Purgatory

Chapter 21

Darkness was not something I readily embraced.  My mind would constantly try to compensate for the things I could not see, and I would hear or feel unfounded things that would only cause my body to panic.  Even when there was enough light to make out the faint outlines of my furniture, I would still wish for a night light of sorts in the outlets of my room.  I only got rid of them towards the end of high school because I was embarrassed by my crutch.

I feared the unknown, and feared even more the unseen.  I always felt threatened by the ghosts I encountered, but I felt less afraid of them since I could see them.  Nothing felt more menacing than what I couldn’t see.  This fear developed due to the silhouettes I would witness from time to time in my youth, and never being able to directly gaze upon them frightened me.  They were dark like the shadows that lingered in the corners of my room at night, or the foreboding blackness that seeped through the cracks of my closet.

There was no place of comfort in the dark room; no familiar setting or individual to calm my racing heart.  I could feel the blood pumping through my veins as each beat pounded percussively in my ears.  I felt my chest rise and fall with the force of my fearful heart as I stood still in the blackness.

To my left I thought I heart the scuttling of a clawed creature.  I turned towards the sound as I tried to calm my mind enough to hear past the rhythm of my blood.  Behind me I heard an airy exhale, and I whirled around, throwing my arm out backhandedly to attempt to swat at what could possibly be behind me.  I was met with nothing but the push of thin air against my skin, and my orientation was lost once more.

I turned around to what I felt was the direction I was originally standing in, my arms before me as I walked forward.  I decided I would travel until I hit the wall, and then travel along the wall until I found the door panel.  Surely nothing dangerous was in this room.  At least, that is what I told myself.  It was better to think logically than to think upon fear.

But I remembered my encounters with Demons that enjoyed the shadows.  Pucks would likely want to mess with me, and this situation would definitely allow for such an encounter.  Purgatory is not a typical training facility, and what if the dark room was created for combat against Demons?

I found myself angry with Midvar’s methods in training me to be an observer.  He gave me no direction other than finding a door, and he gave me no inclination as to what I may encounter while in this darkened room.  My hands finally touched the smooth surface of a wall, and I began to follow it towards the right.  The smooth surface glossed against my fingers as I cautiously put one foot in front of the other.

Another clack resounded to my right and I instinctively turned my head to the noise.  I sharpened my hearing to compensate for the void that darkened my sight, but I heard nothing.  An airy hiss followed like an elongated sigh to my ears before forming a whisper.  “Behind you.”

I turned quickly to swipe at what may be behind me, and was met with the firm grasp of someone’s hand.  The hand twisted my own and my body contorted with the movement, and then was twisted around my back painfully.  I propelled my foot upward to hopefully strike at my opponent, but all I hit was air, and I was quickly knocked off my footing.  I fell to the ground, but rolled quickly onto my back and waited for the next attack.

Silence filled the room, but I was not eager to stand.  I did not hear the assailant come or leave, and I couldn’t help but wonder if I was being watched.  Slowly I rose to stand firmly planted in the dark, looking about helplessly as I tried my best to hone my other senses.

“Guardian Koen?” I called out.  My words were fruitless, and I knew it would never yield any results that would leave me satisfied.  I waited a moment longer to listen to my surroundings before attempting to find the wall again.  I walked several paces forward before I realized I should have hit the wall by then, and changed my direction slightly before walking again.  I felt like each step took me further from where I wanted to go.  Dismay rose within me, and I began to focus on what might happen than what I should make happen.