The Shamrock Killer

Chapter Eight: Two Morrigans

*3rd person POV* 

The first sensation that returned to Maureen was feeling. Or more like the absence of feeling actually, except for the fact that she knew she was cold. Chilled to the bone.

Next, her eyes opened. It was like opening your eyes in a dark room. She could see nothing. No colors, not even black, filtered through her eyes. 

Then she realized she wasn't breathing. As she realized this she tried to suck in a huge breath but there was nothing to breathe in. Nothing existed in this place.

Her brain was the last to kickstart. "Where am I?" The logical part of Maureen's brain asked.

"I am....suspended." Maureen answered herself and looked around her surroundings with wide eyes. She was as if suspended in thin air, except there was no air. This was so damn confusing.

"Hello?" Maureen called out cautiously into the empty space, her voice came back at her, ringing and echoing in the stillness. Was anyone in here with her? Was she - oh my God - dead?

"I am dead," Maureen announced with weak finality, coming to no other conclusion. This was really anticlimatic, she thought.

"You are not dead," A cold voice spoke. The voice seemed to come from all around her, not from a specific direction.

Maureen stiffened and stopped talking, eyes flitting around her frantically, trying to find the source of the voice. 

A figure of a women appeared in front of her. Her face was shrouded in darkness, but she was wrapped in what looked like dark silk.

Maureen blurted out the first thing that came to her mind: "Then why do you look like the grim reaper?"

The darkness did not reply.

Maureen shut her eyes and whispered, "Oh my God I cannot believe I just said that."

Then the darkness started laughing. Hysterically. Like, full out laughing.

Maureen stared in astonishment as the figure came forward. Light from who know's where hit the woman's face and Maureen fought away the urge to gasp.

She was staring at what could be her twin. Pale skin, flowing black hair. Same nose and mouth. There was just a slight difference. Her twin's eyes were pure, unfiltered darkness.

The figure came so close to her that she could see the secrets swimming in her eyes.

"Umm," Maureen croaked, not really knowing what to say. "Is this a joke?" Some sick joke.

"I assure you," the woman replied in a deep but lilting voice, "What I have to share with you is no joke."

"What-then why-who are you?" Maureen asked with a slight catch in her voice.

"You can call me Morrigan," the woman said, lifting her head proudly and moving to Maureen's right. Maureen blinked her eyes in disbelief as her twin moved into the nothingness, parting it effortlessly. "Now follow me." At the direct command, Maureen had no choice but to jump down from where she was and follow Morrigan. Thankfully she was able to follow her with ease.

Morrigan walked gracefully like a queen, wait no - goddess, down a long hallway. Doors to nowhere appeared as she moved farther down the hallway.

As she walked past, Maureen peeked inside the rooms. In each room she saw war and violence. "So much death," Maureen whispered under her breath to herself.

Morrigan nodded back at Maureen and chuckled, evidently hearing. "I'm the goddess of death, what did you expect?" Oh wow, so this was for real.

"So I am dead," Maureen stated hesitantly. This was looking to be  a bleak eternity if she was.