Regions of Saleen

Regions of Saleen - Ch. 2 - Part 1

    The ceremony is over and I begin the walk back to my room. The hallways are dark, except for the light provided by the torches on the walls every few yards. The walls of the cave are of rough stone, for these pathways were cut into the earth by the founders. Once at the entrance to my room I'm roughly shoved inside by two upper ranking members. They slammed shut the iron cast door and tossed a slice of bread though the small rectangular hole in cut into the top of the door. I picked it up only to find it's covered in mold. I made my way along the cold stone floor to my "bed", a pile of straw in a red cloth sack with a small quilt on top. I sat on the edge and began to unwrap the cloth bound around each foot. My feet were burning and swollen from being bound so tightly during the ritual. I had wet the cloth in a bucket of water I keep near my bed in hopes the cold water will soothe the ache.

      Once feeling slightly better I stood and slid off my beautifully embroidered dress, similar to that of the brethren's but it is pure white with golden thread woven like that of the vines on the Ochula tree. Across the room, I hung up the garment and exchange it for a dirty and ripped tan dress. On a different shelf I placed my headdress, the golden ring shone in the moonlight and the purple gems twinkled like small stars.

    I walked back to my bed and lay on the straw sack, curling up into a tight ball with the quilt covering my body. I gazed up through the crack in the ceiling and watched as the moon comes into view. It was a full moon that night; how I wished I could just grab it through the crack and pull myself out of my chamber. It's so beautiful for some reason tonight, I've seen it exactly 192 times and yet that night it felt as if something was different. Something caught my eye and I saw a single speck float across the ray of light, shining wildly. For a reason unknown even to myself I whispered three small words into the chilly night air " Please, help me" with tears welling up in my eyes, threatening to spill over, and with these simple words the speck began to glow brighter and brighter and brighter until I'm blinded with light as pure as fresh winter snow. I shielded my eyes at first but then slowly withdrew them. It is through this light that a face appeared to me. It was neither young nor old; neither male nor female. It intensely stared into my eyes, as if reading my soul. I sensed a peculiar sadness in the face yet unyielding intensity.

Then, quicker than it came, the light is gone, all that is left is a puff of smoke.

And in this mist of confusion I hear it, a single word that chills me to the bone.

"Run."