Hadagery (Book 2) Creeee...eeeee..eeee..ee. The door behind Hadlin creaked open. "That's impossible." He thought, "I barred that door shut." Then turned around just in time to hear it click shut again. Standing just inside the entrance was a blacken...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Chapter 4: Nocturnia
That face...That creepy doll face. It was just how he remembered it. The same brown hair, same long neck. All attached to a gangly looking nine year old body.
Hadlin could even recall he had a family. A mother, a father, and an older brother Bobbee. Bobbee always called him Nil. Teasing him that he was nothing, nil.
How can a doll remember all that? He just couldn't understand. Nothing made sense. At that time Churl's voice replayed in his head, "Oh shit kid you're not even real." What did he mean by that? Did Churl know that Hadlin was going to be a doll in this world? How did he know? Only Eidolon sees all the sons of men. Eidolon the creator of life.
Then a new question arose. Why would Eidolon do this? Seeing that expressionless doll peering up at him. "Why?" He felt crushed. "This can't be happening..." His anger rising within. "Why me?" If only that stupid face would stop looking back at him. His mind hissing for it to go away. "Go away!" Hadlin howled, "Go Away!" Taking his frustration out on Eidolon, "Why did you do this to me?" The silence was like salt in a wound. He had to strike out at something. That creepy image in the puddle the nearest target. Down came both fists into the water, hissing, "What have I ever done to you?"
At that moment lightning streaked across the darkened sky. Followed closely by thunder rolling. He could hear the rain, but not feel it. Could dolls even feel? Regardless if he could feel or not his distorted image was ghastly. As what was left of his reflection in the ripples turned a ghostly white. He jumped at the unexpected sight, "What in Canaan?" Hadlin looked closer, and the white was now gone. The questionable fact was what was that thing? Hardly able to process everything that has happened to him thus far. Nothing made sense anymore. He just wanted to go back to being a boy, and go home.
At that moment lightning lit the sky, and the face was obscured. Hadlins eyesight drawn to the dazzling sky. As every raindrop glistened like diamonds. Strangely he could see it all, but none of it penetrated the veil over Canaan. Canaan remained in a perpetual darkness. Except for tiny sparkling pin-points of color outlining the land. Mostly greens and browns along the edge of the trees. Within the veil all was dreary and gray.
This definitely wasn't the Canaan he remembered. It had to be some other place. No place he'd ever remembered seeing. Flabbergasted his thought churned out loud, "What is this place?" Whatnot wiggled nervously in his hand. Its muttering sounding very much like an answer, "Noc..ter..ne..a..." The muffled sounds malformed into what sounded similar to a word, nocternea. What's nocternea mean? Though he was first and foremost still amazed the fuzz ball could talk. Secondly what was Whatnot really trying to say? He had to ask, "What?" Whatnot shrugged its none existent shoulders, but never uttered a sound. Hadlin couldn't let the word go. Nocternea somehow sounded familiar. Like a lost bit of knowledge nagging the corners of his mind. Surely he should know this. Hadge always seemed to know many things. This nonetheless wasn't one of them.
