The Beginning

Chapter 9

Riley woke up in a shapeless black void that surrounded her with darkness. The smell was unbelievably disgusting, much worse than the creature's smell. She covered her nose with her shirt and she guessed she'll have breathe shallow breaths if she wants to survive the smell. 

Voices whispered in her ear. "Give up." "Join us." "Let yourself fade." Don't let them get to you. They're trying to make you feel weak, a voice whispered in her head, low and raspy.

Why are you helping me? she thought back.

I know what it's like to be a misfit. I was a misfit my entire existence, it replied.

The air warped beside her, and Carlos popped into existence. He staggered around and almost fell into riley, but she caught him just in time. "Are you okay? That looked like it messed you up," she said, throwing his arm over her shoulder.

He shook his head. "It did. The... the journey took so much out of me. I don't think I have enough strength to stand up..." His head drooped, and he fell asleep, snoring. Riley gently placed him down onto the ground. She looked up. The void was endless, so she couldn't see the top. Sam popped out of the matter and fell onto her face, groaning. Riley winced, helping her up. "I feel like I am the only one that didn't fall or stumble in some way," she said.

Sam looked at her. "Well, you're clearly his favorite. I just wish that he can stop targeting us." Her eyes were gleaming, which Riley took as not a good sign. She felt Sam's forehead, and almost recoiled. It was incredibly hot, and it was so much hotter than a regular fever. Sam's head drooped all the way down, her body starting to heat up. Riley yelped and let go of her as her body began to boil. Sam's skin started melting off, revealing glowing gray fur. A tail came out of Sam's rear end, and she turned around, her eyes now glowing orange. A low growl came behind Riley, and she slowly turned around, only to witness one of the most horrifying things she has ever seen.

Carlos was floating in some sort of capsule, his jaws replaced with slimy tendrils. His eyes were now gone, leaving only a gaping hole that was filled with maggots. Coming out of his rear end, long tails with hooked ends came together, forming a gruesome web above his head. Looking closer(although she wished she didn't) there were human heads stuck in the web, their eyes gone and their mouths moving as if they kept trying to say something. The creature made a gurgling sound and moved closer to her, using small legs to drag itself to her. She backed away as it kept moving toward her, and a ledge that suddenly appeared below Riley caused her to trip, almost falling into the Void but catching herself just in time, hanging on only by the tips of her fingers. She stayed as still as possible, making sure that the creature doesn't sense her. When she heard it oozing away, she hauled herself up and took several deep breaths, trying to recover from what she experienced.

Something touched her shoulder, and she screamed, whipping around and smacking the hand away. It backed away, saying, "What the hell? Riley, it's me! The real me!"

Carlos came out of the darkness, his face pale with exhaustion. Riley ran up and hugged him, feeling his arms hugging her back. "I'm so glad you're alive," she whispered. Carlos pulled back and smiled at her. "Same here. I'm just glad that the creature didn't get any of us."

"Where's Sam?" she asked, looking over Carlos' shoulder.

"Right here," a voice said from behind. Riley turned around and saw Sam there, smiling at her. The real her, not that hideous clone. Both of them hugged, saying how glad they are to see each other alive. "What were those things?"

Carlos shook his head. "I don't know, but they were freaking me out. Did you see how the creature version of me had no eyes?"

Riley nodded. "I did. I thought it was you because it looked so much like you at first."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. That's weird, because I saw you too. You and Carlos," Sam pointed out.

"I saw you and Riley," Carlos said, scratching his head. "Something doesn't seem right here. Each of us saw the own zombified version of each other. Where are we?"

Barely a second after he said that, the black fog cleared, and Riley felt chills go down her spine. They were not in the Void after all. Surrounding them, there was black and red ground that seemed to be moving, rippling toward the center of the place. The trees were dried and ashy husks, and when Riley snapped off a branch it turned to dust in her hands.

Loud grunts, hisses, yowls, and other noises were constantly heard from all directions, but Riley still couldn't tell where she was. Then she saw it: a large, red ball of energy, crackling with blue electricity with wilted plants growing near it. The same shape that she saw in the mythology books. The same thing that caused so much pain to every human who encountered it. Carlos said exactly what she realized. "Guys, I think we are in the UnderReality."