The Secrets Of The Old Tomb

6th Chapter: The Discovery, Part I

I was lost when I regained consciousness. No idea if I was on East, West, North, or South. The numbers of finding myself lying on this thick bed of snow were countless. I always ended up here. All the time. I wished it could have grass for some instance. Winter was hard. But, due to it being overly exposed, the cold helped me cover all the pain my body had ever had. That included the wolf’s bite and the many moments of falling to the ground. Plus, those throbs I felt in my temple after many things had happened from the little girl’s tricking kicks.

I could tell it was afternoon already. I just knew, but I doubt it.

My body was at its weakest point. I could hardly feel my legs’ muscles and limbs – even my head. Importantly, my head. That was a feeling I could not express in words. I thought I broke a piece of a rib as there was a sudden difficulty of breathing. I could not point it where yet because my fingers were immovable. The yeti must have had its satisfaction from seeing me flying helplessly, while covered by the wolf’s blood and my own, in the winter air and disappear from the horizon after throwing me. I wished I could do the same thing for a taste of revenge. I felt like I was a failure in my own intense desire. It was just simple. Kill.

Nevertheless, without the arrival of the abominable snowman, for certain, I was dead in the fangs of the two wolves. I lost my hope there, but now it lived once more because of the cruelty of that giant. I didn’t express my gratitude anyway, although I could have. There was a slight regret afterwards.

And because of that, even though the feeling of regret was still on me since the beginning, it was such a strange feeling to feel at that very moment.

Then, thinking again that I gave myself up on the wolves while also thinking that I still had my breath, I realized I was too stupid to give up. Nothing was ever hard at the time of the struggle. It was just simple.

Make oneself free and kill.

Yet I could not even hurt an aggressive moose to prevent me from being its soccer ball. Or cut the big eagle’s wings off to let it stay on the land and be eaten by other animals (despite the fact that I had it killed already, I still thought of it much). Or pinch a needle on the yeti’s foot to, at least, prove myself that I could hurt anyone and anything – even massive enemies. Or kill hostile wolves, for all that I killed one, to keep its canine famishing over my body no more. Even the fight I had with the blue-dressed little girl was a complete failure. The physical pain in my temple with the high kick she gave me was numerous compared to what I gave to her. She was just a little girl with basic tricks. Why couldn’t I finish her in minutes?

Why would I even be surprised after all this time when I could not even finish a single wild and bellicose animal that I had a fight with before?

I was burning in anger while keeping these all inside my head.

The flashbacks of where the two wolves were biting me were also the reason to have this suppressed anger. That was because, every time that memory came, all I could think of was the time when I did nothing to release myself from the two strong, fanged jaws. When I conceded my defeat.

My left ear, hand and arm, leg and foot were hiding on the snow ground, whereas the right ones were exposed to the icy wind. It was my position when I landed after being thrown miles away by an abominable snowman. My knees were slightly bent – the left was onward, and the right was backward. And both my arms and hand were straight forward. My tears, due to the pain of every breath I took in and out, turned ice seconds subsequent escaping from my eyes.

After what seemed to be forever, I finally accomplished the very first thing required to get to the next phase of this journey: moving my body. I was now facing the bluish afternoon skies. I took a moment there, as I was already worn out enough by just after moving my own body. In spite of the fact that my bones and muscles clearly could not take any more fights, I never thought a single minute to give up on my desire anymore – which was hunting and killing anyone or anything at any time, anywhere. I would try and kill until the very last of my icy breath.

Up until now, despite all the firing pain the abhorring animals or creatures gave to me and the being absolute failure thoughts a little while ago, I still wanted those living enemies’ blood slowly dripping out of their bodies – especially the blue-dressed girl’s, and seeing my hands gloved on it, whilst it was already gloved with the wolf’s and my own. I desperately wished to see them taking their last breath of agony dying out right in front of my eyes. So, yes, I was still ready to fight. I must.

When I reckoned I gathered enough strength to support my stance and skills to kill my future targets, I helped myself sit up with the support of my elbows and hands. Subsequently, I stood up, and, wow, the trembling in my legs was uncontrollable and fiercely throbbing. The bite the wolf marked on my left leg, plus on my shoulder and forearm, there was this sting-like sensation. In all my life, I had never seen my legs shake without any restraints like this. I was not standing straightly up yet as the wolves’ canine marks on my, shoulder, right forearm and left leg, and the several wounds from the pointy branches and twigs that I got hit with while rolling around in the air like a wingless animal, were at an extreme sore. I sensed blood was escaping from each of the wounds the wolves’ fangs and the leafless trees left on me, but when I run my fingers and palms over them, there was none. It was damped by blood, but this blood was not fresh. It was from the last fight. Instead, I felt more pain that made me scream instantaneously in this wintry, boringly-white and bald trees-infested place.

“AARRRGGGGHHHHH!”

My voice of sorrow echoed. I could hear it repeatedly, but I engrossed myself to myself. I imposed every nerve, every thew and bone on my entire body to be rigid and tall and brawny. I had to appear menacing and lethal in the eyes of my targets. Otherwise, I would be their first achievement to celebrate with utmost contentment. Or second, if they had already killed one and made a toast with their victory’s blood. Or most probably the third. Or fourth. Who really knew? None of us was a fortune teller.

One thing I had not expected to happen happened following the last echo of my scream. It had something to do with birds. It all behaves mysteriously and unnaturally. And I did not even know where they came from as I could hardly see one around these glabrous trunks and twigs of trees. All I knew was that the moment my softest and final echo ceased around my ears, hundreds of birds of I did not know what kind began soaring vigorously but belligerently in the free skies. Each of them flew in their own direction, seeming utterly disarrayed in the eyes of anyone watching down the ground. Their notes, all in unison yet some could be heard having their own music, created weird and iring noises – something like a squealing sound, except it was improved to a much more high-pitched voice to the point of obnoxiousness.

I covered my ears with my hands as it was hurting my hearing sense. Their exasperating and hideous notes could literally break any glass. I wished there was indeed a glass to break nearby, so I could use the sharpest and largest shard to kill my human and animal targets, including those galling birds. I still wondered where they appeared, though. Nothing natural was ever seen emerging from thin air.

I remained my head up with the irritating birds while my hands protected my ears from their undesired, agonizing warbles. All of them continued to sing their unmelodious notes while soaring freely midair but in chaos.

To get away from the terrifying chirps they made, as I could do nothing to reach the dark brown-feathered birds in the air and twist their tiny necks, I abandoned the place. While I took a couple of steps forward and away from the flying pests, something unexplainable occurred in my mind, which made my sight gone full black. And there was a brief moment where I nearly lost my balance because of that. It all happened out of the sudden, yet it was so strange to thought of at the period that my brain suddenly crashed. I knew it. I felt it!

I lost all my senses for a quick mere second. Not only those, but I never felt anything on my body, nor could move or control them. Hence, the reason why I almost lost my balance. It was like I was shortly dead! Then, I was back!

Something was happening beyond the knowledge of mine.

Undoubtedly, there was.

Moments began to come and go in my head the more I felt hurt and the more I survived. Apparently, they had become more often than before. What was there to achieve on my utmost desire when I successfully took someone’s life, or any life I’d see in this place? I started to doubt my desires. And from there, I also started to ask who I was and why I was desiring those things. And from having the ability to tell what time was it in a particular period without any means but the sun and skies, I knew there was something rather odd happening around.

Even the sudden appearance of these hideous birds made me question what kind of magic lied in this place. And while it swirled in my head, their extremely, obnoxious notes reminded me that my senses were back, especially my hearing sense. Sticking to what I wanted before the very unusual thing happened to me, as I could do nothing to kill those flying beings, I departed the cold and white place. I had to, to have a quiet place to think what mysterious was occurring around here.

I headed East. Although the same desire to kill little blue Alice was still in my head, I headed East because of another reason that piqued my interest than killing: the sun was setting there when I knew it should have been disappearing in the West.

While I was on my way to the East, my body could not resist and fight gravity as it tried its best to pull me down. Each second – while the blaring sound of this bitter winter along with the irksome birds’ chirps from the air – my whole body turned a thousand times heavier than the mass of a tank. I did my best to pace like a normal human would, like I did when I woke up under the green shrubs, but my body disappointed me. The cold of the winter even added to this plight. It slowed down my steps as I was greatly shivering.

Yet I did keep what I wanted, anyway. With all these hardships, both physical and mental, I stride to go to the East. The sky around the sun had combinations of yellow, orange and purple, and to tell honestly and for the first time, my eyes never truly realized and accepted that kind of wonderful phenomenon in the sky before. I didn’t know why I was feeling at ease by just looking at those colours. What was truly odd about me during the moment was that I felt my lips curving up, and my mind forgot about killing, and so did the denseness of my wounded bones and flesh.

Taking this breath-taking moment, I stayed a couple of minutes more as it was the first time feeling this weird, unpredicted feeling. It was not like any other feelings that I always and usually had from the very beginning.

Something was good from it, as good as having to kill someone. I just had to find out what. And that was the reason why I continued my poor steps.

First step, second step…, and twenty-ninth step, and I thought I was still in the same spot because my ears could still catch the irritating melodies from the brown birds. Or were they following me? The more I witnessed unusual things, the more I doubted something strange was going on.

But not until hideous, blue-dressed Alice appeared in my sight. Everything I felt weird, good weird feelings, vanished in me, replaced by dark desires, loath and, utmostly, anger.

She was pacing rather odd – hands clenched, straight down to her sides, unmoving, and her chin was an inch away from her neck. Her direction was from the South going to the North. I didn’t know how she got that ability, too, but when she sensed my existence from far away, her destination changed. She headed to the East, to where I was. Her steps from the South to the North, changing from South to the East, never had a secondthought nor regretted altering her target place.

As much as I had, she desired to kill a being. Or continue what we left off the last time we duelled. I was getting excited again.

Watching her image get bigger and bigger in my sight, I felt every inch of me alive. Neither gravity attempted to pull me down had distracted me, nor pain in every wound and bruise I had on my body. I felt stronger and angrier. I began to clench my hands, let my two eyebrows meet, and gritted my teeth.

I could now see her face clearly as she approached me. What a face of disgruntlement! She had several wrinkled marks on her forehead as she ogled at me, and her upper lip was hiding below her lower lip which was also almost invisible to see on her face. I could see how she raised her left eyebrow like it was questioning my current shape if I would still dare to fight her. I answered her anyway, I would.

No matter the state of my thought and body, if I had the dark desire to kill her or anyone I see alive, gladly, I would. And I would never have to rethink all about it.

And then the much-awaited moment came between us. I was all ready, my stance was fixed down to the ice, white ground.

Yet she attacked unexpectedly.

Anyone she could encounter wouldn’t be prepared for her next move.

Her move was quite clever, and I never did think of it before as a distraction to my opponents. It was simple and child’s play. Her fists were filled with snow inside, and when she was already close to me, she never took a moment to let go before she dashed the snow in the air to my eyes.

With little luck from my late reflex, I accomplished to sway my head on my side, dodging the snowball. Yet, my eyes still came in contact with those squeezed tiny ice crystals – for the most part, my right eye. The burning sensation and pain it caused, I couldn’t stand it that I lost my stance to fight, and my clamped hands immediately went to my eyes in an attempt to remove the excruciating pain. I heard myself shouting the soon I felt the pain, but it lasted about three seconds long. This blue b***h, however, went on shrieking ever since the moment she made her attack. And I never heard it ceasing or fading along with the same brown birds with their cacophonous notes.

I swore that if I only had the right chance and enough strength, this little girl and those vexing birds had already lost their privilege to use their voices. More wishfully, their privilege to gas exchange with plants.

And, then, taking advantage of my weak and no clear vision state, my current opponent struck me on the stomach so hard that I bent forward in pain. It was right after throwing the snowball in surprise. Next, and, again, no second had passed subsequent to her last attack – now that my head was within her reach – she punched me violently in my right temple–the very same spot when she high-kicked me last time. The moment her forceful fist hit my right temple, my body suddenly froze, and then I collapsed to the cold ground.

Once more, I lost all my senses, but this time, my body and mind were alive.

I had no idea what was happening around me or what my enemy was taking next move to kill me, but I was fully aware of what was happening to me.

My whole body was struggling to keep still. Rather than just simply lying on the bed of snow, all parts, all muscles on my body were uncontrollably moving as if a spirit or demon was trying to possess me. It longed quite enough until I began seeing flashbacks. So many flashbacks of myself that I didn’t know it happened and didn’t know where it came from or if all of those were true.

First, there was an immense fire. I was there, crying as I was shouting at a man in a baseball cap running towards the roaring fire. It was a cold night, yet I never felt the cold, instead the warmth of someone’s hug below me. I saw the front porch of the house get blocked by a blazing log, and then there was a sound of detonation a couple of seconds after, which made the fire angrier. Some windows on the ground floor burst open on their own due to the explosion, and that alarmed me.

A few moments later, after watching the fire get defeated by firefighters and their fire hoses, several bodies, including a baby, were taken out from the burned-down house, all covered in white shrouds. Although none of the bodies showed their faces, to my utmost surprise, I called one of them a father as I searched for my father’s body while I tried to wake him up and demanded a response. It was the only period I knew what my relationship was with the man who ran towards the fire. I even heard myself screaming the word ‘mother’.

Also, when I ran towards the bodies and someone from the firefighters stopped me, that was the only moment I knew who was hugging me. It was back again after I ran – apparently, I freed myself from it – and when I looked down, I saw a very familiar face of a little girl, full of tears and distress. Her eyes were swollen, and her nose never stopped running.

She was the little blue-dressed Alice.

Then, another flashback came. We were both in the graveyard, heartbroken, standing in black beside each other and in front of four tombstones. It was afternoon, and the place was deserted, except it was occupied by silent stones elevated quite a few feet from the ground. There was also a scent of dead flowers around.

And another flashback came. I, with the same little girl, was in a new place, beginning a new start in a city. And another came. I was hugging her. And another came. I was dropping her to school. And another came. I was in a class, participating in an activity involving a thousand of years old fossils. And another came. I was working hard to earn money. And another came. I was kissing a guy in a green jumpsuit. I was laughing with several people, including the little girl and the guy in a jumpsuit. I was on a happy shopping with the little girl. I was on a date with a guy in a jumpsuit. I was crying with the little girl’s dreams and trauma. I was with several people from the same class again, enjoying an afternoon coffee from a cafeteria nearby. I saw myself in the mirror, mouthing motivating and powerful words for myself. I saw the same several people inside a bus, vibing with the current music. I saw us entering an old church in the middle of the forest. And, lastly, I saw myself falling to the ground for an unknown reason. Next, the flashbacks finally stopped, along with the struggles in my body. But I wasn’t still in my senses.

There were many things I saw in a brief moment. The more flashbacks played in my head, the faster it was each. And the more it played, the more I knew who I was and the people I had seen. They were my new family.

But those were not just flashbacks. They were my memories. And before I could fully wonder what happened to us, I passed out.