The door opened. A group of men and women entered and took positions behind the hooded figure. Some were quite intimidating, others oddly intriguing, in their appearance. I almost likened them to cliques at a high school. A very disturbing school. From the looks of them they were grouped in pairs wearing matching cloaks to denote their division or position maybe.
My eyes widened in surprise as I took in the oddness before me. There were four that made me think of a cross between the goth and punk kids from high school, only a bit more on the creepy side of the scale. Pasty skin, stringy black or bleached blonde hair streaked with electric blues and greens, one woman even had a hot pink Mohawk. Way to commit girlfriend. And then there were the piercings, some in places that no one should think to pierce. My skin almost crawled and I lightly twitched when I noticed the man with silver studs lining his cheekbones. That had to hurt.
Two of the figures had me doing a double take as I couldn't quite make out their appearance. The women's skin and cloaks seemed to have more of a hazy or smoky quality which swayed and undulated with each movement they made. Their beauty fascinated me and I was almost hypnotized by the way their appearance almost seemed to swirl as if a gentle breeze kept their particles from completely coming together to solidify. Wow, so beautiful. The urge to reach out and try to grasp them, just to see if it was an allusion was darn near overpowering.
A movement to my right broke the trance and I noticed the dark haired man from earlier. I watched him as he tousled his shaggy brown hair, his languid movements seemed to release a calming effect deep within me. Somehow, deep within my being, I felt that I could trust him. Heck, I needed to trust someone, right?. In the middle of my gawking and inner musings, his attention turned in my direction and our eyes met. His were the color of a pale green meadow glistening in the sunlight. I had never seen eyes as green as those back when I was... human? Am I no longer human now? My head snapped back to Chalice as he again began to address me in that same formal tone.
"You may now select the type of being you will become. All are equally important in the business of obtaining souls and directing them on their path."
Oh no, this cannot be happening now. Seriously! "Now? You want me to choose right now? I just signed my entire life away, how am I supposed to determine who or what I am supposed to be now? I don't even know what beings you are even talking about."
Chalice eyed me for a few moments, making me nervous that I had crossed that unseen line and was about to pay a dear price, before he turned his attention to the men and women gathered behind him.
Great Callie! You can't even go five minutes without making this an even worse nightmare!
"The beings you will choose from are, Vampire, Ghost or Reaper, all of which someone like you are able to become successfully, as you have no witch or demon blood in your veins. I will allow you tonight to think over your options and to deal with your grief, for come tomorrow you will start your new......life. Do not question me again. I am not a tolerant man." His attention moved to the bronzed skinned man and his green eyed partner, "Take her to her quarters. We will reconvene when she has rested enough to make a sound decision." And with that he turned his back to me and ghosted out of the room.
"Come with us." Was all I heard before a hand was placed at the small of my back urging me forward. We swiftly made our way through a maze of corridors that, even if I had been paying attention, I would never find my way out of. We eventually came to stop outside of a large and ornate wooden door. I looked up and gentle green eyes met my confused stare.
"This is where you will stay whenever you return back to D.E.M.I.S.E. headquarters." He held up a key nodding for me to take it. As I went to grab for it he pulled it just out my grasp and whispered, "Don't lose it."
With those words he and his partner sauntered off down the hall. When they were about half way down it it hit me that I didn't know their names. Well I didn't know anyone's name other than Chalice and I doubted he would willingly talk to me about what life here was like or just make small talk to keep my mind from processing all that happened.
The shock and numb detachment was starting to subside and I knew if I was alone, Brian would dominate my thoughts and, I would cease to function. As I looked from the door to the men that had just about reached the end of the long hall and would soon disappear back into the maze. I took a deep breath and started after them.
"Hey! Hey wait!" They halted their progression and turned in synch to watch me as I approached. They shared a look that lead me to believe this was not the normal behavior of one of their charges, if that was even what I was to them.
"I don't even know your names. It would be nice if I at least knew someone here. Right? I mean you were new here once too. I...I...Just." Tears started to well in my eyes but I fought hard to keep them from spilling over. Not knowing protocol or if crying here would have been asking for stronger creatures to seek me out to torture as their sick entertainment.
The two men looked like they were about to be drawn and quartered as they took in my tear filled eyes. Oh come on! It's just moisture. What is it with men and tears? I thought to myself as they stood there silently starring at me. After a few moments passed with no response, I nodded silently at them as I knew they were not going to be compliant with my wishes. I was a nobody here.
I slowly turned and headed back to my room and could feel their stares boring into my back as I made my way back down the hall. I sighed as I turned the key in the lock and pushed open the heavy door to make my way into what I thought would be a bedroom. To my surprise, the room was actually a decent sized studio apartment. Starke and sterile in its decorations, but it had potential. Hm. They have apartments in limbo? Interesting.
The space was completely devoid of color save for the blood read comforter on the bed which was located in the back corner of the room adjacent to the balcony doors. Balcony? Opening the large white French doors I stepped cautiously onto the terrace and my breath was instantly taken away. The sky was a glorious shade of blue, the sun had slowly started to sink in the sky. I could hear the sound of waves crashing into rock and the smell of salt in the air. "Ocean?"
Instantly I was reminded of the sunsets on the beach back home and the dam on my emotions quaked violently. As soon as that first tear rolled down my cheek, landing unceremoniously on the balcony rail, I folded in on myself dropping, in a harsh thud, to my knees as the pain and loss swept me under with the force of a riptide. And I drowned.
