Devil's meadow

Chapter 9- Trust issues

Managing to open my eyes, i groaned in pain at my wounds, but something was lay over the top of my injuries. It looked like cloth, which was bounded down to my rib cage and shoulder where i was shot by the king's servants and assistants. I glanced around, taking in my surroundings and happened to notice all the weapons that i had were slung up on the walls of wherever I was. Before blacking out, i remembered that figure of a person coming down to help me, and so i thought this was his doing. I tried to get up, but the pain that both punctures exerted was unbearable. They noticed my attempts, and with a low but desperate voice, they uttered a sentence.
"Don't move. Unless you want to open the stitches and cause a bloodbath in my base."
His tone of voice seemed, sarcastic almost but serious. I stopped moving and lowered myself back down carefully.
"A thank you would have been nice."
"Thanks..."
The look in his eyes pierced straight into my soul, and the pigment in them was a mix between black and red.
"I saw your..struggle and decided to help. I'm not that cruel."
"That's exactly what everyone says before they stab you in the back."
"I'm not like that. I actually make an attempt to help others."
"Wow. What a hero. Anyway, what's your name?"
"....it's Blaze."
"Hunter."
"Hunter, huh? Is your last name Ortiz?"
"Yeah, why?"
"People have been talking about you. They can't believe you denied orders from the king. You could have been killed again."
"I'm already dead, how does it matter. Doesn't this place run on a cycle?"
"No, It doesn't run on a cycle. There's a reason this place is called devil's meadow. Once someone dies a second time, their flower dies on the field that was given to the king as a gift."
"So we all have a flower that eventually dies?"
"Yes. If you die again, game over."
"Huh."
"I bet you're wondering where we are."
"Yeah, actually, we are we? Are we in another room?"
"Specify "another room" for me."
"As in are we in the main terrace?"
"Nope. We're underneath the pool of water you jumped into. Just further down."
"Oh Jesus. Can we see under  the water?"
"Not really. It's at an angle, so even if you tried, you wouldn't be able to."
"Oh, ok then. So how long have you been down here?"
"For at least 5-6 years. I've been presumed dead for a while."
"So does that apply to me then?"
"Specify."
"Have i been presumed dead?"
"I don't think so. Until they actually run the evidence through, they won't let anyone else know the verdict."
"Right. Has anyone else been down here before?"
"Before you, yes. Before me, no. I never knew about this place until i jumped in here escaping the guards. Although, I did help a few people who either fell in, got pushed in, or jumped in trying to escape someone."
"Oh, you helped a few people then."
"I did. One person even gave me a sword as a thank you memory."
"Do you still have it?"
"I sure do. I've kept it for years."
"Seems special to you."
"It is. So did you come here with anyone?"
"No, but i did find my mother."
"Where is she?"
"She left. I had an argument with her over my age."
"So she left you to fend for yourself i'm guessing?"
"Yep. She never cared for me anyway."
"Well that's not a stable relationship."
"You don't know what it's like though. To be neglected...."
A moment of silence between us commenced and he walked over to a shelf that had medicines and needles lay in perfect, straight lines. Blaze picked a needle up, added some medicine into it and started striding back over to me. He stared right into my eyes, took the cap off and took the side of my other arm.
"Hold still."
I flinched slightly. I never used to like needles, they always hurt, but his method of injecting me with whatever he added into the barrel actually calmed me down. He took the needle out of my flesh, placed it onto a tray, stood next to me and smiled, letting me know he could be trusted.
"See? Not that cruel."
"I see that now, but when i first met you, i had trust issues."
"And I don't blame you for that. Trust is the key to friendship."
"So what did you inject me with?"
"Just something to help with the healing process."
"Is it meant to hurt for a few days?"
"No, that one's painless so you won't feel any symptoms."
"Ok. You're not going to hurt me...are you?"
"No, why would i? My purpose is to help those who can't protect themselves, not to hurt them. Do you really think I'm like the guards?"
"No, I don't. It's just..sometimes people can look like someone they're not."
"So, you think I'm lying to you?"
"No, i never said that. I have trust issues, sometimes it sounds like something else is being said."
"Right."
He stared right into my eyes, and within a few seconds, he glanced over his shoulder and started walking over to another tray which included two small rings that i could just about see. Blaze picked both of them up, and paced over to another tray that was slightly taller than the other one. Carefully examining both rings, he walked back over to me took my arm, and placed one of the steel rings into the palm of my milky white hand, and them closed it using my fingers. Next, he took the other ring, and slid it down his middle finger and clutched his fist tight. After a while he looked at me, and mumbled a sentence.
"Well!"
"Well, what?"
"You're not gonna put the ring on?"
"Is this your vision of a proposal?"
"What, no. That ring was going to me by my father. He told me to give it to hunter and it didn't matter what his last name was."
"Oh. Well in that case, I'll put it on."
I slid the steel ring down my middle finger, flattened my hand out, and examined the circlet, then placed my hand back down the side of my body. I managed to muster a grin at Blaze and although my smile wasn't welcoming, he smiled back. My eyesight then made contact with a badly damaged door, incased in knife scratchings, and broken pieces of white. It was a dark brown colour, but some areas had lost colouration, since they were a much lighter pigment of brown. He noticed where i was looking, and ambled over to the door, glanced back at me and exclaimed a sentence.
"I see, you're looking at the door that keeps us in here."
"That's the door that's keeping us in here?!"
"Yes. Where did you think we were?"
"In the sky, I don't know!"
"You don't need to shout, Ortiz."
"Sorry..."
"It's fine. That door you're staring at is the door that i found on the ground when i first came into this base. I just bolted it onto the frame."
"Oh, that makes sense."
"Yeah."
Another moment of silence passed between us, and the gushing of water could be heard behind both of us.
I feel...uncomfortable right now.
His pupils flinched, and i noticed they had turned fully black. Even his iris and sclera had changed to a deep charcoal colour, which reminded me of oil.
"Blaze?"
"What?"
"Why are your eyes fully black?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Look in the mirror."
He turned around the face the mirror on the wall, and gasped as soon as he saw what i was talking about.
"Holy sh*t! Why are they like that?!"
"I don't know!"
"Ok, this isn't a problem. This is fine. I'm fine."
"Uh.."
"What now?"
"Nothing! I was just going to say the window is cracked."
"Wait...what?"
I shot straight up into the air swivelled my body around and made a hand gesture to show him what i meant. Blaze walked over to the window and watched it carefully, his eyes almost squinting. He looked at me and nodded slightly telling me it was time to go. This wouldn't have been a problem if there wasn't water behind the glass, but there was and it was causing pressure to build up against it, which we could both hear. I leaped off the bed i was lay in, groaned in pain, stumbled forwards, caught myself, and hobbled over to the battered door. Blaze was getting ready to make a run for it, when a small shard of glass broke off, causing water to force its way through and onto his possessions that was lay about. Knowing we were going to be blocked in, i opened the door and limped into the corridor, with Blaze following close behind. As we started to move, the sound of the whole window breaking intensified and that's when we both realised, the window had fully smashed. Water gushed into the base, and Blaze urged me to keep going forwards until we were in the clear.
"Don't stop."
"Ok, I don't want to be trapped in a flooded room anyway."
"Fair point."
As we started to speed up, i clutched my hand against my rib cage, and as my heart started beating faster, my adrenaline kicked in. The corridor eventually widened out and Blaze trudged next to me.
"So, how did you find the king?"
"I, uh, accidentally got myself caught. He killed one of his servants over statistics and percentages and i witnessed it. I was chased over the stairs by the entrance, slipped, hit my head on the ground, blacked out, and then taken into a room to be interrogated."
"Oh, it sounds like you've been through hell. No pun intended."
"Are you serious Blaze?"
"Sorry."
We had both been walking through the corridor of his base for a while, and as the silence filled the room, our footsteps were the only things that could br heard. Blaze had been looking at me a few times for a while, and although it was making me feel uncomfortable, it was actually nice to know someone finally cared.
"If only the base lasted longer."
"How long did you..?"
"For at least 3 years."
"That short huh?"
"Yeah."
We got to the end of the empty corridor, to which we were greeted by another door similar to the other one, only this time, it looked brand-new. He pulled it by the handle and i was surprised to know we were still in the king's palace. Guards rushed to and fro, taking chit-chat wherever they went, and as Blaze glanced over at me, he started walking away.
Where are you going?!
He smiled at me, jumped down into the centre terrace, and ran. Assistants called out to the other servants, and everyone chased him as fast as they could. His quick actions gave me enough time to sneak past them all, and as i ran into more rooms, Blaze shouts at the top of his lungs.
"ONCE YOU GET TO THE LIGHT ALTER, HIT IT!"
The light alter? Must be important then. Copy that compadre.

***

As i booked it down more corridors and hallways, the light in-front of me intensified, and i instantly knew that i was heading the right way. It seemed like everyone was busy chasing Blaze because not a single person lay in sight. However, i still had yet to find the king and avoid him at all costs. I almost fell over a few times, and i was getting tired, but i stayed persistent throughout. I kept running when all of a sudden my full name was called.
"HUNTER LORA ORTIZ!!"
Uh oh.
"I KNEW SOMETHING WAS OFF."
"What...pfft...no."
"I'm not that stupid."
The king appeared in front of me and his pitchfork was tightly wrapped in his fist, with his eyes glowing dark red, raging with fury.
"You have a-lot of nerves showing your face again."
"Let's just say, I had help."
"I can see that."
"This is it then. The time that your rein comes to a close."
"I'm the king of hell, you can't kill me."
"Maybe not, but i have a friend who will come in 3...2....1..."
Blaze arrived just in front of me.
"You called?"
"Oh I'm scared."
"Oh, you will be."
We both looked at each other, showed him the rings, and he hissed and flinched in a demonic way that made us stumble backwards, not with fear, but with surprise. As his back hunched over, he teleported away.
"Ok, what just happened?"
"I forgot to tell you, the rings we have, act as a defence towards him. So if he tried to hurt is, he won't be able to."
"That's awesome."
We carried on towards the light alter, where it glimmered over us both, blinding our eyes with every inch and as we moved closer to it, the railings began to cut off. The beacon beckoned us closer towards the edge of the path and as i snapped out of the trance, Blaze fell over the ledge where i just about managed to catch him by the arm.
"Blaze snap out of it!"
"Pretty light."
Oh ma gosh, it's like taking care of a f*cking toddler.
"I want to touch it."
"Are you serious dude?"
"I feel like I'm flying."
I was slowly starting to lose grip and as i looked impatiently into the darkness lurking below us, i realised what i needed to do.
"BLAZE!!"
My voice echoed around us and he lost connection to his trance and looked me dead in the eyes.
"What..happened?"
"Don't freak out, but look over your shoulder."
He glanced over his own body, and nearly slipped out my hands.
"Sh*t! Don't let go!"
"I won't. I'm trying to find a point so i can pull you up."
"There's a railing behind you."
I looked over myself, to see a single railing bent on its side and nearly slipped with Blaze into the empty void, trying to grab a hold of it. Luckily, i managed to grasp the metal pole, reposition myself, and pull with all my strength. Grunting with effort, i hoisted him up over the ledge, sat up straight and controlled my breathing. He looked at me, stood up, dusted himself off and smiled with appreciation.
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it."
Looking at the light alter, we tried to think of a way to get across the barren drop that we call the void.