Outer Demons

There were no memories of which this plane of existence could hold. Just a world of red, hazy red, blushing like humiliated cheeks into a world of stark crimson. And eyes. Eyes. They were everywhere. Unblinking and blue. Peering into her very soul until-- “What is that? Who is she?" Cluttered voices rang about her ears, and she felt the world tip until up she stood. Smallish, unrecognizable animals clustered around her feet, pawing at her calves with their razor-y claws and ashen toes. “What?” But at the harsh, brazen tang of her voice, the little creatures scurried away. The girl stepped forward, footsteps leaving a distant echo across the lustrous marble. Every inch she walked, the creatures scrambled back. Every breath she stole, the creatures' tiny bodies flinched. “Nevaeh!” “Nevaeh?” “Nevaeh! Nevaeh!” The girl recoiled at a sudden noise. A high-pitched caterwaul pierced the air with a sharp pinch, and she dared not trace after it. “Nevaeh! Follow us!” it called out again. This was a different voice, a much deeper but gentler one. Two silhouettes brushed against her leg, curling around her ankles with their raised tails strutting high after them. They resembled cats, she noted, and perhaps they were looking for her to pet them. She leaned forward, buckling her knees, to stroke one behind its ear, but it leaped backward with an unanticipated hiss. “I'm sorry! I'm sorry… I--” “Follow us!” demanded the white one. “I… Where?” The black and white cats pompously paraded toward an ashen forest, glazed with darkness, and before they entered the swath of trees craned their heads around to see if Nevaeh would chase after. Supposing she had no other options, the girl gulped and cautiously followed, feeling anxiety well up in her stomach as the cats vanished into the area. Rows of trees stretched above her, all plastered with eye after eye after eye. They hung their sorrowful black branches mere inches from her face, sooty and thin trunks arching like pillars from the barren, ashy ground. She reached out her fingers, curiously, to brush against an eye, and felt its wet tissue graze her nails. The cats had disappeared now, somewhere among the charred woods. Nevaeh continued brushing swaths of crumbly branches past her face, feeling her heart pound by the second. No recollection of who she was, or where she was, for that matter; only the memories she'd made here already, such as the black and white cats, the scurrying creatures with ebony dust radiating from their bodies, and the forest. Such confusing and miserable memories made her want to curl up into a bloodied mess and cry. To stop existing. In a sudden step, something moist and fleshy was underfoot. She felt herself sink down into this substance, although her curdling screams were muffled by the wet concoction, which flooded her mouth and throat. Gagging, she attempted to rid herself of it, but was only plunged further until down she fell, with such great speed she could hear the air whipping against her ears. And then she had reached the bottom. She hadn't been aware of it for the longest time, but, yes, this was most certainly the end, now that she had time to surmount the initial shock of having just fallen several yards. Still, she did not know how she was alive, but she was thankful for it. She hoisted herself up, grabbing onto whatever was closest. However, she recoiled in disgust when she noticed how revolting it was; a snaking tentacle, coated in slime and writhing the moment it was touched. “What…” she mumbled to herself, taking several steps back. But without warning, the tentacle snapped forward, coiling around her ankle and dragging her across the floor until it decided to completely lift her off the ground. And from the surface rose a monstrosity; a slippery beast with teeth like daggers and lacking in eyes. It was at this point Nevaeh was too shocked to scream. Instead she watched with a lump in her throat as she was drawing nearer toward the horrendous creature's jaws, her limbs racked with immobility, blood freezing in her chest. She wanted desperately to call for help, but nothing formed in her throat except a petrified gurgle, rumbling too softly to be heard. Is it going to consume me? Will someone save me? Her head pounded with thought after thought after thought of this debilitating anxiety. Her eyes flickered around for any signs of other lifeforms: the cats, the animals-- anything. For just when she thought it was all over, just when she could feel its rank breath sting the hairs inside her nose, she fell to the cushiony ground, and found herself completely frozen with panic. “Don't worry,” said a familiar, high-pitched voice. “You're safe with us.” The two cats from before padded over to her, purring decisively in her ear. The white one spoke up and told her, “I am White, and this is Black.” Her tail flicked to both individuals of the pair, respectively. “Please allow us to be your guardians.” “G-guardians?” Nevaeh asked, stuttering. She didn't even know who or where she was, and already she was going to obtain guardians? “Yes,” Black said, its voice much deeper than White's. “Guardians.” “And what exactly do guardians do?” queried Nevaeh. White c****d its head to the side, as if it wasn't able to comprehend her question. “Guard you? It's in the name.” “We will help you make decisions,” Black explained after clearing its throat. “You simply cannot expect to make decisions on your own in this hellhole you call a mind.” Nevaeh processed Black’s words for a split second. “A mind? So that's where I am? Inside my own head?” Flicking its tail in agreement, Black replied, “I suppose you could say that.” So she finally knew where she was. However, Nevaeh hadn't expected this bizarre and surrealish response. “How do I get out? How do I figure out who I am?” “That,” said White, “is for you to solve on your own.” It reared its body, turning around as it disappeared into the darkness ahead, Black close behind. Some guardians you are, Nevaeh spat in her head. Pathetic. “Coming, miss?” White called from the shadows. Only its eyes stood out, gleamingly pale and uncanny. “Yes, yes, I'll be there.” Nevaeh regained her posture, still shaky from her recent experience. She looked behind her and noticed the monster, now dormant, sleeping on its side. It seemed peaceful now, snoring gently instead of raging like it had been before. Frightened that it would awake again, Nevaeh quickly returned to the shadows, where Black and White had run off to. As darkness consumed her, she felt around for any signs of the two cats. “Hello?” she called out. “Black? White?” Two familiar shapes brushed up against her legs, and she could not suppress a sigh of imminent relief. “We're right here, miss,” Black said, pawing at her calf. “Just follow us!” “It's a little hard to see in pitch-black darkness,” Nevaeh retorted sarcastically, using her hands to feel up the walls adjacent to her. It was a very tight space, she noted to herself. “What are you talking about?” White inquired, “it's not dark at all. You just need to open your eyes.” “Open my eyes…?” Was this some kind of metaphorical symbolization? Her eyes were in fact open, yet neither animal seemed to be aware of this. “I don't understand. They are open!” “Silly miss,” purred Black, its voice growing more distant. “You're just not trying hard enough.” And then it was silent. “Hello?” No answer. “Please! Don't abandon me!” She continued to call out for her “guardians”, but no matter how many times Nevaeh yelled and screamed for help, no one answered. She sank to her knees, tears welled deeply like scars in her eyes. “Anyone? Black? White?” Her voice had become racked with hiccuping sobs. “Please help me!” Everything was a jumbled mess as the world swayed before her, though she could not see, being grappled by a devitalizing sickness in her head, stomach, and chest. She felt as though she would vomit on herself if the movement did not cease. It thrashed her back and forth between the walls, and oh, what horrors did occur as entrapment cascaded upon her body with such immeasurable force she thought she would be crushed into a bloody heap. Just as the chaos subsided, light seeped into Nevaeh's eyes with a sudden flash. For a brief moment it blinded her, but she did find it easy to allow her eyes to adjust to the new light. Taking a moment to regain posture, she got to her feet and began wandering around the place. The ground was wondrously fluffy, almost as if she were walking on clouds, and she wriggled it between her toes. I wonder where those cats went off to… Feeling the excruciating agony of loneliness, Nevaeh felt tears brim her waterlines until she was, without a doubt, weeping from the inordinately stinging pain of abandonment. She hadn't known them too terribly well, and they hadn't been the best “guardians", but the ache in her heart indicated that she would rather have anything than solitude. From the ground she knelt on, she noticed something translucent and faintly pastel green wedged between the fluffiness of the cloud-like flooring. It made a path, winding around and around till she could no longer see. “Scales…?” she mumbled to herself, fitting the pieces through the slips in her fingers. Supposedly she was a curious girl, at least one could say, as she stumbled along the pathway desperate to find company, even if it wasn't the brightest idea. And so she walked on for what seemed like hours, but she was determined nonetheless. It wasn't like she had anything better to do around here anyways. Soft weeping could be heard from a distance away, and Nevaeh could make out a curled figure from afar. Creeping closer, she was sure to muffle the sounds of her breath and her nearly muted footsteps, not wanting to frighten the creature, which seemed rather sensitive. She watched it sob for a while, legs growing aches from standing for so long. She took a seat, and the beast immediately whipped its head around. “Holy s**t--” Nevaeh gasped, fumbling her entire body backwards. The creature seemed to blend in with its surroundings, but every time it blinked it would change slightly, from pastel blue as the sky to painted gold as the sunset. “What are you, beast?” it questioned her, getting up to near her. Nevaeh inched away with every step it took. “I-” began Nevaeh, but was instantly interrupted. “You are a human, yes, I can see that now,” the beast, resembling that of a chameleon, said, “I apologize for labelling you a beast. That is a hideous thing to call someone.” “It's… fine…” Nevaeh said, then added, “why were you crying?” The chameleon-like animal looked to the side, appearing dejected. “Why… I don't quite know who I am, you see. And everyone calls me “Who” because I don't know who, and they don't know who because I don't know who.” “Oh. I see.” But she didn't “see”. She didn't understand at all. This creature spoke in almost riddle-like language. Who licked both its eyes with a slippery green tongue before continuing. “You seem familiar… What's your name?” “Nevaeh, I think,” Nevaeh said. “At least, that's what everyone calls me.” “Ah, yes,” Who replied, then paused. “Everyone? So you have encountered Black and White, then…” “Yes, I have, er, encountered them…” Nevaeh was pleased to hear this. Perhaps it knew where her guardians had gone off to. “They left me in that horrible dark room, all alone, and then I ended up here. And I need to go. I need to find them. But… I don't know where “here” is. I don't know where anywhere is.” “Ah, my young friend,” the chameleon consoled, clicking its tongue. “There is no “where” to go but here.” “What are you talking about?” “Well, look around you.” Nevaeh glanced round the place, but there simply wasn't anything new or interesting to take note of. “I don't get what you mean. You're stupid, thinking you can trick me with your silver tongue.” “And you are stupid to think you're smart by accusing me of such,” Who retorted hotly. “Do you think you can find those “guardians” of yours by fleeing from this place? Go anywhere, and it will lead you back to here. We are on a multidimensional platform, and you are on the third surface. To get anywhere, you'd need to go above or under here. And can you do that? No, you cannot. The Platform chooses when to present different parts of itself to you, and you do not get to decide. That is why I must assist you in figuring out how to escape, before you reach the eleventh surface.” Nevaeh repeated its words in her head, processing the baffling nonsense she'd just heard. “What are you talking about? Eleventh surface? What's on the eleventh surface?!” The chameleon shook its scaly head at her. “Why, nothing too short of deadly, young miss. The eleventh surface is where you will take your final breath, if ever the Platform chooses to present it to you. And believe me, miss, if you do not accept my offer soon, you will reach there. The eleventh surface is where all reason and rationality cease to exist. It is where the self commits sabotage.” It stopped, shuddering. “Suicide.” Nevaeh felt a sudden spout of suspense trickle into her system. Now there seemed to be a clock, ticking down until her death. So if she didn't do whatever this thing asked of her, would she cease to exist? “So do you want my help or not?” Who demanded, looking to grow impatient. “Yes, please,” Nevaeh said rapidly. It appeared she had no choice in the matter. Either die trying to find a way out, or accept this dubious offer. “Alright,” Who said, narrowing its unblinking eyes, “let us begin.”