Nightmarish

Starlight

When I woke up, I observed that I was in a mirror house, the kind of house in a carnival that makes you see things that aren’t supposed to be there. Carter took me to one a few weeks back. Oh gods, I miss Carter. If only he were here. But I’m all alone in a country that I have zero information of, no contacts except Vyas, and I can’t even speak Hindu! It’s a good thing Vyas speaks English.

I also observe that I’m bound upside down like Houdini in one of his stunts. I try to break free, but I can’t. I try feebly to make a fireball, but my energy’s all tapped out. At last I give up, sweaty and uncomfortable in this mirror house. The blood starts to rise up in my head, and my head starts to throb violently. I need to get myself out of here, I thought furiously to myself. I look around quickly to find a small shard of a broken mirror, and an idea starts to flare up in my mind. I think hard to create a plan to get the shard, but to no avail. Carter was the thinker. He could’ve had gotten us out of here ages ago. I try to push myself towards the direction of the shard slowly, but then I hear footsteps.  I hear shouts and bolts opening. And then I see a woman.

She walks slowly, like a predator who knows that the prey has no escape and relishes the moment that he’s been waiting for. Finally the lights hit her, and the first thing I see are her eyes. They are so inhumane that it makes me want to vomit. Her eyes are all black, like a spider’s.  She looks at me curiously, as if I was a new toy she has, scrutinizing every detail of my physique. By the time she’s so close to me that I hear her ragged breathing, as if every inhalation of air was a great chore, I’m sure that I’m going to kill her if I ever get out of these ropes.

She said coldly, “Hello, Zia.”

“How do you know me, and who are you?!” I said back furiously.

She said sarcastically, “Oh, where are my manners! My name is Tanyi, and I’m the incarnation of Matangi, or shall I say, reincarnation.”

I said, “What doyou mean?”

She said, “Oh, I almost forgot, you Egyptian boobs are so shallow. Oh what’s the word again? Um, ambassador, representative, diplomat, and etcetera-Oh, I got it now! I’m Matangi’s host.”

I said, “So you have like the blood of whatever ruler you country had or has?”

She said, “Ugh! I hate how Egyptian hosts are so shallow! We’re the more powerful race. Egyptians have had their golden moment, but now it’s our time to shine! Your gods will cower at the sight of us. Heck, every god of any realm will cower. Darkness will rise, and night will become the day. We are the Indians!”

I said, “I don’t understand. Why do you want that to happen? And what is it with realms? Are there more gods of other groups?”

She said, “Duh! Don’t you know about the Greeks? How about the Romans? And, how about the Native Americans? You’re not the only one around here. You don’t know anything!”

I said, “Then what do you want from me?!”

She said, “Your life.”

I said, “Why?!”

She said, “Oh, I’m not the person to explain all that to you.”

I said, “Then why are you here then?”

She said, “To torture you.”

I squirmed at the thought of her doing things unimaginable to me.

She said, “You wait here while I get Kaley to rough you up.”

She went away laughing coldly, and I was once again left in this mirror prison that they put me in to die. I thought profusely for a way to get out, but to no avail. If only I hadn’t come with Vyas here, I wouldn’t die. If only I have been more cautious, I wouldn’t die. If only, if only....

I lulled myself to a restless sleep. I woke up again, my head throbbing like crazy and my heartbeat fastening. This is it, I thought. My time was gone. Goodbye, Carter, Sadie, Amos, Iskandar, Ra, everyone. Goodbye.

Suddenly, a great calm surfaced over me. My splitting migraine was gone, and my blood pressure seemed to be fine now. A great fire surged through me. It felt lovely, like the first rays of sunshine in the morning. It became hotter, hotter, and hotter until it felt like the nightmare that I have always had. I screamed and screamed of the pain that coursed through my veins. I looked at the mirrors, and stared amazed as my reflection had ten arms like in the dream. I must be hallucinating, I thought to myself.

The reflection’s arms were holding something massive and uncontrollable. It was white-hot, like a supernova. I saw the ropes disintegrate, and then I was floating in midair. My reflection was white, and her ten arms were stretched outward. Both my reflection and I said something I didn’t know, and the place was filled with a blinding light. I heard an inhumane scream, like a barbaric battle cry, and I saw the mirror house explode.

I fainted after the phenomenon, and I woke up to find that I was in a room. A very peculiar room.

It was very well organized, with everything in its place. I was washed and bandaged. I thought curiously, Who could have done this to me?

And then I saw Vyas.