The ongoing collection Volume XV

 

By J. R. Wagner

TheNeverChronicles.com

       

                               J. R. Wagner TheNeverChronicles.com

The twenty-eighth day of August The year remains unknown All was the same as my previous entry until I reached the courtyard. Rain fell hard and fast onto the gloomy stone paths. The stone table no longer sat and beckoned in the center of the yard yet my hunger persists. I moved toward the archway for no other reason than it was simply the only way to go. I saw neither hide nor hare of the man I’d conversed with previously. Rather than a sense of foreboding as I drew close, I felt only indifference. Allowing the feeling to consume my senses –because the alternative is markedly worse, I moved toward the black stair. For the first time, the lantern hanging in the alcove was lit. The flickering of the flames cast eerie shadows down the corridor. Still, I felt nothing. I stepped down into the darkness yet somehow, just enough light shone to allow me to continue without fear of falling. The stairs twisted as they changed from rectangles to pies. Down I went increasing my pace as I continued until I noticed my breathing was labored. Consciously, I slowed my pace. The minutes passed like sticky sweet sap rolling off the branch of an evergreen. Down I went. As time passed, I began to fear the descent would never end. Finally, the steps leveled and where the stone footing once was, a dirt floor took its place. The smothering walls that brushed my shoulders during my downward travel opened to infinity and I found myself in a forest. I continued on the dirt path because somehow, I knew I should. Overhead was not sky but the same blackness of the stair. Trees, intermittent at first soon created thick curtains on either side of the trail. The perfectly smooth ground became tangled with roods and littered with deadfall as the small trees transitioned into giants as if by design. After a short distance, rock and stone joined the branches and leaves forcing me to slow my pace. Overhead remained black as pitch preventing me from seeing even the tops of the trees. The elevation began to turn upward slowing progress even more. Not wanting to look behind and unable to see but a few paces ahead, I climbed on now using my hands to pull myself along due to the elevation. The path brightened as it leveled and the obstructions littering my road lessened. My feeling of despair, which had consumed me when the trail pitched up, dwindled as a sense of optimism took over. The darkness above had transitioned to gray and I found myself increasing pace until I was jogging effortlessly toward a hopeful end to my travels. Then, it was there. Blocking my path with its sense of inviting respite sat a small cabin.

       

                               J. R. Wagner TheNeverChronicles.com

It had a green oval door and white smoke rose from its chimney. Sided with bark-covered timbers and wreathed in flowering bushes, the welcoming site sent relief flushing through my system. The green oval door stood slightly ajar. Was it like that when I arrived or had it opened as my attention focused elsewhere? A slight breeze bent the smoke trickling from the chimney and sent it in my direction along with the smell of cooking food. My mouth filled with saliva and unconsciously, I moved toward the door. The air stilled as I stood within arms length. I paused for just a moment as I stretched out my arm, reaching for the knob. As I did so, the door pulled open and in the threshold, stood Akil Karanis. He guided me to a cot in the corner of the cabin. With each step, I felt the energy drain from my body until finally, I was fast asleep.