The Secret Kingdom

The In-Between

Chapter 5 - The In-Between

Civia's POV

There was darkness surrounding me; complete and utter darkness. There was no sound, no light, nothing but darkness.

Where am I? What happened to me?

My body was lying down, I could feel it, but it didn't feel like I was in my body. I felt like I was floating away. It was almost like I was searching for something. For what; I have no idea.

A breeze swept through me and seemed to carry me away. I didn't know where it was taking me, but it looked to be brighter than where I was at the moment. The area became brighter and brighter until I had to shield my eyes or risk becoming blind.

"Civia..." It was Olena's voice that carried across the empty space.

"What? What's going on? Where am I?" I felt Olena's sadness come over me, as if she wished I didn't have to be where I was, but it also felt like she knew I'd be here.

"You have to find the answers you are looking for. If you don't, you might be trapped there for the rest of your life. You must look in your heart to seek the truth." Her voice faded away until I could no longer feel her near me. It was upsetting how alone I suddenly felt in this place.

Moving my hand away from my eyes, I squinted into the brightness. It had dimmed slightly while I was talking to Olena, but not by much. I could see a green field in front of me. Not many trees were around, but a small patch was there off to the right.

As my eyes further adjusted, a man came into view. He was standing in the center of the field with his back to me, as if he were waiting for something, or someone to go to him.

Trusting the gut feeling I had, I walked over to him. The field went by in a blur as I moved faster than I ever thought I could. "Excuse me sir, but can I ask you where I am?"

The only movement he made was to lift his hand and motion for me to go closer to him.

Moving on blind faith I stopped at his side, still feeling like I was floating rather than walking. "Do you know where we are? Or, more importantly, do you know why we're here? I can't seem to find a way back to where I came from."

"We are in the space many like to call The In-Between. You are not dead, but your spirit is no longer with your body. This has always been used as a place of refuge. If the soul is under attack, it leaves the area of attack, the body. But, it is also used as a place to hide secrets. Secrets that must be found to be able to continue living." He finally turned to face me and I got a sense that I knew him from somewhere. His black hair was short and he had brown eyes, but there was no way I had seen him before. I didn't know his voice and I never forget a voice.

Throwing all caution to the wind I asked the main question on my mind. "Do I know you from somewhere?" I know it seems like I should've asked something else. There are at least a million other things that are more important that I need to know right now, but that was the one question bugging me the most.

"I'm your father."

Shamir's POV

"Shamir... Shamir..." I awoke to the feeling that I was free falling. The feeling quickly went away as I hit the floor. Groaning, I rolled onto my back.