Tell No One

Chapter 32

Seeing Kiera laying there on the floor was a surreal experience. There was a collective gasp from the crowd as everyone watched her body come tumbling down, to eventually land in a juddering splat on the floor. Chris watched as the paramedics pulled a bag from the ambulance that was standing nearby. They did not attempt to turn the crowds' eyes away, the gruesome spectacle was already witnessed to be doing any damage control. Kiera's eyes were open as Chris watched her body being hauled into the bag, her eyes lolling, rolling to look at the heavens as she was roughly manhandled. He watched as they stuffed her chestnut hair into the bag, before briskly carting her off into the back of the ambulance. Her blood shadow still remained on the floor, streaked along the concrete where they had taken her away. Chris stood stoic, silent, a comforting arm around Alana, who was worryingly not reacting at all. Chris would've moved to comfort her, but found himself oddly stuck in place, lost in his thoughts. He heard someone vomit behind him, the crowd stuttering back in surprised yelps as it slashed onto them. A voice in the back of his mind told Chris that it was Darren. But Chris did not move to comfort him either. Instead, his eyes honed in on the crimson stain on the floor, and he reeled at what it represented. Kiera's fall from grace had been spectacular. He did not know why she was in that building, and- darting his eyes to Alana- he did not know why she had led him here, or if- or how- she possibly could have known. But whilst he hated the things Kiera had done, and whilst he was glad the ever endless threat she posed was gone, he could not help but feel a twinge of respect towards her. When she went out, she went out on her own terms. In some way, he was glad that she was never caught. Turning Alana away, he made sure she was in his sight the whole time.
"Come on," Chris made sure his voice was soft as he tapped a sorry looking Darren on the back to get his attention. "Let's go."

***

After mere moments of walking in, Kiera heard the doors shut behind her. She forced herself to remain calm, ad she had to keep her feet walking forwards to stop herself from going back and banging on the now closed passage. She was plunged into darkness, and her eyes searched fervently for a way out. But searching the inky blackness, and listening to the stony silence, Kiera was entirely alone.

Breathe.

Kiera had to remind herself to breathe, and more importantly, to stay calm. Mera wouldn't have stranded her in a place seemingly forgotten by everything. Keeping this thought close to her, Kiera forced herself to keep walking. Her intuition told her to keep going, and as she kept walking, her fear ebbed away. What did she have to fear anyway? Rationalising it in her head, she drew a blank. There was nothing to be afraid of.  Her fear only continued to flee as she made out light in the far off distance. Smiling, she internally congratulated herself on keeping her calm. Something told her that would be a skill she would need in the time forthcoming.

Drawing closer, she realised that the light had a strange, pinkish quality to it. Too far to make out any details, the rose-tinted hue had an almost calming quality to it. She watched as the further she went, the more the darkness receded, growing in colour until finally, Kiera was at the doorway. The doors were much the same as the ones she had passed to get here, the same ornate carvings, they even swung into the darkness as the first pair had. But Kiera was not paying attention to that as she stepped over the threshold. The doors slammed shut behind her, making her flinch.  Coming to stand on solid ground once more, Kiera looked out from a stone circle that had been cut into the land. She realised she was standing on a small rise, the ground sloping gently from either side of the stone circle. But that was not what caught her attention. Before her yawned a huge gaping hole, the biggest hole she had ever seen. It was extensive, dominating the landscape, big enough to swallow any creature, machine or building she could think of. Staring at it, stunned at its pure size, Kiera realised that this must be the Abyss. Fittingly named, too, as peering over the edge, Kiera could not see a bottom. The darkness was intense, and Kiera could almost believe that it was a living, breathing being in its own right. The next thing Kiera noticed, was the sky. A fitting ceiling to this place, Kiera was awestruck to see that it shone a shade of blood-red. A few gauzy clouds drifted across it, proving the sky's reaches, but they did nothing to draw away from that tone of startling red. Kiera realised that this was the pinkish tinge she saw when she first saw the doorway, and looking up, Kiera couldn't bear to tear her eyes away. Looking closer, she noticed that the sky was also dotted with countless stars, their watchful eyes judging her. They were just pinpricks of white in the russet sky, but Kiera felt that she would be able to touch them if she tried. And the sky, the sky was filled with so many of them, so many twinkling stars, that Kiera felt a small smile slip onto her face. But searching the sky, she did not see a sun. Or a moon, for that matter. This must be why Mera enjoyed the sun so much during his time on Earth, and Kiera felt a pang of longing to return. Whilst this sky was beautiful, it was alien to her. It lacked the warmth of the many memories she made under a blue sky, and Kiera found herself craving the warm fingers of a sun she knew so well.

"Hello, Kiera." Kiera heard a small voice behind her and quickly turned around. She had not heard the footsteps, but just off the stone circle, Kiera gave a cautious smile to the woman who now stood there. She was tall, taller than Kiera, and pretty, too. Her face was framed by long straight black hair. With a small upturned nose, full lips, and wide, dramatic eyes, Kiera felt she was rather strikingly beautiful. Most striking, however, were the whites of her iris's, outlined by a black ring, almost identical in colour to her pale, unblemished skin. She held her hands clasped loosely in front of her, and Kiera saw the symbol of the ankh imprinted on the back of one of her hands, startlingly black against the paleness of her beauty. "We've been waiting for you." She punctuated her sentence with a gentle smile, which Kiera returned.

"Thank you. Who might you be?" Kiera saw her eyes shine, and she introduced herself.

"My name is Lark, but my name is not the one you should be focused on here. If you would like to follow me, we will proceed to The Keep." Kiera mulled over her cryptic message in her mind, but her eyes followed Lark's extended hand to gaze at the building over the other side of the Abyss. Keep was a shallow word for it- the building was mammoth in size, and resembled more of a fortress. Even from this distance, Kiera felt the building held a certain regality to it, a dignified sovereignty. Kiera felt a sense of foreboding as she realised she would soon be inside it. Lark started off down the path down one side of the small hill. Looking over one shoulder, Kiera realised the door she came through was no longer there, nothing but the red sky stretching out behind her. Tearing her eyes away, she turned to follow Lark, idly wondering why Mera wasn't here to show her about.

The path they travelled down was framed by trees either side, and it quickly turned into the forest. The ground they trod on was gravel, and Kiera enjoyed the soft hush of the stones rolling over each other as they progressed. The trees were peculiar- their trunks and limbs were blackened, thick twisted roots surging into the ground that also had a reddish hue. Their branches reached upwards, grasping for the stars, and despite their outwards dead appearance, Kiera thought they were beautiful. To her right, the trees extended as far as her eyes could see, gradually growing hazy, but to her left, Kiera could see that they were skirting around the Abyss, the woods only a few trees wide. There was nothing to stop her jumping in if she so pleased- at least just by looking at it.  Kiera kept her feet pointing forwards and on the gently curving path towards The Keep. If this was the hell Christianity thought of, then their perceptions of it were highly inaccurate. The air was rather mild, a soft breeze rustling Lark's hair as she lead the way. They passed not another soul as they continued their journey. Kiera found it soothing; the trees, the sky, everything was just so.... far off than she thought it would be.

Finally clearing the woods, Kiera realised that they were on the other side of the Abyss, and starting down a considerable long driveway. The Keep stood in the near distance, practically radiating power. Opposite, was the Abyss, equally as intimidating. They started down the long path separating them, Lark coming to walk beside instead of in front of her. The path was lined with the same trees from the forest, spaced out along the edges.
"Aren't you curious as to what's going to happen next?" Kiera turned to face Lark, surprised at the question.

"Of course, but I figured I'd know soon anyway. Besides, knowing now won't help me; I doubt I can change whatever will happen." A beat of silence passed between them, and Kiera could feel Lark digesting her words. "The sky here really is something." Kiera didn't know where the words had come from. Lark smiled in return. 

"Isn't it just." Kiera watched as The Keep drew ever closer. Whatever would happen, Kiera felt a steely resolve that she would get through it.