Aspirations

Chapter 3

I Went Down the Wrong Rabbit Hole
The picture above is what I imagine Henry to look like

Colors. It was interesting to see so many colors. Some bright, some dull. Some had smells and some made me feel weird inside. Some I had never seen before and even though I couldn't touch them they felt weird. colors and shapes flashed, blinding me as Hyrumn and I fell. She never let go of my hand, but she did laugh as I yelled, finding amusement in my fear. All the colors and shapes and smells and emotions got to a point where I thought my head was going to explode. Then it just stopped. Everything went quiet and the silence was deafening. I covered my ears with my hands and squeezed my eyes shut, trying to remember who I was and why I ever made a deal with an Aspiration.

I felt a little poke on my back and looked up to see Hyrumn crouched down and staring at me. She looked like she was suppressing a smile.

"Oh good. You're not dead." She stood up, dusting off her dress and put her hands on her hips, looking around. "See, I told you you'd be fine."

I slowly got to my knees, my hands still shaking, and looked around. I didn't know what I was expecting, but not this.

Before me stood a long hallway that looked endless. Thousands of white doors stood on both sides. It looked like a prison. I glanced up at Hyrumn.

"W-Where are we?" I asked.

"We," She started, flipping her braid over her shoulder and readjusting it. "Are in what we call Time Stop. It's basically a place where time doesn't exist. So fi you don't want to die of age, just stay here." I managed to get to my feet and stood next to her. I gazed behind us where another hallway stretched. "Though, you'd probably get bored. All it is is doors."

I glanced at the door we had came out of. Black lettering read off what looked like a code with letters and numbers and some symbols I didn't recognize.

"What are behind the doors?" I asked.

"Different time-zones, duh! Time Stop is basically a fast travel for everyone to get around. This is my door to my tree. All around your world and others are exits and entrances to this place, it's just not as noticeable to some species, like humans." I peered down the hallway again as an odd wave of panic set in. I stepped closer to Hyrumn.

"So, uh, where do we go now?" I questioned. She took my hand and led the way.

"Now we go to where all eleven of us live. That is, we go to the Seam." She walked fast and I kept her pace. I had never heard of the Seam before. I wonder what it was like. I glanced down at my left palm where a second symbol of Hyrumn's was burned. At least I knew I was protected.

We didn't walk for long before she came to a stop in front of a door that looked exactly the same as the other billion.

"Here it is." She said, turning the knob.

"Do you have all of these memorized?" I asked. She looked at me like I was crazy.

"Gods no! You know how many doors there are?" I shook my head. "That's because you can't count them, they don't end! So we all kinda split the knowledge." She opened the door.

"That makes no sense." I said.

"Tell me about it." We walked through and I tensed for another ride, but nothing came. Instead a bright white blinded me for a moment before everything turned to normal. Or as normal as you can get when in the Seam.

Everything was weird. things were floating and rooms were upside-down. People, or things, were walking everywhere or just flying like Hyrumn did. Everything seemed fuzzy and I couldn't quite remember what something looked like once I looked away. It made my head spin. I groaned, feeling like I was going to throw up. Hyrumn caught me as I began to fall.

"Oh, right. I forgot you're not used to this. Sorry, it's a little busy right now."

"Why's everything so... weird?" I asked. She giggled.

"Weird to you, normal to me. Your world is just boring. I'm about to open your eyes for real! But first we need to go to my room and get some things sorted out." She leaned into my ear and whispered. "I'm not really supposed to bring humans here so I'm trying to keep you on the down low."

"Wait, what?! Why am I here then?" She tugged my arm and we began to walk once again.

"Because, silly, we made a deal! Besides, I don't anyone will have a huge problem with you.And if they do, I'll just say we're bound to a deal." She held up my right hand for me to see her symbol.

It was a long, torturous journey to her room. And by her room I mean where she lived. Apparently the eleven shared a "house" in the Seam and each one had their own rooms.

Once we entered through eh door, it seemed sort of like a normal house. The inside resemble what any neighbor hood house looked like. It was just way bigger and there were some weird things to it. But it was completely ordinary compared to the outside. And we started to make our way to her room secretly, but either Hyrumn didn't know or didn't care that someone else was in here as well.

"Eight, is that a human?" I froze at the barking voice, but Hryumn only stopped with a huff. Around the corner came a monster. And I don't say that to be rude but anything the size of an elephant and had body parts (not just human) squirming around and fighting for a place as a body was a monster in my eyes.

I could feel my face pale as it stared down at us with multiple eyes. But, she didn't seem phased. In fact, she floated up right into what I assumed to be it's face.

"Yes it is, Nine. And it's my human so back off." One of it's eyes rooted toward me. I held my breath.

"You know those aren't allowed. Eleven won't be happy when he finds out."

"Who says he'll find out?" She said. She floated back down and took both my hands, showing them to the pile of body parts. "And see, this human should be fine. He made some deals!"

It eyed me, both creeping and grossing me out. It let out a huff.

"Your problem." It said as it was leaving. "But let me know if you get tired of your human toy. I'm always looking for new parts for my collection." I almost fainted with his last comment, but Hyrumn seemed to find it funny.

"No thanks. I like my toys in one piece." She gave me a smile that didn't help and began off again. Once I had finally found my voice, I asked.

"W-Who was that?"

"Oh, number Nine? He's the ninth Aspiration: Creation. I'm sure you've heard of him. He's the Aspiration that builds things, mainly living things. Mostly people go to him for children, but, you know, there's always a price and all that."

"Price? What's the price?" I hadn't really heard much about him. The most I'd heard was that he was the ninth one who could create any living organism you could imagine.

"It's nothing nothing big, really. Just that he's sort of obsessed with perfection and things can kinda get... out of hand with his creations and those around it. He's also a vibe killer so that sucks."

"Oh. That's... interesting." I gulped. We eventually made it to her room without being spotted again and entered.

If I had to describe her room in three words it would be what the hell. But she didn't let me view it for too long before she pulled me off into a mostly empty side closet, which is never a good sign. She shut the door leaving only us, a cabinet full of who-knows-what, and some other weird decorations I didn't know. The only light was red and it gave everything a sort of violent hue. The small space oddly smelled of cinnamon. She gave me a smile before sitting down on the carpeted ground. I followed.

"Alright." She said, here eyes seeming to blend in with everything. "Let's chat."

I might've not explained everything clear enough so if you're confused ask and I'll explain

Also, if you want to know how to pronounce Hyrumn's name I pronounce it High-Rum

Hope that helps!