Equinox

Chapter 2

 His paper remained on my end table for hours, as I refused to look at it and continued my painting of Louis and Mike. I had to know why he was so interested in this painting, why he was so interested in me to intrude. After an hour of barely getting anything done, I got up and left towards the coffee shop.

Louis was closing up shop when I arrived, a ball of joy as he left. He was going on a date with Mike later, and was more focused on that than where he was walking as he ran right into me.

"Oceana!" He smiled, helping me to my feet. He dusted me off and gave me a hug. "I'm so glad to see you! How's the painting going?"

"Great, it just needs a few more weeks of work and I'll have it ready with plenty of time for you anniversary. Hey, what was going on in the museum when you took the picture?"

"Nothing. It was just us, walking around. Then we noticed that statue that some guy that got lifted a few years ago. I think you were on your cycle when it happened. There was a big parade for him and Raganor-"

"Yes yes, I know the story," I interrupted. "Someone broke into my house earlier and was a little more than curiously interested in the painting."

Louis' face went slack. He ran his hand through his hair, a common trait that he was thinking at maximum speed.

"Maybe that's the bad feeling that you got?" I offered. I was hoping that if I didn't mention the fact that it was Ragnorak that he'll calm down, and relax a bit about my next cycle.

"Do you know who did it?" he whispered, trying to remain calm, his eyes screaming.

"N- no. I didn't catch them in time." I hate lying to him. He was a sweet boy, always happy, but it was necessary right now.

"Don't lie to me. It was Ragnorak, wasn't it?"

I nodded.

He cussed, pulling out his phone and texting Mike. Probably canceling his plans. I shouldn't of dumped my shit on him like that. I should of just left it my secret until after the cycle was over. It was my problem, not his.

"What did he want?" He asked, putting his phone back into his pocket. His face screamed of fear and worry, either for himself or for Mike.

"He wanted me to go through these four challenges. Um... it was fight a guy, fight a demon, value the weight of one person over another, and then the fourth wasn't determined yet. I said no, by the way. I don't want to do anything out of the ordinary."

He nodded, thinking a million miles a minute. "What was the exact wording for the first challenge? Do you remember that?"

"It was that I would be introduced to a young man, and I need to survive with him for twenty-four hours."

"With? That doesn't mean fight him, that might mean that you go through something deadly and you both need to come out alive. Why would that be? Is it... No, it can't be, he died..."

"Who died?" I asked, more than a little alarmed. The only people that could die in Solstice were the ones born in Solstice. You could die outside the walls of Solstice, but the only way in or out was through the train. Ragnorak was the only one with the key that would let him go through without automatically being transported to a torture.

"A friend of mine. He was born before the ban." The ban on children. You could adopt these false children that would live and die, but they had no soul, no emotions beyond the lust of company of another being.

"How does he relate to this?" I ask, a little overwhelmed with the sudden mention of a centuries dead boy.

"He joined Lucifer's Rebellion after he was kicked out of his home by his father. He was publicly executed about fifteen years ago. He tended to be a restless corpse."

"Oh... okay... I'm just going to go. Any advice before I leave?" I asked, knowing that Louis always had a few choice words about what to do and what not to do during a cycle.

"Accept his offer. It sounds like a good deal. You might even come back home a little earlier!" He gave me a quick hug, gave me a once-over, then left for his date. As he left, his smile didn't return, as too much worry swam through his mind.

Left alone of the street, I watched cars pass by and voices cheer as they welcome their friends home with a few drinks. I checked my watch and almost choked. It was already nine thirty, and the train station closes at ten.

Hailing down a taxi, I headed towards the train station. I wanted to get this over with, before I could change my mind. Before I could look back and contemplate the decision of potentially meeting a zombie.

Paying the man, I checked my watch. I cussed a sprinted towards the ticket station, though the purpose was nothing more than making sure only those leaving would get through.

"We're closed" the sour man answered. He shut the metal trap, almost cutting off my hand. I knocked on the metal, hoping to get his attention. His muffled voice from behind the curtain of silver, only to let out another "We're closed!"

I sighed, and knocked even louder. "I accept!" I yell, banging on the metal. "I accept Ragnorak's offer!"

The metal sheet popped up, and where the sour man was, sat the smirking Ragnorak, a little more than pleased to hear that I accepted. "Now my dear, what made you change your mind?"

"I haven't," I stated flatly. "I just wish to prove a point."

"And point would that be?"

"That what happened to Emily won't happen to me."

He nodded, as though my statement made perfect sense. He got up from his seat and left the booth from the door behind his chair. Sly as a fox, he made his way towards me, once again with the paper. "All you must do is sign."

I grip the paper and stare at it, trying to make sense of the words that were too long to fit in my pocket dictionary. Giving up, I take a pen from his open hand and let my signature flow over the line.

Oceana.

A single name, for a girl with no past, no present, and little future. A single name for a girl who has no clue why she's in hell, just knowing that she is. A single name, as unique as the sea and just as beautiful, but worthless if you don't know the deeper meaning. Which, sadly, I don't know.

"You have one of two choices, then. Now, or later when the train arrives as scheduled. I honestly couldn't care less which one you choose, as it won't effect the results."

"Now. It'll be easier to just rip this bandaid off rather than peel it off one hair at a time."

Chuckling, he nodded in agreement. "You're all set? No need to call anyone to inform them that picking you up in the morning would be pointless?"

I shook my head no. I just walked usually, and when I didn't I would take a cab.

"Good."

He gripped my shoulder tightly, fingernails digging into my skin. Pain shot through from behind my eye lids. I wanting nothing more than to puke. My senses were alight, like he had doused my spinal cord in gasoline and threw a match onto me. My brain couldn't make sense of what was going on, and when it did all it got was another stimulus.

The pain stopped with sudden force, my brain a car that just had the breaks slammed on. I opened my eyes, and I was trapped in a cell.

No doors led to the area beyond the bars. Split in half, both sides had a hanging bed and a toilet. Wherever I was, they expected me to be there for an extended period of time.

Welcome to Hell 2.0.