Eyes of the Midari

Part 13

Levi

"I don't like this one bit."

Jess chuckled beside him, "Scared of some tall grass?"

Levi kept his head on a swivel as they went deeper and deeper into the fields. He almost fainted when he looked up and saw the pure ocean above them. The tall grass seemed to lap at his knees, mimicking the waves above.

"I'm scared of psychotic lonely ghosts coming out of nowhere and possessing our souls."

Jess strode beside him without a hint of hesitation. He could see the necklace with Ronal's eye stretching her skintight catsuit near her chest.

"Do you...do you feel anything from the necklace?"

She huffed, "What exactly should I feel? It's a dead man's eye."

He threw his hands up in defeat, but she continued, "It's warm, I guess. Perhaps something will happen when we find his wife's eye."

"What was the wife's name?"

"Namir Midari, she was a strange woman, to say the least. Something about her always seemed off I could never place it. Ronal loved her though, which was rare in a husband-and-wife relationship around here."

"Lemme guess, your parents hate each other?"

Jess raised a brow at him and suppressed a grin, "You're becoming almost as bold as me. My parents were in an arranged marriage. They never fell in love they just learned how to coexist."

Levi swiped at a few blades of grass, "I mean they had you; that has to count for something."

"They had me wishing they had a son. Trust me, you do not have to be in love to have a child. Children here are seen as trophies, tools if you will. Having one is an economic advancement. Nothing more."

Levi shivered, "I have got to take you to New York when all this is over. Show you what life can really be like."

She snickered, "Lemme guess, parties all night and money galore?"

He groaned, "The parties are the best! And stolen money, but still! I bet you've never even been to a party that wasn't a grand ball or something."

"If we make it out of this, I'm going to hold you to taking me out to one of these parties."

"Deal." He squinted beside her. "Now what are we looking at?"

She gently moved his head down a bit, "You see that gap there? The grass stops there."

She took off running and Levi followed as fast as he could. She skidded to a halt and Levi nearly tumbled forward, but she braced her arm out in front of him. Levi gulped as he beheld the crater. It wasn't insanely deep, but it was probably double his height in depth. He skimmed the rim and knelt to see all of the grass around it was shriveled and yellow.

The light shifted from above and Levi couldn't help but gaze up at the massive cliffs on the flipside.

"Wait, isn't this where we dove to get into the catacombs?"

Jess nodded and knelt beside him, "It's as if no life can grow here. Or someone isn't allowing it. Look there."

Levi followed her gaze to where the smallest cottage he had ever seen stood tilted in the muddy chasm. Jess gasped beside him, and she tugged Ronal's eye out quickly as it began to vibrate in her palm.

Levi murmured, "Feel anything now?"

She ignored him and slowly descended the muddy wall.

Levi sighed, "Oh God this is how we die." Despite his better judgment, he followed right after her.