Bride Of Death: Subversion

Chapter 1

PRESENT
TOWN OF MAZDA

Despondency. That was all Alex could feel as he trudged through the narrow pathway going through the dark gloomy forest. The narrow road was unpaved, dry leaves, and rolling stones scattered the entire length. The trees so high and gigantic that they covered the entirety of the sky, sunlight obstructed from filtering down giving the environment a very damp and dark vibe.

However daunting or depressing the weather might be, Alex was used to it, used to traveling through this haunting lane for the last couple of years, he had to, of course, otherwise, he would probably not survive. Food was scarce, employment even more so, and after the terrible plague that occurred ten years ago when he was just nine years old, everything in the world seemed a little tilted, a little gloomy.

All of it started twelve years ago, a huge storm had swept over the land, destroying crops and robbing people of their homes and livelihood. The tempest had been terrible, going on for several days, time passing away in shrieking deaths and gurgling floods.

When all of it passed away, humans were left with nothing but barren lands, broken homes, and death surrounding them all. Their homes washed away, their crops wasted, their families gone. Alex could still distinctively remember the sound of his brother's laugh, how he shrieked in happiness whenever tickled, his bellyful laughter when he was hugged, his nagging when asked to his homework, his pout while eating the vegetables. He was only five years old. After the storm got over, he tried so hard to find him, anything, the officers reported him missing, another casualty in the wake of a disaster.

Shaking his head at the train of his thoughts, he tried to dispel the warmth in his eyes, straightening his face into a mask of indifference as he trudged up faster, his feet encased in a ripped sandal he had collected from the hostel where more privileged people donated them, crunching upon the dried leaves.

The extravagantly polished mansion with its cream exterior came into view.

That's where he worked, sloughing through the day, sweeping, polishing, cooking, and cleaning with two other boys, all of them around the same age, eighteen or nineteen years old. The land here was undisturbed, it looked like the cursed tempest and plague had not ripped through it like the other surrounding ones. Here the land was fertile, the trees dense, fruits hanging in boughs and ravens flapping around. Yet the abundance seemed creepy and fabricated as if all of the flourishing atmosphere was an illusion, a kind of lie, painting a false picture for the eyes.

This land was so different from where he and the others lived, the city which was once sprawling with technology and advancement had been reduced into nothing but old rickety bridges and dilapidated buildings, where trees rarely grew, the grass half dead. The plague which had caught the civilization after the terrible storm had made sure to leave the land unfertile and food to be a scarcity.

Kicking a stone with his feet, he ran up the clearing in front of the mansion, the pebbled pathway leading towards the marbled stairs of the house. A car was parked on the side, indicating that a guest had arrived, which was not really unusual, the strange family always hosted a lot many people, their meals extravagant and enriching. The interiors of the house when one passed through the rich mahogany arched doorway was a symbol of fine taste in art and luxury.

The house boasted of rich paneled wood, a marbled staircase, glorious art pieces, gold-embroidered Turkish carpets, and fine bone china. Despite all of it, Alex always felt a little cold, a little out of place, the hair on the back of his neck strangely standing up as if someone was always staring at him.

All of it seemed a little odd, the man and woman along with their retinue of cats, their faces covered with a black veil, sitting on the high backed thrones for all intents and purpose, their gazes unseen, their hands encased in luxurious black gloves twitching, their boots tap tap tapping all through the day.