghastly smile full of rotting teeth. Stumbling backwards, Mary's heel caught on a tree root and she fell, quickly lifting her arms to shield herself from the horror she expected to descend upon her. When nothing happened, Mary opened one eye and was relieved to see the figure had disappeared into the darkness.

The fog rolled thickly along the forest floor and Mary was no longer able to see through it but the ominous sounds from beyond it spurred her forward. Crawling on her hands and knees, Mary found a hollowed out tree trunk and curled up inside it, pulling her knees to her chest and ducking her head between them, she fought to calm the panic rising in her chest. Wrapping her arms around her legs and pressing her palms together, Mary began to pray to her namesake; "Hail Mary, full of grace, the lord is with thee. Blessed are thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus."

A low menacing growl reverberated against the trunk and the vibration of a heavy footstep shook the ground, causing Mary to bite her tongue in fear, silencing herself. Tasting blood, Mary felt tears sliding down her cheeks as she pushed herself tighter against the tree trunk and continued to whisper Hail Mary as she felt the footsteps move away from her.

"Hail Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners...now and at the hour of our death. Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Pray for us sinners..." Muttering under her breath and rocking slightly, Mary tried to ignore the screams and infant cries that threatened to deafen her. Her prayers calmed her hammering heart and she was finally able to take a deep breath, the air filling her lungs gave her the courage to leave the tree trunk.

Mary walked aimlessly through the fog, looking for something she couldn't name - a way out, a sign from God, a clearer indication that maybe she was in Hell, some answers. Who was the woman who'd stabbed her? Was that what came of being a good Samaritan?? Mary began to feel lightheaded and paused to lean against a tree, breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth just like her therapist had taught her, trying to ground herself. As she executed her preferred grounding exercise, searching for five things she could see, her gaze travelled over a large, hulking form, much bigger than the listless bodies she'd seen previously. Unconsciously, she gasped and it spun around to face her.

With a cry, Mary started to run in the opposite direction. Stumbling along uneven terrain covered in fog, weaving in and out of the trees, Mary could hear the creature getting closer. The growling drowned out all other sounds and rose in volume until she believed there was no other fate than being devoured by whatever it was. Gasping, her lungs burning, Mary was just about to give up when she felt a hand grab hers and yank hard, pulling her down into a human-sized fox hole. Holding tight to the hand that held hers, Mary allowed herself to be led quickly down a labyrinth of tunnels, heading deeper and deeper into the Earth.

With no light, Mary was running entirely blind, dragging the fingers of her free hand against the wall of the tunnel to keep herself oriented. If she thought about how far underground she was, she would start to panic, so she stared into the darkness instead and imagined she was running through the universe towards an unknown galaxy. She always loved space. A high school teacher who preferred to spend her free time with her nose in a book, Mary Wardwell wasn't particularly fit and she pulled slightly at the hand that guided her, "Slow down...please...."

"Yes, you're right. We should be fine now." The voice appeared to be human and its familiar cadence and warm feminine tones calmed Mary.

Squeezing the hand that guided her softly, Mary's voice sounded strange to her, "Wh...where are we?"

"We're in the tunnels beneath the surface. I dug these with my own two hands to hide from the Soul Eater. I have been here for a very long time, you see. Well, I don't actually know how long because time seems to be different here."

"I see...but where...is here?" Mary pressed.

The voice seemed a bit stunned, a hint at the trauma it had experienced over time. "Oh here? This...this is Limbo."

Mary wrapped her free hand around the hand of her saviour and squeezed warmly, as if her touch could erase the damage done. Her mind spun at the discovery that she was in Limbo. While she was grateful she didn't find herself in Hell, Mary couldn't help but feel slighted by a God that would deny her the keys to his Kingdom after dedicating her life to being his servant. The cold fingers squeezed back and then let go. Mary stopped short, instantly panicked. Stumbling forward with her hands outstretched, searching for the hand in the dark, she came up empty.

Falling to her knees, no longer able to contain herself, Mary began to sob loudly. The betrayal of her death and the arrival between somewhere and nowhere broke her heart so keenly it felt like shards of glass were floating around in her chest. The knowledge that the bruises on her knees from a lifetime of prayer were there in vain bent her body closer to the ground, her palm landing in the dirt as she struggled with that ache. As she processed her punishment, even breathing felt like penance burning her throat and settling in the pit of her stomach like bile. Why had God forsaken her? What had she done to deserve this lonely, terrifying in between? She'd been nothing but good. Pure. Virtuous. Unsullied. Mary was spiralling down into a darkness she hadn't felt for many years and yet, in one moment of uncertainty, there it was again.  

The hiss of a lit match interrupted her internal monologue and the light that followed blinded her. Wiping at the wetness on her cheeks, leaving behind smears of dirt, Mary tried to process what she was seeing. An angel stood before her, holding a candle, her golden hair like a halo around her cherubic face - was this her salvation? Reaching out to the vision, Mary was surprised to feel the same cool hand from the darkness curl around hers and help her to her feet.

"Oh." Mary frowned, feeling slighted by God once again.

"We will be safe here." The woman led Mary over to a hollowed out area where they could sit, "What's your name?"

"I'm Mary." Mary held the woman's sky blue gaze as her fingers anxiously toyed with the cross at her throat. "Mary Wardwell. And you?"

The blonde smiled sadly, "I am Diana Spellman."