Orange Roses

Chapter Thirteen: Pull Back the Curtain

I should probably be studying, but... 

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Chapter Thirteen: 

Pull Back the Curtain 

Ari grabbed my hand before looking at me. I held my breath before stepping through the hole and closed my eyes. The air sucked out of my lungs as I fell through the hot darkness. The air felt thick and heavy as butter while I tried to get my brain not to go into panic mode since I felt like I just jumped out of a building. I felt the rubber band in my hair snap and my hair began flying around, wiping my face.

After a minute of this suffocating darkness, I gasped and my eyes snapped open to take in the odd colors which swirled around us. Ari squeezed my hand so hard, I thought he might break my fingers. No air flooded into my lungs like I hoped; only thick, salty water that burned my stomach.

Solid ground punched the balls of my feet so badly my body shook and crumbled onto the ground as Ari grumbled, "God damn, I hate that portal." He's been here before? I blinked away the black splotches which started appearing because of lack of oxygen, I suspected since I experienced it before a few months ago when a dryad tried to suffocate me. We stood on a beach as I got up with silver sand and black, thick water. I saw a mermaid with purple skin and tangled green hair while she grinned at us.

Oh yeah, definitely in some weird water faerie place. Ari clung onto my hand. I turned away from the mermaid to look around to find what I guessed was the entrance. The entrance was two black stone door which sparkled in the dim light from a blue sun that hung in the air. I peeked around it as I let go of Ari's hand to find that there was nothing behind the two doors. Typical faerie stuff.

"Do we have to open the creepy door?" Ari asked as he rubbed his temple. "Preferably, I would like to hang out with the pretty mermaid."

I looked over my shoulder and scowled. "Think with your head and not your pants."

He glared before looking back at the doors. They stood about as tall as a New York sky scraper with handles being above Ari's head. They were carved in the shape of conk shells. I heard pretty songs playing in the air as my eyes darted beck to the mermaid, who apparently felt the need to invite her friends, to gaze at us. The five mermaids smiled at us, but they mostly looked at Ari.

"I think you got admirers," I said, pointing at them as his eyes grazed them. "Do you think we can open it." I asked as I looked back at the door and reached out for the handle. My fingers barely grazed the door.

Cold....why was everything so cold? I opened my mouth only for the air to e sucked out of me as if a vampire sank it's fangs into my throat and wanted my air instead of my blood. My eyes widened as the air became icy and thick around me like when I got here.

"Matty?" I turned to see Drake walking in the strange cold, airless place. I opened my mouth and he caught me before my legs could buckle. He smiled down at me, his eyes turning red. "My, my, what has my Matty done?"

I opened my mouth as I felt a strange coldness spread through my limbs. He leaned into my ear and whispered, "I have something to tell you..." I found myself gasping for air as I fell onto the black sand. The person who I thought

had been Drake actually was Ari. Air inflated my lungs again as I looked over at him. Ari held me up by my back. "Matty? Matty!" I blinked, my head spinning. "Don't touch the door." He sighed as he heard me speak before he said, "I figured that out when you were

having a fit on the sand. Can you get up" I shook my head. "What the fuck was that?"I tried to lick my dry lips only to find that my tongue felt too pasty to be much help. "Spell, don't want us get in. Bet they figured out humans stole stuff and..."