LOLA IS DEAD [COMPLETED]

Chapter Four

It was probably four months ago when it happened or so I thought. The thing about the spirit world, time didn't run the way it used to in the world of the living. An hour here was probably a week in Idmuria, meaning Earth, the living world - that's what they called it. When darkness engulfed me after the crash, I remember feeling very cold. As if blanketed in velvet snow, I shivered furiously as I coiled into fetal position. The freezing didn't stay long, when it passed, I was embraced in warm sensation, easing my body and calming my veins. When I opened my eyes, I realized that I was lying on the ground. Slowly I sat up and looked around me. I was alone on the side of the road. The memory of the accident flashed before me, I saw the rear front of the truck hitting Rose, crushing me along with it. Rose, my compact red swift Suzuki was pressed beyond recognition. The flashback made me shiver. I stood up and looked for bruises but there was nothing. I was perfectly fine. I held both of my arms as I walked towards the center of the road. Rose was nowhere to be found and so was the truck. I wondered where the truck driver was. There was nothing in here, I was totally alone. I turned around again to see the narrowed street; it was endless. This couldn't be the Highway in Silent Hills. I remember the accident took place in a crossroad but there was no intersection here. There were untamed copses on each side, giving me an eerie vibe. This street was abandoned.

"Where am I?" I whispered mostly to myself.

"You're in Purgatory." A female voice shattered the silence. I turned around to see who it was. I winced and took one step back when I saw her. A girl, probably a few years older than me was standing a few feet away. Cladding in black leather tight pants and jacket, she looked severely geared up. On her right hand she was holding a weapon that looked like a samurai sword, long and gleaming. On the other hand, she was holding a gun, it looked like a gun, but it was bigger and longer. Her emerald eyes were perusing me curiously. Red lips mirroring the fiery hair that was loosely tied. Her skin was milk white giving her a brutal look, yet beautiful. Badass as she seemed, I stared at her with amazement. My hands covering my awed struck face while my eyes were huge in shock. She must saw how stupefied I was and realized that I wasn't a threat. Her body relaxed a bit and put the gun out; slides back the sword in its scabbard and slung it on her back. She walked towards me; her movement was serene and graceful. I tensed as I watched her approached but I didn't make a move. I stood my ground and held my gaze. I saw her confidence as she moved as if she was ready for anything. When she was a foot away from me, her eyes steadied as she spoke.

"I'm sorry about your death. I'm Olga." She extended her hand.

My hand was shaking when I reached for hers but her gripped was strong and warm. My mind clung to what she said about being sorry for my death. Am I dead? I thought.

"I'm Lola." I said; my voice was breaking.

"Nice to meet you Lola. Tell you what, I'm glad to give you a warm welcome but we need to get off the road right away. It's not safe." She said calmly.

"Where am I? What am I doing here?" I asked feeling confused.

"I'll explain it to you later. Right now, we need to move." She looked anxious, head glancing from left to right.

"Come with me and try not to make a noise if you can." She turned around ready to go and I followed in acquiesce. I wasn't familiar of this place and if there was danger up ahead as she stated, I'd rather stuck beside Lara Croft here with her sword than somewhere else. Right, her name was Olga, but she reminded me of that movie Tomb Raider. We walked silently and I was trying very hard to follow her pace. We got off the road and entered the groves. Walking behind Olga made me saw how alert she was yet careful not to make unnecessary noise. I on other hand was carrying all the noises unfortunately. Well, you couldn't blame me; try walking in doll shoes on the forest. My feet were making crisp noises as I stepped on dried foliage; the ground was covered with it. For an instance Olga stopped. Her hand signaling me to stop moving and so I did. While I stood there waiting for Olga's instruction, I realized that all my senses were heightened. I could feel the changes in the air, I could hear noises from the variety of animals in the forest then there was something else that I couldn't pin point. My eyes darted towards Olga; she was already angling to face me. I wanted to ask her what it was but then she signaled a finger on her mouth telling me not to make a sound. I bit my lips immediately. Then the air changed, I smelled gas all around as the surrounding atmosphere became constraint that I was suddenly having a hard time breathing. I brought a hand to cover my nose. Olga tiptoed slowly to my side and her face moved closer to my ear.

"Hold your breath." She whispered.

But before I could make a response, a dark smoke appeared in front of us snaking behind the trees. I heard Olga cursed as she pushed me to the ground. I fell, face down but I retorted immediately to face her.

"Take cover. When you see the smokes coming after you, run. They found us." She said, her emerald eyes beaming with both excitement and fear.

"Who are they?" I asked scared.

"Darklings... Now move!"

Olga didn't bother to explain. Her eyes shifted to the front, fierce and ready. A smile broke in her face as she moved forward crawling like a panther. She left me scrambling and exposed. I didn't wait for anyone to see me. My instinct told me that if I'm not going to move immediately, I would be an easy target. I didn't want to be a sitting duck waiting to be discovered. I wondered what they would do if they caught me; it's not that they could kill me, I'm already dead. Well, that's what Olga said. Still, that didn't make any sense; you cannot kill someone else twice. I could hear voices and among those voices were Olga's. I covered my ears when I heard gun firing followed by growls. Those weren't human growls, I thought. Then I remember what Olga told me a while ago, Darklings, those growling were probably from them. I wasn't sure, I haven't seen one yet. Then I heard metal colliding. I heard Olga screamed and I was startled by it. I wanted to look but I was afraid that the Darklings might see me. Besides, the fog descended on the ground and the groves was covered with smokes all around. I still saw dark smokes moving swiftly behind trees and I ducked back on the ground and covered my head. I couldn't see what was happening and to push it would be ridiculous. I rest my case and decided to stay hidden. Something was telling me that this was not going to end well. My heart was racing, I could almost hear it banging my ribcage, but I breathed in to contain my panic. I crawled on the ground without a sense of direction. I needed to find a place to hide.

I kept on crawling. My hands scratching the ground while my knees were hurting but I didn't bother to stop. The fog was giving me a hard time let alone I had no idea where I was going. I stopped and looked at my back but all I saw was flashes from the fog while figures moved swiftly that my eyes couldn't figure out who or what it was. I continued to crawl as the adrenaline kicked in. Finally, the fog became thinner as I went forward and this gave me relief. A few more distance and I was already heaving. The fog disintegrated from this side of the groves and I emerged from the trees beside the stream. I was catching my breath, my knees scraped with dirt and so were my hands. Immediately I stood up, my body was shaking with fear. I turned around cautiously to see if I'd been followed. I wasn't, I was left alone again. My shoulder sagged as I managed to relax. The noises were gone and all I heard was the sparkling sound from the stream. The water looked clean and fresh and all of a sudden, I wanted to plunge into it to get rid of the dirt in my body. Before I succumbed to easing myself, gunfire shattered the silence and my heart leaped as reflex, followed by another one and it was getting closer. My body tensed and I gave way to panic. I needed to cross the stream right away. I didn't want to be engulfed in a fog once again and so I made the decision out of fear. I jumped off the stream and my feet broke into the cold water. I shivered by the effect of the icy water on my skin, but I didn't have time to analyze what I was feeling. The cold was numbing, and I needed to move fast before the coldness paralyzed me. I moved my feet one at a time. Luck was on my side and I was grateful because the water was shallow, and the current was manageable. I kept on moving and I was almost on the other side. The noises were louder, and the sound of the gunfire made me dizzy but I kept moving my feet forward. My knees were weakened by the fatigue and I felt really tired, but this wasn't the time to stop. I was almost there. Then an inhuman shrieking made me looked back. What I saw from the other side of the stream made me stopped and went rigid. The coldness of the water consumed my entire body that I could no longer move. My eyes bulged in shock and my mouth was caught in mid scream. The creature that materialized from the black smoke was horror personified, it was a demon. So, this was what Olga called darkling. It was beyond my human brain could comprehend as if the thing that was standing on the other side defies the natural laws of the universe. The creature was looking back at me. It stood taller than regular human being, seven feet or even taller. Its red eyes gleamed, signifying death. Mouth opened showing deadly fangs sharper than blade. Skin black as granite and wings spreading behind it the color of dusk. Every beat of its wings produced a midnight smoke spreading everywhere. Nauseated feeling rose from my gut and I felt dizzy. I needed to remind myself that this wasn't the best time to faint. Not when there was a creature ready to slush my throat with its deadly teeth. My eyes were fixed on the creature and the smoke was spreading rapidly that it was now beginning to cross the stream. I couldn't be a sitting duck, I willed myself to move. Thank God my body followed the desperate pleading of my heart. I moved backward using the heel of my feet to balance myself. My eyes were still pinned at the creature which was now walking back and forth as if trying to decide. Finally, I reached the other side of the stream and sighed heavily with my little success. The creature stopped pacing and looked back at me, suddenly it released an awful shriek that made me covered my ears. Its wings beat furiously releasing more dark smokes that was now rapidly crossing the water. I stepped backward to brace myself, but the smokes didn't reach the other side of the stream. I was convinced that the smoke would devour me entirely, yet it bounced back as if hitting an imaginary wall. I gasped with relief and I could even taste the tears streaming down my face. The demon growled in frustration; its wings folded behind its back. It stood there staring back at me, red eyes taunting. I was beginning to breathe evenly while my mind was processing the truth about what I was seeing. It was a demon, they were real.

The creature stood rolling its shoulders and straightening its body, its wings unfolded and started to beat behind it. In an instance that nearly took my breath away, with the sharpness of my eyes had become, I swore that I saw its face gave way to a sinister smile. I covered my mouth as I saw its wings beat driving the creature upward as the dark smokes trailed along before it dissolved into a fume of mist away into the night.

Olga came out of the woods panting. Her chest heaving as she crossed the stream to where I was standing. I could tell that she was happy to see me unscathed. She walked gently as if the cold water didn't bother her. With a gun pointing sideward and a sword dripping with black liquid. When she was near enough, I saw the same black liquid splattered all over her body, but she wasn't bothered by it. She grinned at me as if what happened in the groves was just a game and I felt intimidated suddenly. She could kick some demon's ass when all I did was run and hide.

"Hello there!" She greeted.

"Hi!" I said lamely.

"You've made it." Her smile widened. "I didn't think you'll make it out un-sired. They always make sure that they get the soul they want. They'd been getting most of it lately." She eyed me with amazement.

I stared at her confused. What did the Darklings possibly want? The mere sight of them immobilized me in horror, what more to even stand before one of them, to even near them - that would drive me out of my wit.

"Why? What do they want from me?" I asked in whisper. The thought of the Darklings scared me to death.

"To sire you." Olga said frankly. Her voice was flat and unapologetic. "So, you can breed the next Darkling." She walked past me, and I turned around to stand behind her. I was waiting for her to continue. "Generally, the Demons entire populations are male, and they don't have the ability to procreate. They need a female soul to carry their offspring." She turned around to face me, her eyes glaring filled with anger. "That's what they do to us Lola. Every female who crossover this plain is a game of tug of war. Us, the Guardian and them, the Darkling demons. This has been happening for all of eternity, since the beginning of time. That's the reason why the Guardian existed; it's our responsibility to save the souls, especially the female souls. It is important that we must be there first when someone crossover, or else, they'll suffer a doomed existence in hell. No one in existence deserves to be there, not when there is a chance for redemption." Her gaze lingered, her emerald eyes were deep and drowning. I managed to swallow my fear and the next time I opened my eyes, her stares shifted. Someone caught her attention and that someone was standing behind me.

"You're late." Olga chortled. "What took you so long?"

"Well, I didn't think you'll ever need me here. You've saved one soul yourself." A sound of a male voice caught my ear, deep and husky. I turned around to see who he was. He came out from the woods out of nowhere. I didn't even notice he was there; my new keen hearing didn't hear his footfall. He was tall but not taller than Seb Whyte, probably an inch smaller but tall enough for a guy. He looked young probably around my age, with a pale complexion, black eyes were cold caught mine. I lowered my gaze for a moment and looked again. Hair black as coal, lips registered a steely grin. He was lean and perfectly clad with black leather outfit resembling Olga. It was probably a guardian thing.

He walked briskly towards us; his grin widened into a smile. "Look who we got here?" He was looking at me. I swallowed when I saw him stood a few feet away from me. This guy is good looking, in a bad boy kind of way.

"This is Lola, they almost got her but I'm glad that they didn't." Olga said.

"I'm Keenan." The guy introduced himself extending a hand to shake mine. I slowly held my hand, embarrassed of how dirty it was from crawling earlier. Keenan gripped my hand and squeeze it gently before releasing. He was wearing gloves so technically our skin didn't touch. But his grip was strong and determine and for the first time in an hour out here I felt safe. His mischievous gaze made me uncomfortable.

"We better go." Olga interrupted. "It's getting dark and the woods can't be trusted at night." She walked past us.

"Wait!" I squirmed. "That thing, they could have got me... but it didn't. I mean the smoke bounced back. It tried to cross the stream, but it couldn't get through..." I explained. I was facing Olga begging for answers. Olga and Keenan exchanged glances at each other, but it was Keenan who spoke first.

"The Demons can't get cross to the stream because this side is a hallowed ground. Lucky for you, you've found and crossed the boundary between the hollowed and the forsaken plain. That stream over there is the borderline." He said and drew his lips in a thin line telling me that I just got lucky.

"Come on. We better go. We need to reach the wall before nightfall." Olga said. She started walking to the woods and taking the lead. Keenan waited for me to go first and so I followed Olga while he trailed behind.

"Where are we going?" I asked. We entered some semi dense groves again and I couldn't help feeling agitated even if I knew that this was a hallowed ground.

"You'll see... Just keep walking. We'll get there in time." Olga answered.

I was aware of the pair of eyes staring behind me, steely as a wolf clawing at my back. His presence drawing me in, I could sense it. Keenan, there was something about him, like a space unfathomable as darkness itself. A part of me was telling me to fear him but a part of me wanted to get to know him. He wasn't Seb, Seb whose eyes filled with life, smile radiant as the sunlight. Keenan was the shadow behind it, the moonbeam at night. I thought about Seb, I thought about the last time I was with him. That was days ago that seemed eternity. Would I ever have a chance to be with him again? Now that I'm dead, would there still be hope for us? Did he cry when he found out about my sudden misfortune? Did he have any remorse? My mind was filled with all this silly nonsense. Of course, he must have felt something. I knew for a fact that there was something special between us. It's sad to say that we would never know the end of it. How about my parents, my brother Ram? How were they coping? I missed them so much. Sadness hit me like a bullet and my current situation finally dawn on me. I am dead. All that I ever work hard for... would be all for nothing. My heart ached as my eyes gave way to tears. If not with the hands gripping both of my shoulders, I wouldn't know that I was already standing rigid staring at nothing.

"Lola, Lola ... you okay? Lola!" His voice was pounding in my head, breaking me out of my sentiments.

"She was in shock." A female's voice. "Just keep calling her."

"Lola, can you hear me?" It was him again.

A pair of black eyes was staring straight at me. Brows furrowed and lips pulled together showing how concerned he was. A hair fell from his forehead that he immediately blew it on the side of his face. His pale skin shone.

"I'm dead." I said. My eyes filled with tears as my voice broke. I succumbed to the dreadful anguish of the dead. Loneliness, sadness, regret, all of it hit me at once. I felt weakened but Keenan held me still. He became my stronghold because my strength left me a while ago.

"It's okay. You'll get through this." It was Olga. "You'll deal with the grief of your death as we all do then you'll learn to accept it sooner." Her voice was sympathetic.

She was sorry for me. All of them were sorry for me because I died and I couldn't do anything about it. And now I'm in Purgatory, fighting for my life. I just got away from the demon that wanted to sire me. How inviting was that?

I never had an emotional breakdown. This was the first; ironically, it took an afterlife for me to do it. When I finally got to my senses, I noticed that Olga was holding my left arm while Keenan was on my right. We were trailing a narrowed path with a swamp covered in mist on both sides. We were heading to an open bridge made of bricks and stone with angel statues standing in both sides holding a sword. Their wings folded behind their back. On the other side were walls taller than the Great Wall of China. Humongous was an understatement to describe this wall. It stood looming over us, piercing at the sky. With this colossal marvel blocking the last light of the sun, shadows from the wall crept through the nearest waters down to the distant land, altering the air to a deadly cold.

"Welcome to Iduri City." Keenan said.