Does Heaven and Hell exist in all dimensions?
Or only ours?
When Eddie finds himself awake and unharmed, he's trying to figure out if he really did die. He expected to burn in hell, not wake up in some foreign, barren land.
What he doesn't expec...
Our only source of light is a blood-red, full moon illuminating the sheets of bed rock.
We hike well into the night, over the barren mountain, quickly, and quietly, hugging each and every shadow like our lives depend on it. Despite being dead...
Chrissy seems used to the eerie red glow. Each and every step of hers is precise, like she knows this path by heart. Me on the other hand... well, my skin crawls at the very thought of looking at the sky.
"Are there any stars here?" I ask, having not noticed a speckle of light other than that damn, murderous looking moon.
Chrissy swiftly turns left, using her arm to guide herself around a jagged bolder, fingers running over the surface by memory.
"Only one," she answers, her ponytail swishing as she turns to look at me. "You can only see it after the moon becomes a crescent."
"Strange..." is all I say, impressed by her navigation skills as we ever a clearing —a dried up valley.
"No, not strange," she retorts, her voice becoming a pained whisper. "Lonely. At least the stars back home reminded us of infinity. Knowing that other people could look up and see the same constellations I did," she trails off, looking down at her feet.
"Chrissy..." is all I can offer. I want to put a hand on her shoulder. To comfort her somehow.
But I don't.
I just stand behind her, silent.
She sniffles and wipes a tear off her cheek, regaining her composure. "When the moon is gone, it's like I'm gone with it. It's unbearable."
"Well, you aren't alone anymore," I whisper. At least it's true.
Her eyes find mine, glimmering with tears. "You're right. I guess I'm not."
At least that seems to cheer her up a little. We keep walking, enveloped in utter silence.
Finally, after what seems like forever, I see it in the distance, streaks of wavering red... ripples of water highlighted by the moon. The river, slow moving and wide, stretches in both directions. Across it, beneath a blackened hillside, is another cave, much smaller and rounder than the one from earlier.
"That's where I used to live — or survive, I guess," she explains, wrapping her arms around herself.
My heart breaks for her: a girl whom I've only known to be extroverted, flocking to any social event like some sort of chit-chat addict.
Makes me sick just thinking about it... how she's been here all this time, alone, surviving without any answers as to where she is.
Had she thought she was in hell too?
That must have been why she hugged me like that; I was a life-line back to her world, our world.
One she never thought she'd see again. Or ever will... because, the more I think things over, the more I realize what this place is.
And I don't think either of us will like the answer.
But first, I have to explain everything to her. Who Vecna was. What the Upside Down is...and how or why we are stuck here.
"You're awfully quiet back there," she calls over her shoulder, her voice like velvet in the soft, cool breeze. "You coming, or what?"
I must have stopped walking without realizing it.
"Just thinking, I guess," I mutter.
We cross the stretch of valley, the grounds brittle like cocaine that's sat in my wallet a little too long.
"Oh jeeeesssuuuuussss yes," I almost sing. The smell of the water is too good to be true, reminding me of the intense thirst I've endured all day.
We stop at the river's edge.
It looks clean enough to drink, so clean, that I can see straight through the surface, to smooth, obsidian pebbles below.
I turn to her, but before I could ask, she says, "Yes, it's safe."
I shutter with relief and run into the current, allowing the cold spring to completely engulf me and soak into my clothes, removing the beast's blood.
It's like heaven's kiss.
I sink below the surface, drinking as much as I possibly can, then emerge shooting water out of my mouth.
"How's this even possible?" I shout, exhilarated.
Chrissy shrugs, crouching by the river's edge. "I honestly don't know. When I woke up, I went weeks without water. It was awful."
She begins politely scooping water into her mouth, her eyes fluttering closed as she drinks.
I just stare at her. Even in a wasteland, she has manners.
"So we don't die?"
When she's done, she swipes the back of her hand over her lips. "If you die, you awaken a day later. In the same clothes, the same way as you died the first time... I walked for days before finding the river. I think I swam the entire day, I was that thirsty."
I cock an eyebrow. "So you do swim?"
She grins. "Of course."
"Then get in here!" I demand, splashing her. "You killed your monster, you should celebrate!"
"Oh, I don't wanna sleep in wet clothes..." she says, wryly.
I wanted to tell her to take them off, but I bite back those words. Not appropriate. Asshole.
"I'm not taking no for an answer!"
Without thinking, I grab her wrist and pull her into the river, uniform and all.
She screams, but moments later groans in relief, the cold water swirling around her body and pulling her pony tail loose.
She floats on her back, letting the river pull her away if not for my hands on her wrist, holding her in place. The smile on her pretty face is wild and free, as if she hasn't done it in forever.
"Still the same asshole, aren't you?" she says, looking up at me with those eyes of hers.
I gulp. "Yours truly."
"I never thought I'd see another soul."
"I never thought I had a soul."
A chuckle escapes her lips, like a song against the tranquil water.
How long has it been since she laughed?
"Let's build a fire," she suggests, stepping out of the water, her clothes dripping wet. "I think we both have a lot of explaining to do."
"We do."
And I have absolutely no idea where to begin.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
- - - Author's Note How are we doing so far? I hope you are enjoying it so far! Let me know your thoughts :)
