Spirits: Waking Up Alone

Journey For The Impossible

     "So where is this guy you claim to know?" Hunter asked, spinning around slowly as they walked to observe their changing surroundings, "And how would he know to get to the Shadow Kingdom?"

    "Don't question it," Raxus shrugged casually, "He's not human either, though he pretends to be one to set up his jokes. He's gone to the Shadow Kingdom once to prank Carnirus, but that didn't work out so well."

     "A prankster? Don't tell me," Hunter moaned, "Not a poltergeist!"

     "Yup. A poltergeist who goes by the name of Slick. Shifty fellow, but he can help us. Just let me do all the talking or he could be setting a bear trap under you before we could blink."

     "Sounds like a real charmer," Hunter said sarcastically.

     "Wouldn't be what I'd call him," Raxus said seriously, which instantly worried Hunter, "I'd be careful near him if I were you."

     "Okay...."

     "We're here!" Raxus announced cheerfully.

     "Um....he lives in a garbage can?"

     "We're here!" Raxus turned around to face an old, run down shack, held together seemingly by duct tape alone, "Ohh, Sli-ick!!" he called in a sing-song voice, "We need you assistance! That means come here right now or I'm ordering six pizzas for your house again!"

     "I'm coming!" a frantic voice called, and a boy with white blond hair ran up. But as he reached them, he tripped and fell on his face. "Ow...." then he glanced up at them, "Oh, hi, Raxus and Raxus's friend. I'd assist you, but I seem to have fallen. How can I help?"

    Hunter frowned, "THIS is the guy you were telling me about? This is the diabolical poltergeist?"

     "I wouldn't say diabolical," Slick got to his feet, brushing his hair back from his oddly shaped, electric blue eyes, "Not even mildly sinister. So what's the problem, Raxus?"

     "We need to get to the Shadow Kingdom," Hunter told him urgently, "Carnirus has a spirit that could bring him back if he kills her. Raxus and I are going to save her."

     Raxus frowned, "I never said I was going to Shadow Kingdom. I have much homework and woodpecker problems to deal with. This is when the master let his padawan take his own path."

     "You're not my master."

     "The Shadow Kingdom?" Slick blinked, "Sure, I could get you to the Shadow Kingdom. Well, I could put you on your way, but whether or not you make it is up to you. And Carnirus won't like it if you interrupt his plans. You do remember that he creates and controls hundreds of shadowbeasts, don't you? How are you going to take care of them?"

      "He doesn't think things through," Raxus told Slick knowingly, "he likes to let bad things happen."

     "I don't do it on purpose!" Hunter bristled, clenching his fists tightly, "Can we just hurry up and get this done? We only have until Halloween, you know!"

      "Oooh, Halloween..." Raxus beamed, "Candy...."

      "I'm actually glad I'm doing this myself," Hunter muttered under his breath, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets with frustration.

     Slick shook his head, "Fine. Come on, follow me," he led them into the shack before digging around through the drawers of a splintering cabinet to the side of the door. The place was mangy and damp, carrying a rotting smell. The ceiling was low, hanging just above their heads, and creaked ominously each time the wind blew. The window to the left was sealed with collapsing shudders, which were made of a dark red wood that was moist and peeling.

     Hunter pinched his nose shut to block the smell of algae and rot, but he could still tell the scent was reaching the point of overpowering. "What exactly are you looking for?" he asked around his held breath.

     "This," Slick replied, pulling a key from the decaying drawer. The key looked to have once been silver, but now its jagged edges were stained with rust. Slick pushed past Raxus to a picture frame so coated in dust it was impossible to tell what it was of, and pushed it aside. He inserted the key into a tiny keyhole, hardly noticeable if one didn't know it was there, and twisted it. As he did so, the back of the shed began to twist together with each turn of the small key, until Slick turned it once in the opposite direction.

     Hunter watched in amazement as the back wall of the shed paused, then snapped into a smooth, rhythmic swirling pattern of red and black, bearing the obvious appearance of a pudding-like consistency. Slick turned the key once more in that direction, and with a pop, the wall turned to a swirling, twisting mist of dark colors.

     "Voilà," the poltergeist said proudly, "One portal to the Shadow Kingdom!"

     Hunter stared at it, now feeling suddenly hesitant, "Uh.... that looks kinda... dangerous."

     "It is," Slick assured him, "But remember, when you pass through this, you become a apparition, almost like a ghost, but still living. This process hurts a lot, or can, depending on whether or not your body is willing to completely rearrange its molecular structure. Anyway, you might want to get moving."

      "Okay...so I'm going into a demon dimension alone to save a spirit from death by going through a magic portal that is going to hurt a lot," Hunter summed up.

     "I could go with you," Slick offered, "If it makes you feel any better."

       "Okay, actually, that's great," Hunter grinned slightly, trying to steel his nerves, "We're going now?"

     "Sure, if you're ready."

      Hunter swallowed hard, "Okay, then. One...two... uh," he broke off, glancing back at Slick, "How much is this really going to-"

     "GET IN THERE," Raxus shoved him, and Hunter stumbled forward, slamming into the portal and gasping in surprise as he fell through it. He was dimly aware of Slick following him, then everything dissolved around him.