Follow Through

Darkness,Old Friend

The darkness is all encompassing and infinite,a vast and eternal thing that swallows us whole.We dangle in it's midst for a fraction of a second before we descend into free fall.As before,I can see myself and those around me clearly,despite being enclosed in inky blackness.We're falling through time and space,with no end or destination in sight.

We're in The Deep again.

"Aaaaahhhhh!!" A scream pierces the dark and echoes thinly,then is absorbed by the void.

Keanu is to my left,clutching at the air,kicking his feet and looking around wildly.His wail peters out then starts up again,even louder than before.

Ulrik is to my right,glowing contentedly purple with his arms and legs folded in the lotus position.He gives Keanu an indolent glance then faces forward and closes his eyes,as if entering a deep meditation,utterly unaffected by my best friend's obvious terror.

Jerk.

"Keen,chill," I reach out and grasp his forearm.The muscles are bunched and tensed,his body in full fight or flight mode.

He keeps thrashing and I know he can't hear me in the throes of his panic.I repeat myself,keeping my voice calm,grasping both of his arms now, positioning myself directly infront of him.He slowly realises that he's the only one freaking out and quits screatching,his eyes frantically searching mine.He grips my forearms and we start to spin in a lazy circle as he calms,still falling.

His mouth opens and attempts to form words but nothing comes out.He looks like a fish out of water and I stifle a grin.

"Keanu, we're in The Deep."

His brows furrow in question and he clears his throat then manages to get the words past his lips.His hair is floating around his face and his tunic ripples

"The deep of what?"

"Just The Deep"

"What the hell is this place?"

We release eachother but he grips my hand and lace our fingers together as he begun to drift away.

"I'm not sure," I tell him while I try to figure out why all my nerve endings are suddenly focused on his hand being linked with mine,"It's like some sort of teleportation realm that Ulrik uses to get somewhere quicker."

He looks at me weirdly then at Ulrik.

"He's purple."

I chuckle.

"Yeah,he does that.Fun fact:my glow is gold."

He looks at me indulgently.

"You don't have to mock me,Jude.I mean,I don't get how you're so cool with all this.How are you not freaking out right now?" He tugs down his tunic as it rode up to his chest.I inadvertently follow the fabric as it rose and had to tear my gaze away from the narrow, chestnut path his hair makes that lead to the inside of his pants.

What is wrong with me?

"One, I've been here before and I did my share of freaking out.Two,I wasn't making fun of you.I really DO glow."

"Jude,be real.No way."

"Keanu,you just controlled the literal hounds of hell with your mind and you're finding it hard to believe that I can glow?"

He gave my hand a short squeeze and smiled into my eyes.

"Point taken,so how did you turn into a human sun?"

I gave him a run down of the day's occurrences and he listened with rapt attention,only interrupting once to make a joke about me sending Ulrik a d**k pic.

"I swear Keen,you should have seen his face! It was priceless."

We both ignored Ulrik's muttered "disgusting," and kept right on laughing.

Our laughter gradually subsided and I lead him into a summersault,which had him tumbling and spiraling,dragging me along with him.

"How long will we be here for?"

I shrugged.

"Last time we were here it didn't last five minutes." I looked over at Ulrik,recalling what he said about his life force being drained if he stayed in this place for more than four minutes.We've gone past that now and this time he's carting along Keanu as well.I drifted over to him and lay my hand softly on his shoulder.He's a high and mighty pain in the butt but he's risked his life for me repeatedly all day and I didn't want to be the cause of his death.

Ok maybe that's a little dramatic but he's bound to be worn out by now.

"Ulrik,are you ok?"

His eyes opened and I recoiled in surprise.Keanu drifted over and gripped my hand as he,too registered the searing purple of Tree Bear's eyes.

"Do not disrupt my concentration," His eyes are unseeing and blank,nothing but balls of purple fire.His lips move without the slightest inflection,as if he's a robot reciting a recording. "We drifted too far off the path and I cannot risk another life threatening encounter.I must get us safely to Aorta." His eyes drift close once more and Keanu tuggs me away,but not before I notice that his bark-like skin is slowly becoming ashen.

"Is he gonna be alright?" Keanu asks worriedly.

My eyes stay on Ulrik as I reply.

"I hope so,"I shake my head to clear it and look up at Keanu.There's nothing I can do but hope Ulrik pulls through.

He better because my stomach's fully invested in the promise of sustenance in Aorta and if if he doesn't,well,bear meat is edible right? I mean, there's got to be some prime venison under there somewhere.

Man, I really am going crazy.

Hunger induced insanity.

I've got to get my mind off of food.

"What were you doing outside anyway?"

He gave me an impish grin.

"I snuck out."

"Way to go Keanu," I smiled at him admiringly.

"How did you get past the All Mighty Glob?"

"Pretty easy actually.I told him I'd do exactly as he said and not leave the premises.He left the door unlocked and after a couple hours,I did the exact opposite."

"How long were you out there for?"

"About an hour," he toyed with the ends of my hair,"Jude you've gotta chop some of this off."

I swatted his hand away and swam through the air.My hair floated around me,as if in water.

"If I ever get out of here I'm getting a pixie cut."

He snorts and pulls me back by my ankle.

"Like hell you are," He says,an instant before we crash into soft grass and bitter soil.

"Would it kill you to give us a little heads up?" I sputter at Ulrik,who,of course has landed gracefully on his feet while us ungainly mortals are in an undignified heap with a face full of dirt.

"Among the few things that can cause my demise,upside down heads are definitely not one of them.It is beyond me as to why you'd think they would be a contributing factor."

I sneer at him, while Keanu cackles with laughter.

"I meant warn us! Tell us we're about to crash land so we can go into the recovery position or something,jeez." I brush at my nightgown in annoyance,but why bother? It started the day pale blue and is now graduating from brown to black.

"Recover from what? Are you ill?" He asks me in confusion.

"Come to think of it,you have been spouting a fair amount of gibberish,I should have known you were suffering from some sort of ailment."

Keanu howls and slaps his thigh with one hand and holds his abdomen with the other.I can't help the chuckle that leaves mouth but I smother it and turn to glare at Ulrik who's regarding me with pity.

"I'm not sick! You're the one who keeps misunderstanding everything!" I point at him to emphasize each word and his pity turns to wanting my head on a stick.He's gray with exhaustion and still manages to look supremely arrogant.

"I would not misunderstand if you learned to speak clearly!" He objects, clearly annoyed.

Keanu comes to my side,doubled over and puts a hand on my shoulder,still laughing uncontrollably.

"Is-hiccup-he for-hiccup laugh-for real?" He manages to get out before he's overcome once more.

"Sadly,yes," I reply and hold on to him so he doesn't fall flat on his face.Its full blown night now and the clouds have only allowed the thinnest sliver of moonlight to pass through.We're on a short,wide driveway that leads to a hulking,rambling single story, stone and timber house in the shape of an inverted L. Everything is lit softly with an ethereal pinkish red light with no visible origin.Keanu stops laughing and takes deep breaths beside me and I hear a rhythmic thumping sound,barely audible in the night.It sounds familiar and I listen closely when I realise it sounds like a heartbeat.

"The hell..." I mutter,and stare up at the house once more,trying to find the source of the sound,but it seems to be coming from everywhere at once.Ulrik is walking up the driveway and goes up the two wide steps that lead to the wrap around porch.I can make out wooden furniture and potted plants and smell the thick scent of forrest as it permeates the air.Why do they need more plants when the house is surrounded by trees and shrubbery?

"This place again," Keanu sighs and starts forward,with me right behind him.We catch up to Ulrik who has his hands on the handles of the double door."Welcome to Aorta," he says and pushes them open before he crumples to the ground.