Post by Sekot on May 1, 2012 20:32:07 GMT -5
Dancers of the Dark
Chapter 1
“Others, ladies, and not-so-gentle-men, welcome with all your empty hearts the fantastic Queen of You Damned Lot, His Majesty the High Arch Duchess, the Magnificently Dumbstruck, Most Ordinary AnnDro!”
She was there in a dress revealing her broad shoulders that burned red and orange and yellow. Constantly moving and shifting like a great many flickering tongues of fire. Great lights shown upon her glittering dark skin, fracturing as they reflected off her mane of hair that rose above her thin face and fell to touch the floor. The crowd screamed with delight at the sight of her, all eyes turned toward the raised stage that sat in the center, rotating slowly.
“Thank you all for such a warm response, I never do get tired of hearing my praises,” she cooed, her voice thick and sultry. Her large eyes were framed by black shadow, her long violet lashes fluttered. “I’m glad to see so many smiling faces here in Nevermore. So many…pleasant souls to tarnish.”
She glanced at those many faces, those with eyes open with shifting irises and those closed in sweet ecstasy. Signs of drug use were written on their faces, thin faces like death’s heads with nothing to stop the mad smiles; thin bodies and intricate tattoos with scarring, organic implants and modifications. These were the old ones, the regulars, those lost and unwilling to be found here in the dark confines of the forgotten place. AnnDro smiled as her thoughts fluttered to a future that was rapidly approaching.
“What are we here for? “ she cried, raising her glass in a toast. “To dance the Forever Night away! To sleep amongst your glowing bodies, to drift away within the crowd and to fall into such fitful dreams. Sleepy children, we do hope for too much. While dreams escape us, let us revel in the lights and the beat of our hearts.”
The beat of their hearts, the beat of the music. It began to rise, the soft synthetics and the rumbling bass, to mix with the soft sighs and moans and yelps of the dancing mass. There were those in the crowd who stood looking at her as if struck dumb, their hair so straight and their skin unblemished. New arrivals. Not yet corrupted. AnnDro stifled a laugh at the absurdity, such an unfortunate time to be caught within the darkness.
The lights that framed her died, but still her dress burned and her hair snapped with fingers of electricity. She sipped the verdant liquid in her glass, took in the delicate tastes and savored the brief moment as the music quickened.
“Drink my children! Drink, your mother commands it! Though our minds shall take leave, our bodies will stay. Show us what you’re good at, show off your talents! Here where no eyes are watching, we will be.”
We will be. To be indeed, a certain state under the cover of an endless night that allows for a reinvention, a reinvention those who were new would soon experience. AnnDro would enjoy the sight of it, watching their transformation. She turned her back to the crowd, to the rising music and the imminent climax.
“Let us greet New Day without a breath left to say HELLO!”
The drop hit and the lasers flashed like a great broiling storm that had just been released all at once. AnnDro disappeared into the crowd, her dress no less muted. A beacon amongst the faceless bodies.
Chapter 2
He moaned, gasped for air, a welcome break from the sound of flesh smacking flesh. Another grunt, wet skin, a hacking cough. He paused, catching his breath, before resuming the monotonous back-and-forth. The bed rocked with each thrust, back and forth back and forth. The bed stopped, one great final heave, and silence. The old man rolled over, his chest rising and falling in quick succession. His many rolls of fat glistened with sweat under the pallid, ghostly yellow-white of the uncovered light that sat within the ceiling. He mumbled something through thick lips and thick cheeks, but Saeko was already rising from the bed. He went to the restroom and quickly shut the door, the soft lights above the mirror and counters slowly rising to a gentle golden hue.
Saeko flicked a finger at the faucet and waited for the warm water to slip from the steel spout. He stood staring into the mirror as the sound of running water filled his ears and silenced the outside world. What stared back at him was a thin, toned young man with weary eyes, whose body was adorned with symbols and writings, tattoos in many intricate designs and an array of deep, cold colors. The face that stared back mocked him with a smile. He responded by lowering his head and closing his eyes. He took in a deep breath and ran a hand through his black and purple hair before shutting off the water and returning to the small rented room.
The old man was already dressed in a gold suit, one of Them. Saeko could never get over the arched shoulderpads and general ridiculous complexity of the outfit. The man whose name Saeko didn’t know was tapping his fingers across a Stone, a small, round silver object, marked with a gold A and O, that was specifically attuned for each user. He mumbled something more as he held the Stone out for Saeko, without even bothering to look at him. Staring into the soft blue screen, he tapped in the password to the account he used for these transactions. The Stone hummed happily as the transfer completed and the screen faded. The other man wasted no time in grasping the expensive piece of equipment out of Saeko’s hands. He replaced it by shoving a small grey ball into Saeko’s hands. No words were passed between them as Saeko dressed and the old man left.
Alone, Saeko took one last glance about the sparse room with its one lamp and one table and one bed to make sure he, or the mark, hadn’t left anything before he too departed. The room reeked of the aftermath, the mixture of expiring human smells both physical and emotional. More than fluid clung to the fabrics of the sheets, it was a feeling that hung stagnant in the air. In the hallway he paused, making sure no eyes were watching him. He pulled his light coat tighter about him before leaving the run-down building altogether. The owner behind the counter in the lobby didn’t look up from his flashing screen. Once outside, Saeko took in a deep breath of air that wasn’t filled with the stench of rot and disease. There was no night sky this far below ground, but he stood imaging that it was the ceiling of the world he saw rather than the metallic floor of the above Level. 2 Down was higher than he had been in a long time. The cleanliness of the walls hurt his eyes.
Chapter 3
The streets, passages and alleys of 4 Down were poorly lit. Many light fixtures were broken, and those that worked gave off only a meager light. It was a haunting grey, created more shadows than it killed. Saeko moved quickly through the winding tunnels and labyrinthine corridors, between nameless bars and misshapen houses. Graffiti covered every surface, shapes and words written in current and arcane languages that glowed in several ghostly colors and moved as if alive. The air was an uncomfortable mixture of cold and warm depending on which ventilators were working in what area. People milled about aimlessly through the streets or sat under awnings hawking whatever baubles or diseased food they could find. Saeko ignored their garbled tongues and spits of curses, refusing to stop for anything.
4 Down. No one important came to 4 Down. No police marched through the streets. No cameras watched one’s actions. There were only a handful of lifts that even worked to bring people to and away. Those who did choose to brave the lifts either had no choice or had a tourist’s sense of perverse curiosity. Many who came never went back up. They would become lost in the madness of the Level, staring at the hypnotic graffiti until their brains rotted, or simply found no reason to return to the land of the living. Saeko had become trapped in a different fashion, had allowed himself to be swallowed by this dark abyss.
As he neared his destination, he could feel the ground shake ever so slightly. The walls and ceilings, floors and buildings gave off a soft hum. It was a sound that reverberated, that echoed like the siren’s call, attracting all to locate the originator. The people who lined the paths became more eccentric and less lucid, those who sought to answer the call. Saeko refused to look at them head on, to do so would court insanity. These were those who were too poor to go higher and too lost to enter the bars at their current Level, but nevertheless tried to look the part. From the corner of his eye he could see their flashy colors and done-up faces, mockeries of radiant angels. Askance, they were ignorable, but when looked at directly, the illusion was lost and their truth was revealed as abominations of this underworld. Their make-up was scattered and garish, their hair in pieces, and the colors clashed in pinks and yellows and neon greens that hurt the eyes.
He rounded a corner and suddenly there was light and sound. It never ceased to shock his senses, so used to the lack of stimulation. He didn’t stop, even as his eyes struggled to adjust. The music was calling, pulling from within his chest and directing his steps. He stopped before what he knew to be the entrance just as his vision cleared and a black door appeared before him. There were no guards, no people waiting in line. Such was the way of Nevermore, all were invited so long as you could find it. Saeko tapped his finger against the door in rapid succession, an innocuous pattern that was his form of identification. The door slid open and he was confronted by the darkness. He stepped in and the door slid shut, enveloping him in the void space.
“Welcome to Nevermore,” a disembodied artificial voice whispered in his ear.
A ghostly apparition appeared, a simulated person, and bowed slightly. Saeko raised his arms, allowing the scan to complete. The digital figure raised out an arm and Saeko removed his coat. With another bow the apparition faded and the doors before him slid open. This time his eyes did not shrink away, for the lighting was much more subtle, allowing for a smoother transition. He stepped over the threshold and was immediately bombarded by the sounds. Voices loudly mixing with non-vocal electronic music, the primal bass and the elating synthetics. Smoke hung low, splitting the laser lights and strobes in a thousand directions. People dressed in impossible clothing and muted alike either stood in small groups or danced on the massive multi-level dance floor. Men in cages, women on platforms, and Others on the stage, their bodies unclothed and bathed in light and sweat. Many wore tattoos like Saeko’s own that glowed in the ultraviolet lights, hair streaked with colors and arranged in the teased out and spiked fashion of 4 Down. They wore smiles or nothing at all, no one was unhappy. They were not allowed.
Saeko wound his way past the groups of people, stopping briefly to talk to those he knew. None of them interested him tonight, even though the reverse was clearly not true. He fended off gropes and turned down gracious advances, all with a smile and a warm look. When he finally reached the bar, he plopped himself down on the stool and sighed heavily as his aching legs thanked him. “What you avin’?” the bartender asked, leaning over the counter with a wide smile plastered over his face.
“Surprise me,” Saeko said, turning to look back into the crowd.
The bartender rolled his eyes and disappeared. He returned moments later with a large drink filled to the brim with blue-green-red liquid. Saeko didn’t acknowledge him as he picked it up and took a sip. He nearly choked.
“Well, don’t we just reek of fuck.”
Saeko didn’t turn. That didn’t deter AnnDro in the slightest. He slid into Saeko’s view, blocking him from the crowd and instantly souring his senses. AnnDro, dressed in an immaculate ancient white business suit with glittering sequins, smiled down at his sitting friend. “You know, you really should be nicer to him, especially when he makes your drinks.”
AnnDro quickly grabbed the beverage out of Saeko’s hands and took a sip, making a face as he swallowed. “Oh honey, fuck that! Here, get him something worthwhile!” he spat at the bartender. He shooed a patron off of the hovering stool to Saeko’s left and took a seat. The bartender returned with two other drinks this time and AnnDro shooed him away too. “Here you are, hopefully it’s better than the beggar piss you were drinking earlier.”
“Maybe if he was better in bed I’d pay better attention,” Saeko said as he clinked glasses with the Other.
“Truth.”
They sipped in silence for a few moments as they observed the crowd. AnnDro smoothed his mustache with his fingers before turning to face Saeko with a much more serious look in his eye. “Did you get it?”
Saeko dug into his pocket and pulled out a small round ball. “One Forget-Me-Not.”
AnnDro took it greedily and swallowed it immediately. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back, enjoying the sweet memory filled capsule explode in his mouth. He sat like that for a good ten minutes before the effects wore off and he lowered his head. His irises had been swallowed by dilated pupils. “My my….what a rough job that was. But oh so worth it. Your sacrifice is so duly noted.”
He smiled, but it lacked mirth. With the black gaze and wide teeth, he appeared more as a mad beast salivating over a kill. Saeko merely shrugged and did his best to ignore the unsettling look. A woman stood across the dance floor underneath a flickering purple image of a dancing flame. Her dress marked her as Upper, either 1 or 2 Down: stick straight hair with a flat, colorless face. She smiled, undoubtedly attempting to flirt in her customary way, but that sort of action wasn’t nearly enough in Nevermore. Saeko turned his gaze away from her, downing his drink in one quick gulp. AnnDro placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and he shivered involuntarily. He had to resist the urge to flee, for something dark lingered in the touch. He could feel AnnDro’s presence as a weight on the back of his mind as he leaned close to whisper into Saeko’s ear.
“We are Dancers of the Forever Night! And soon…it will be Dawn…” He giggled. “Our guests have yet to arrive, but they will come in their entire decadent splendor. We are making ourselves ready, spreading our legs wide in advance. Are you prepared, my child?”
Saeko didn’t move. He didn’t respond. The hand grew icy.
“Of course you are. Don’t forget why you are here, what I have done for you. Why, if it wasn’t for me you’d still be staring at the walls.”
AnnDro pulled back and his hand slipped from Saeko’s shoulder. Saeko flinched; the touch lingered like a patch of ice. AnnDro pushed himself off his stool and rose to his full height. His suit had changed from ivory to ebony. Lacking the usual flair, the attire appeared dull and worn. He pulled a small object out of his pocket and placed in Saeko’s palm. With a wink and a wave he disappeared into the crowd.
Saeko looked down at the object sitting in his hand, the small circular piece of metal. He dug into his own pocket and retrieved its twin. His heart began to race and he became dizzy momentarily from a sudden rush. It wasn’t Nevermore if they didn’t spike the drinks. The colors of the room began to melt together until his vision was nothing but a cloud of color.
Waiting.
It was a whisper, a touch upon his cheek, a spoken word that only existed in his mind. He knew the voice, though he had not heard it in quite some time. He didn’t seek to answer it.
“Glad to see he’s gone. And don’t think I didn’t catch you lookin’ at that nishyit.”
Saeko’s head fell backward, his glazed over eyes staring upward. Though the words registered in his mind, his mouth had become too thick to speak. He heard her sigh, but he still did not look at her. There was then a sudden pain on his arm and he was forcibly returned to reality. With head still craned back, he looked at his friend out of the corner of his one eye. “It was just getting good.”
She leveled a deadpan stare at him. Blowing air out his nose in exasperation, he lowered his head and shut his eyes. The last hints of the Calmer fading, replaced by the hyperactive stimulant injected into his bloodstream. “Nice to see you too, Leta.”
She said nothing as she turned her attention away from him. He opened his eyes to look at her, first at her teased out platinum-violet hair then her thin frame covered by a few simple rags that glowed with ultraviolent paint. Like him she was covered in body work, but hers was more uniform, a decoration of flowers that adorned her muscular arms, vines that reached up her neck and wrapped around her eyes. The implants within those eyes shifted from green to red to yellow to blue and back again as she slowly searched the crowd. She turned her head so that she was looking at him. She was the first to smile, rolling her eyes. Leaning in, Leta placed a quick kiss on Saeko’s forehead before pulling back. “What were ya talking about with AnnDro anyway? “
The empathetic link they shared allowed their voices to be heard without having to shout over the din of Nevermore. It relaxed Saeko to hear her voice so close to him. “Planning.”
She snorted. “Planning what?”
“You know what,” Saeko said.
Awkward silence passed between them. Leta spoke first.
“Come with me.”
Saeko sat for a moment even as Leta wasted no time in disappearing into the crowd. He downed his drink, felt the sting of the stimulants mixing within his system, and pushed himself away from the bar. She had not gone far, her glowing eyes entrancing amongst the others. She smiled lightly, beckoning him through the sea without water. He could feel her amongst the crowd, feel her as a force within him that pulled him forward. He strengthened the empathetic link, enjoying the sensation of their bodies melding together across the distant space.
They made it to the perimeter, passing glances and smiles between each other. She offered a hand and he grabbed it just as the disc beneath their feet lighted up and began to float upward. Together they stood upon a small platform that allowed just enough room for them both, that floated above the dancing crowd, amongst the other discs with their own passengers. They came close, their bodies pressed against each other. They pressed their foreheads together, his eyes looking deeply into the mixture that was hers, and their smiles grew even wider.
* * * * *
The doors slid open and AnnDro stepped through the threshold into an opaque room. The doors slid shut and he was locked in darkness. The lights came on, one by one. A row that led away from the door and split to encompass the small room. Lamps within the ceiling lighted, casting a soft golden glow throughout the space. A large, white conference table sat in the center and slightly below the plane AnnDro stood upon, between him and the glass windows that looked out onto Nevermore. The crowd could not see up that far, no light penetrated that height, but AnnDro could see them. One whole Level above the rest.
One other was already in the room. Standing with hands clasped behind her back, she stood like a pole. Her uniform was a mixture of gold and silver, a skintight bodysuit that left nothing to the imagination. AnnDro delighted himself in looking her over, the taut musculature clearly defined underneath the fabric. Her curly brown hair had been cut short around her stern face. She looked back at AnnDro through her own reflection in the glass. “So glad you could make it,” AnnDro commented dryly.
AnnDro made his way over to the woman without speaking a word. The pair stood in silence while they observed the crowd. AnnDro affected the other’s stance, his suit shifting from black to copper. “You are late,” her words were quick and clipped.
“Oh ho, imagine that. I got myself a club to run, if you hadn’t noticed.”
The woman turned her head sharply, her brown eyes narrowing. AnnDro stared back with a pleasant smile. The other was the first to break, turning quickly on her heels she turned back to the table and took a seat. “Get me a drink.”
“As you wish my lady,” AnnDro said with a short bow, moving to the end of the table where he pressed a few buttons on the side. A panel in the center slid away and a glass of green liquid was slowly raised on a spinning platter. The woman reached over and took the offered drink before the platter had even finished rising. AnnDro smirked as he slid into the tallest chair at the table with the highest back. He sat with his legs laid over the arm rest, his back pressed against the other. “So what brings one of the Bodiless here to my humble home for the drunkards and hedonists of the world? And what is your name, I didn’t quite catch it.”
“First Officer Vegaran. And I am here to report.”
AnnDro waited, but the officer merely sat staring at him with drink untouched in her large hand. “I…see.” AnnDro scratched the side of his head with his index finger. “Don’t suppose you might tell me this report, would you?”
“Everything is ready.”
* * * * *
Saeko stared at the tiny metal orbs in his hand, rolling them between his fingers, and then looked up at Leta. She was silently waiting for him, her hips moving slightly from side to side in synch with the beat of the music that sang from all around them. “Ya don’t have ta, if ya don’t want.”
Her words were not spoken but felt across their empathetic link, a transmitted thought paired with a mixture of emotion. She was concerned for him, a sense of trepidation they both shared, anger from him. She felt that, a slight squint at the corner of her eyes and mouth, but she recovered with a smile. She came close so that their bodies were touching hip-to-hip, and they began to move as one. Saeko pocketed the orbs in his pants, smiling down at Leta who gave him a wink. They leaned into each other, sharing a kiss. The link strengthened, flared like an explosion, and images were transferred. Complete thoughts and feelings shared between them in an instant. Their lips parted, and the explosion was gone. To her credit, Leta did not say a word. “I don’t have much of a choice.”
The music swelled and their movements became quicker, fluid as water. Their platform spun above the crowd, unable to be seen by them. They were in their own little world, only the occasional light came up to meet them. “I don’t want ya to, but I can’t stop ya.”
Saeko silenced her with another kiss, another explosion of shared consciousness. Nevermore was gone and they were crossing the planes of memories past. They were in a room, far away from the dance floor, from the glowing crowd. Kissing passionately, Saeko slammed Leta against the wall. Their breaths were heavy, quick and panting. He nipped at her, smiling like a greedy animal, his eyes delighting in the tease. She snapped back, catching his neck and drawing blood. They both laughed, spinning away from the wall as Saeko picked her up and together they fell on the bed. Kissing deeply, kissing long, they shared each other in the embrace. Her fingers scratched at his back, his teeth bit into her shoulder. Kissing and licking, sharing bodies.
They parted once more, knowing smiles playing across their faces. Leta teased him with another quick snap of her jaw. But even in the excitement, the dark clouds of turmoil broiled just on the outskirts of their thoughts. They danced in continued silence, their eyes shut against the world, only the feeling of their bodies. He could smell her, the scent of distant things and claustrophobic spaces. She could smell him, the scent of chemical baths and approaching calamity. And sweat, their bodies’ slick with it. “I miss ‘im too, ya know.”
Saeko couldn’t respond. Not as much as him. She knew that too, but merely sharing the idea was enough to remind him. “It’s been a long time.”
They pressed their foreheads together once more, their fingers interlocking and squeezed tight. They threw their arms out wide, and then brought them close, pressing closer, their eyes locked. Another kiss, an image of them amongst the sheets. Another kiss, more and more. He felt her hands across his chest, reaching under his shirt and pulling off the tattered remnants and letting it fall away. “Ya sure ya ready?”
They parted and took a step back just as the music began to fade. He smiled at her, but it was forced and she knew it. His chest heaved and he paused. Was he ready? The question wasn’t welcome. “Of course I’m ready.”
It was harsher than he had intended. Leta blinked, the empathetic link began to fade. He sighed and brought her close. She placed her hands against his chest, stopping him from getting too close. Her expression was steel, cold and furious. The platform had reached the end of its circuitous journey and had slid back into the floor. In silence, Leta grabbed his hand and led him into the darkness of Nevermore.
* * * * * *
“First Officer, please lower your weapon.”
The soldier was standing, her glass and chair both overturned, with her arm raised. She held within her hand a simple weapon, a small weapon with a long barrel made of steel. AnnDro had not seen one of them in a long time, an archaic projectile firearm. Crafty. Took effort to pass the sensors at the door. He smiled at her, gesturing toward another seat. “Please, I insist.”
“These are my orders. I will not deviate.”
AnnDro sighed and lowered his head. He pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut, rapping his free fingers against the top of the table. “I asked you once, I won’t ask you again. Lower your weapon.”
The woman fired. The sound muffled slightly by the silencer attached to the end. Not that it was necessary, the sounds of the dance floor reached high enough that no one outside of the room would have heard it. Vegaran blinked, unsure if she had just seen what she thought she saw. AnnDro was no longer in his seat. Instead he was next to behind her, looking out the large windows. “Who was it exactly that sent you?”
She turned, her firearm pointed toward him. She hesitated.
“Was it Sophie? Or was it Alexso?”
She fired. Once more AnnDro had disappeared. The bullet bounced harmlessly off the glass, clattering onto the floor and rolling back to her foot. “One would think that they’d be slightly more clever. But no, we can’t expect too much now can we?”
He was beside her. Sitting on the table with his legs crossed. “You can’t stop this. But I’ll give you one last try. Make it a good one.”
The first officer fired three times. But AnnDro wasn’t there.
“Pity.”
Vegaran’s head was smashed into the table, enough to break the skull and the surface. Vegaran collapsed onto the floor, confused. Her mind reeled. She could see AnnDro’s black booted feet. He turned on his heel and slowly walked back toward the window. She tried to lift her arm but it wouldn’t move. “It’s almost time. Unfortunately you won’t be here to see it. I had so wished to share this moment with a special someone.”
He laughed softly.
“One last Purge, eh? Thought you could best me at my own game? My dear, I’ve been at this for years. None of you Bodiless will stop me. Not here, not there, not ever. You tried so hard to stop the Dawn from rising, and I will commend you for that.”
He turned, clapping slowly as he did so. He took a step and then lowered himself so that he could look at her face. His gaze lingered, evaluating her, judging her, condemning her. She attempted a feeble resistance, he could see it in the occasional twitch of her eyes or her finger. He smiled. “You sought the stars while we were forced to dig down, to run. I’m not so sure anymore who got the short end of this stick. I quite like it here in the dark, had to learn so very much.” His voice had grown icy. “Are you transmitting? No, of course not.”
He rose and came closer, so close that her eyelashes nearly grazed the toe of his boot. “Please, do give my condolences to your brothers and sisters. It’s more than my own family ever received.”
She felt for a moment his foot pressed against her head. Then nothing.
* * * * *
Saeko sat at the edge of the bed, staring at the palms of his hands. He looked up at the mirror that sat before him, Leta always did enjoy watching herself, and stared at his reflection. His reflection stared back with a face without eyes. Two holes stared from under the dark brow, piercing his own and slipping behind into the crevices of his mind. He could feel it walking around inside, opening the doors and closing them, looking for something. The reflection grinned, his chest heaving with silent laughter.
“Could I have done anything?” Saeko asked.
The reflection’s smile faltered, the brows knitted together. But he quickly recovered, the same mad grin pasted across his pale flesh. Saeko rose from the edge of the bed and took a step closer to the mirror. The man on the other side still sat, tracking him with the endless stare. Tell me, what could I have done? Tell me, how could I have stopped any of it? Please, I’m listening.
The emptiness of his eyes. Saeko could not look away. He tried, tried to pull his attention, but still the other looked on.
What do you want from me? What do you want? I did everything that I could! Nothing more, nothing less.
The reflection rose, still the mad grin, breathing heavily with anticipation.
Fuck off. Where were you? You could have stopped them! Stopped them all. And…and I wouldn’t be here now. I wouldn’t be like this. I wouldn’t….
The reflection raised his chin defiantly, arrogantly. Accusing me.
Saeko turned and clutched his head between his hands. The room had disappeared, replaced with him and the mirror and nothing more. What the fuck you do want from me? Tell me why. Tell me why I’m here and he’s not. Tell me why I’m running. Tell me…please…tell me why…
The reflection banged against the mirror, threw his body against it. Saeko turned to look back at him, his eyes just as dead as the other’s. The reflection lifted another fist and slammed it against the glass, a crack spread out from the impact. I just…I just wanted…him. And they took him from me.
They took him from you. So what will you do?
The glass shattered and the reflection stepped out. They met in an embrace, their arms wrapped around each other. Saeko wanted to scream, to let loose the storm that broiled within him. The other understood, pushed back and gripped Saeko’s head with both hands, forcing the two to look at each other directly. The endless swimming void in those eyeless sockets, the reflection of himself as a dead thing. Saeko shut his eyes against it, against the sight of himself, and when he opened them he was back in the room with the soft yellow glow. He stood before the mirror, his reflection dutifully staring back. His tattoos had begun to glow, a deep neon indigo that pulsed like the beat of a heart. He dug into his pockets and took out the metal orbs. He did not hesitate before putting them in his ears and pressing the soft spot behind his ears. An electric blue halo stretched around his head, just below his hairline and above his eyes. The room appeared dimmer, the sounds of Nevermore beyond the walls muter.
“Do it for us.”
Saeko looked over his shoulder at Leta who had propped herself up on an elbow, the sheets covering her chest. Her eyes burned with an inner fire, projected by the solid red. Saeko’s response was a silent one, an affirmation of anger sent across the link. She met him there and they shared a mental embrace before the link was closed. Saeko moved to the one plastic table next to the mirror and picked up the solitary white pill. He swallowed it and departed, the door behind him sliding shut. The darkness enveloped him.
* * * * *
“Tell the others that it’s under way. This is the final hour.”
* * * * *
Saeko stood once more on the stage that slowly rotated before the crowd. His eyes were closed, his heartbeat pounding within his chest. The music swelled and then began to quiet, waiting for his cue. He could smell the stench of sweat, of so many bodies and drugs that mixed together to become almost toxic to breathe. His own body was covered in sweat, causing the tattoos that glowed to shimmer. No more going back. The music stopped and within Nevermore there was complete silence. Not one person made a sound as they waited expectantly. All faced the stage. Saeko raised his hands. Everything lingered. That briefest of paradoxes where nothing is still and everything is frozen.
It was time to usher in a new day.
When he lowered his arms, the world exploded. In a symphony of synthetic sound, the music rose and fell, a storm released all at once. Lasers and lights flashed and the crowd screamed. The bass, the heartbeat, shuddered and trembled. The air itself vibrated and every chest felt it within them, mixing with their body and forcing them to move. The ritual had started, the mystical power of the dance floor entranced their minds and stole their thoughts.
Their minds were ripped from their bodies, allowing the ambling bags of flesh to move amongst each other, against each other. To swell and rise and pull apart, a sea of melted limbs. Saeko, barely aware of the dancing crowd, danced himself upon the stage. The music rose and fell with every moment of his disconnected thoughts, every tremble of his breath, every beat of his heart. It moved with him and was him and he was it. Every last raw emotion was unleashed, pulled from the expectant crowd and mixed together in the invisible space above. Discs rotated wildly, coming close as if to crash and pulling away at the last moment.
Saeko emptied himself, felt his mind slipping, felt his body gaining more control. A fire swept within him, roared above him to temporarily light the crowd and their radiant bodies. A revolution of the spirit, an uproar. And then he could see it, his body, beneath him. He watched it collapse, and he felt his world fade to black.
Waiting.
Chapter 4
His mind wandered through the no-space, separated from his mortal coil. Aimlessly spinning through the opaque world. He felt he was walking through water, a powerful resistance that washed over him and halted his steps. Glimpses of barely recognized memories flashed before him, beside him. Holograms flickering to life for an instant then fading to black. Too quick for him to recognize them as anything more than echoes from somewhere else.
Without his temporal sense, the no-space swallowed his conscious being. When he stepped over the ethereal threshold, he felt the passage of eternity. He was aware of light, dimmed but growing brighter. Carefully he opened his eyes and pain shot through his skull. He shut them again tight, the light growing painfully bright.
Slowly he adjusted, opening them to the sight of a white room with a dim fire that flickered in the hearth, much softer than he had first thought. Real fire, real oranges and reds and yellows glowed and snapped. The tongues licked the air, so many dancing figurines with the response in shadow upon the walls. Saeko was entranced, staring deeply into the center of the pit framed by white-grey stone. How long had it been since he had seen fire?
He managed to pull his head away, tracing the walls and the shuttered windows that lined them. Heavy metal gates placed over the thick panes, shutting him out from the outside. He could feel cold radiating from them, threatening to burst through and only the fire was keeping it at bay. He continued his survey, delighting upon the many appliances in the small kitchen with numbers and buttons that glowed. So many gadgets so carefully placed. All in order. He finished, having turned his back toward the fire, and found himself staring at the impossible. A man sat on the wooden table, the rich scent of life emanating from it. The man smiled at him, and Saeko found himself wanting to run. The man’s large, dark eyes glittered from the reflected light of the fire. “Long time no see,” he spoke.
Saeko stood frozen, his heart racing. The man pushed himself off the table but did not move far. Still he smiled at Saeko, but Saeko found it difficult to smile back. “What the fuck? You just going to stand there like an idiot?”
That voice. Saeko could tell the difference between artificial and physical well enough, and this wasn’t artificial but neither was it real. Saeko raised his hand to touch the man to see if he was actually present but hesitated.
David smiled and stepped forward, grabbing Saeko’s hand and placing it against his broad chest. Saeko felt the steady pulse, his pulse. Saeko shivered, his body attempted to reject what it knew to be impossible but stood his ground through force of will. “I…” Saeko tried to say.
David leaned forward, their lips met and Saeko felt his body go limp. He grew calm within the embrace, wrapping his arms around David’s head and pulling deep. He tasted David, and all the memories came flooding back. His friend, his lover. They parted lips, pulling back just enough to look into each other’s eyes. Saeko desperately searched for acknowledgement that this dream was a dream and nothing more. But what he found was a temporary truth, this was a dream. The shadows lined his face in the same way he had remembered all those years ago, fitting beneath the cheekbones and sharp nose. He traced David’s thin blond eyebrows with one finger and then up the temple into the closely cropped sandy brown hair. His other hand never left David’s chest, lest the heartbeat stop.
Then he kissed him again, and both stumbled backward, past the table and onto the small bed.
* * * * *
“This was a mistake.”
The words were out of Saeko’s mouth before he even knew he spoke them.
“AnnDro’s a bitch, huh?”
Saeko chuckled. “Putting it mildly.”
He was wrapped in David’s large arms, felt David’s chest pressed against his back, felt David’s breath on his neck, the occasional nip or peck on his shoulders. It was warm, warmth that could only be known to those who spent so long underground.
“Fuck, I don’t want to leave.” Saeko spoke to the room.
David responded with another kiss on the nape of his neck. “I never did like this hair color.”
“You didn’t understand the point of it, never got why we do it. If you had…maybe...”
There was silence much welcomed for a few precious minutes. Saeko had forgotten what real silence felt like. “I miss you.”
It was David’s turn to laugh. “I miss you too.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
Saeko couldn’t bring himself to say it. If he did, would David disappear? He would hang onto this moment for as long as it was possible.
“Do you remember?” Saeko asked.
“Yes.”
Saeko bit his lip to hold back the swelling of emotion within him. His throat had become thick, threatening to choke him. The light in the room had shrunk to nothing more than a few pulsating embers. “It’s dark.”
David pulled Saeko tighter against him. “I had to, you know. Either me or you.”
Saeko wondered if he could bore holes through the shutters, let in the light from the other side.
“I don’t regret my decision. I told you that we would see each other again.”
“You also said ‘fuck you’.”
They both laughed. “Probably not the best choice for my last words.”
“And here I am. Seeing you again.”
Saeko felt the wet drops fill his eyes, no longer able to hold them back. His body was wracked. The crack in his carefully constructed façade had become a fissure. David waited as Saeko sobbed, held him close and tight while Saeko screamed, as Saeko thrashed and tried to escape.
Undeserving. Unwanted. Unfair. Get away from me get away. Let me go. I can’t handle this I can’t do this! For fuck’s sake why? Why me? Why you?
Why can’t we live happily ever after? Why couldn’t we have died together? Where was the romantic conclusion? Where was my peace and happiness?
You were taken from me.
I watched you die.
And with you went me. What am I now?
What am I?
Saeko stopped, the last few sobs choked from him. He cried in silence. David held him quietly, waiting patiently. “I love you.”
The words stung, pierced his mind and spun the knife.
“I loved you then, I love you now, and I will love you forever. Just wait a little longer, and we’ll see each other one last time.”
Saeko wanted nothing less than to wait, and yet all he could think was to run.
“You are my Saeko. I will be with you and together we will watch the sun rise. Together we will be.”
Quiet. The last few embers died and the room was finally devoured. Saeko felt the warm, sticky wetness seeping through the sheets, could see one last glimpse of red before the light died. He could still feel the bed, but David’s grip had faded. Wrapped within the blankets, he did not try to escape, but merely lay there with wide eyes trying to conjure anything but the image that was currently flickering before him.
David. His death. The crimson blood. And then darkness.
What am I? What does it matter?
The room was behind him, and once more he was in no-space. But instead of the opaque blackness and flickering imagery, there was a solitary room large and unadorned. The most basic of basic, a flat grey with only the barest of ambient light. Rather, a place so dark that what registered was the inverse of light, feeling more than seeing. Alone, no other person inside, he screamed. Screamed and screamed until he choked. No sound emanated from him, only the thought of it echoed in his skull. He collapsed onto his knees, leaned forward and clutched at his sides. Pain swelled within him, grabbed his heart and stole it. What was left was fire, flame that coursed through his veins and ate his breath and life.
A husk, he raised his head to see himself standing before him with an offered hand. Saeko stared at it, and in his rage set it aflame. But his reflection stood there, even as he burned. His endless, eyeless gaze remained unwavering. Tentatively, Saeko reached up and took the hand, felt the iron grip close around him and pull him to his feet. The two stood close, like lovers. Saeko stared into the reflection’s eyes. Beside them appeared ghosts, ambient wandering souls searching for something, anything. They moved like dancers, their bodies twisting and spinning and jerking to internally produced sound.
Saeko watched them, watched them dance past one another. Some met and were a flurry of movement before they parted just as violently. “They want a revelation. A revolution.”
The words came from the reflection, were thoughts they shared rather than spoken sounds.
“What are we but dancing demons, caught up in our own madness? Do you see them burning? Can you hear them laughing? Desperation in their movements. Mindless bodies moving when they should not.”
The two looked at each other and Saeko understood.
“What are we, if we are not?”
Chapter 5
When Saeko could finally open his eyes, the haunting memories still clung like dank moss covering a grave. The vision that greeted him was filtered through a glass pane. The vision of two moons, ghostly and pallid, spinning about one another in their mad tumble through the heavens. Saeko couldn’t recall their names, refused to search his memory lest he come across more open wounds. There were no stars in the sky. They were hidden behind clouds of nebulae that stretched like webs of spiders across the visible expanse.
Beneath the night sky stretched a world covered in steel that shown under the moonlight in that hollow way that only the artificial knows how. So many towers reaching up to pierce the sky, to grasp at it like so many skeletal fingers. The world itself demanding to be free from its own confines. Points of light shown from their myriad surfaces, windows to other worlds. Saeko imagined that, in one of those many pinnacles, was a window that was barred that belonged to a room with a cold fireplace and a bed with bloodstained sheets.
AnnDro stepped out of Saeko’s peripheral vision and placed a slender, gloved hand on the glass window. Her dark eyes surrounded with fuchsia circles gazed upon the land of metal, wide with awe. She turned her head to look at him with one thin brow perched precariously high. A coy smile stretched across her face, “It worked.”
She turned her head back to the window. “We’ve done it.”
Framed against the window, her long white dress with a train that stretched several feet behind her glittered under the light of the silver moons. She was a point of radiance but out of place. Saeko could see her gaunt face, the thinness of her frame, saw her for the first time as more of a wraith than human. He moved to stand next to her, both of them now looking out upon the never ending city. “And to think, we let this all go.”
Saeko remained silent. Unwilling to speak a word. He could feel the outside world pulling at him, begging him to step through the glass and tumble to his death. He could feel the coldness of the outside air radiating from the barrier. Just a push, it would easily give way. “Did you see him?”
Her words cut through him. He noticed his reflection in the glass. Just him. One particular tattoo still glowed a soft blue, a set of numbers that rested above his heart. The date of David’s death. He had forgotten them, forgotten where had placed them. Darker blue lines stretched out intermittently from the numbers, lighting upon other tattoos before darkening.
“Yes.”
She smiled to herself as she turned, her back now to the window. She placed the same hand that had been against the glass onto Saeko’s shoulder and gave a small squeeze. “Soon.”
Saeko hardly heard the words. He was staring at the marble floor beneath his feet that held within every corner a golden A and golden O. AnnDro stepped past him, her white stiletto heels clicking loudly against the stone. “It seems we have company.”
He turned just as a woman dressed in a plain, almost translucent, white gown stepped out of floating obsidian cube. Her impossibly large golden eyes shimmered as they looked from AnnDro to Saeko and back again. Artificially enhanced eye sockets. Saeko wondered what information streamed behind them. Beyond her the room stretched. There was no furniture. Only the marble floor and the walls and ceiling made of glass. The frames of the windows on the roof were lined with rubies and emeralds and sapphires that were muted now but had to look dazzling when brighter light shown upon them. “I believe it is I who has company,” the woman spoke in her unaccented, monotone voice. She followed it with an equally flat smile. “How may I assist you?”
She was not surprised at their presence. Her words seemed genuinely welcoming. Saeko wondered if They felt any emotion at all anymore. She stood perfectly still with hands clasped before her waist. Her stick straight raven hair stretched all the way to the floor, striking against her pale flesh. Her smile was perfectly proportioned.
“Assist us? Oh darling, we don’t need your assistance. We’re doing just fine.”
AnnDro gazed intently upon the plain woman. The Other patted her green hair with her hand before checking her nails for grime. “You know who we are, don’t you?” she asked, her eyes once more flicking up to look at the other.
The woman cocked her head to the side not unlike a bird. “No, I do not. Who are you?”
The smile faded, replaced by the unblinking stare.
AnnDro looked at Saeko, exasperated. “We are…oh who are we, Saeko? We need something with proper gravitas, don’t you think?”
“Harbingers of the Dawn,” was Saeko’s reply.
AnnDro’s eyes twitched briefly, a tick that was slight but was there, before she turned back to the woman. “Oh yes, Harbingers of the Dawn. I love it.”
“I am afraid I do not know the ‘Harbingers of the Dawn’”.
AnnDro took a step closer to the woman who still stared rigidly at the Other. “We have come to do what all good harbingers do: deliver a message.”
The woman’s head straightened, her features impossibly precise. Saeko resisted the urge to look away from her. “And what is this message?”
AnnDro mocked her by affecting her stance and face. “The Forever Night is ending. Now is the Waiting Time. Dawn is coming.”
“The Forever Night? It has been quite some time since I’ve heard of that particular fairy tale. Tell me, which Level are you from?”
“4,” was AnnDro’s response.
The woman nodded, a quick jerk of her head. “I thought so. Tell me, what do I have to fear of this ‘Waiting Time’? It seems like a lot of effort for you when a simple note would have sufficed.”
“Telling you the significance of the Waiting Time via note would have spoiled the delightful surprise we have planned.” AnnDro laughed lightly, borderline cackled in her contained delight. Saeko wondered if she was going mad, then wondered if she had ever been sane. “We have grown absolutely restless in the Levels. We are a ravenous bunch.”
AnnDro had taken a step closer, and the woman had taken a step back. “The Church of the Beginning/End will welcome all those to our doors that seek to repent.”
Beginning/End. An impossible combination of words that was spoken at once. A verbal assault on Saeko’s ears. “We want more than what you can offer, Daughter of the Morning. Oh yes, we do know who you are. It is very impossible not to know the Morning Star, the High Priestess of the Criminally Insane. Simply put, I want your title.”
“That is…”
“Not your title?” AnnDro scoffed as the two began to pace around each other in a perverse dance. Neither broke their gaze from the other. “Goddess of the Celestial Overworld? Is that better? Or, or, ArchBitch of the Bodiless? I can go on and on…”
“No, I do not believe it necessary….”
“You interrupted me! I wasn’t finished. We’ve come to deliver a message. With Dawn, the mad will run free. War, your holiness. We are hell come to take your heaven.”
AnnDro’s voice had lost its high and wilting affectations and had taken on a much harder tone that Saeko had not heard before. He was not sure he wanted to hear it again. AnnDro appeared even frailer within the center of the room. She had become deformed by the darkness but also hidden by it. Here in the world of light, she was demonic.
“Oh yes, I remember you. You who escaped us so readily. Apparently our Purges were unsuccessful. We will certainly have to rectify that. War, you say? Then war you shall have. The Levels will not survive.”
“You underestimate us. When Dawn rises, light will flee, and we will be. “
The two stopped their pacing and stood rigid as stone statues. Saeko felt oddly out of place, as if nothing in the world mattered beyond their locked stares. Some silent war was being waged in a place he could not see. Saeko had not heard this part of the fairy tale.
Now he was not so sure.
“Very well, I believe you have overstayed your welcome. Do give my condolences when you arrive back in your hell.”
Her flesh parted and fell away like rushing water. It happened quickly, before Saeko could even truly comprehend what had happened, she/it was now more chrome frame than human. Her golden eyes were even larger within her skeletal, metal face. She raised one hand, even as the appendages split and fell way only to reshape themselves into a long barreled weapon. AnnDro broke his stare and looked toward Saeko and gave only a soft nod. The weapon fired with a sound that cracked like thunder and flashed like lightning. Saeko looked away, dazed momentarily.
When he turned back, AnnDro was no longer there. In her place were several smoking holes in the marble floor. She was gone, transported back to Nevermore. Saeko smiled in spite of himself. It was very much like her, to plan this out and make sure that she would see it through.
The woman/machine turned to face Saeko, her weapon pointed at him. Words were produced but he did not hear them. He was focused intently upon her weapon, a memory drudged up from the halls within his mind. The image of a flash, an ear splitting sound, a chrome plated weapon, and David’s fallen body. Blood on David, blood on Saeko’s arms, blood on the ground. The life drifting slowly from David’s eyes, the mixture of pain and bitter anger. Stunned Saeko stood silent, even as the other repeated their words.
“Do you know a David?”
The words were out of his mouth before he even recognized that it was him who spoke. She/it had no face to gauge the reaction with, no movement beyond the internal whirring of mechanisms. It was her/it that had been there, been there before. It was her.
“No I do not know a David.”
The words were so distant, she/it was so far away. Saeko felt adrift, felt his mind losing the battle he had been silently waging for years. It was another’s turn to speak. “Dawn has come.”
Golden light had begun to rise above the distant horizon. Black towers framed against it, blocked windows. The rubies were the first to glow, the color of crimson blood. She/it blurred in his vision, and David was there, smiling at Saeko. One last time.
The woman/machine fired her weapon. There was no flash, no crack of sound. Saeko briefly felt the projectiles entering his body, tearing through him and exploding within him. The shards tore his insides to pieces, and exited out the other side. He coughed blood, even as he smiled back at her/it. The numbers, the tattoo, above his heart glowed bright. Blue lines stretched to connect with every other tattoo in a complex web. He glowed.
The gas giant began the slow rise upward. Broiling yellows and oranges. A god of fire come to light the world.
Saeko collapsed. His body nothing more than an empty sack of flesh and bone. Though in his place stood an opaque form, his presence still remaining. Slowly its shape lessened, grew less defined, and spilled outward in defiance against the light that caged it. Darkness stretched from him to surround the room made of glass and stone. Devoured the light that entered and grew stronger from it. Surrounded, the machine/person backed up against the hibernation cube she had been in previously. The darkness followed her.
Absent space, a cruel tear in the world. The shadow began to advance upon her/it. Barely recognizable as a person, it shuddered and flickered and screamed with a thousand angry voices. Words spilled from the nonsense, spilled out and were echoed by countless others. Faces flickered, eyeless stares. Within the darkness, she/it stood still, unsure what to fire at. Behind her golden eyes that were slowly dimming she searched through the world’s library for any information that would save her/it.
Four arms stretched outward, rippling as if made with water. They grabbed the metal frame and lifted it from the ground. One hand upon the metal face, crushing it beneath the iron grasp. With delight, the revenant tore the machine/person to pieces. Tore it/her limb from limb and scattered her/it to the darkness that greedily swallowed them all. What remained was a casing with the soul of the Daughter of the Morning locked inside. The spinning white ball of energy wailed but no sound came forth. A psychic pounding that the shadow hungered for in its wrath. A spinning soul, the last remains of what the machine had once been. The darkness fell upon her, crushing it within the impenetrable hybrid of no-space brought in to the mortal plane.
The explosion tore through the floor and several floors below. It shattered the windows and rose upward. A fire blacker than black that burned without light. Framed against the rising planet behind it, it roared as a beacon upon the tower that rose above all the others.
Chapter 6
AnnDro watched the patrons of Nevermore dancing under the myriad lights. She sipped from her verdant drink, delighting in the sweet taste of fruit and spice. Though he could not hear the music, she could feel it. It was soft through the glass, but she could hear the strains written into it, in the movements of the very dancers themselves. He wondered if they knew what they were dancing to. She knew. The last song of a dead man. “He’s…gone.”
AnnDro chose to ignore Leta who stood beside him. Together, in silence, they watched as the lights of Nevermore died, plunging the world into opaque black. “Dawn has come and no longer can we hide in our dream-states,” AnnDro spoke to himself.
From within the void appeared the many dancing ghosts, caught forever. AnnDro watched them from her silent place, watched them spin and so desperately wanted to hear their music. “The city is burning.”
One more ghost appeared amongst the rest, burning with black flame. The crowd moved away from it, giving it space. Slowly it turned to look back on AnnDro with an eyeless, haunting gaze. AnnDro smiled as she turned from the glass. “And from now until the inevitable end, we are.”
Chapter 1
“Others, ladies, and not-so-gentle-men, welcome with all your empty hearts the fantastic Queen of You Damned Lot, His Majesty the High Arch Duchess, the Magnificently Dumbstruck, Most Ordinary AnnDro!”
She was there in a dress revealing her broad shoulders that burned red and orange and yellow. Constantly moving and shifting like a great many flickering tongues of fire. Great lights shown upon her glittering dark skin, fracturing as they reflected off her mane of hair that rose above her thin face and fell to touch the floor. The crowd screamed with delight at the sight of her, all eyes turned toward the raised stage that sat in the center, rotating slowly.
“Thank you all for such a warm response, I never do get tired of hearing my praises,” she cooed, her voice thick and sultry. Her large eyes were framed by black shadow, her long violet lashes fluttered. “I’m glad to see so many smiling faces here in Nevermore. So many…pleasant souls to tarnish.”
She glanced at those many faces, those with eyes open with shifting irises and those closed in sweet ecstasy. Signs of drug use were written on their faces, thin faces like death’s heads with nothing to stop the mad smiles; thin bodies and intricate tattoos with scarring, organic implants and modifications. These were the old ones, the regulars, those lost and unwilling to be found here in the dark confines of the forgotten place. AnnDro smiled as her thoughts fluttered to a future that was rapidly approaching.
“What are we here for? “ she cried, raising her glass in a toast. “To dance the Forever Night away! To sleep amongst your glowing bodies, to drift away within the crowd and to fall into such fitful dreams. Sleepy children, we do hope for too much. While dreams escape us, let us revel in the lights and the beat of our hearts.”
The beat of their hearts, the beat of the music. It began to rise, the soft synthetics and the rumbling bass, to mix with the soft sighs and moans and yelps of the dancing mass. There were those in the crowd who stood looking at her as if struck dumb, their hair so straight and their skin unblemished. New arrivals. Not yet corrupted. AnnDro stifled a laugh at the absurdity, such an unfortunate time to be caught within the darkness.
The lights that framed her died, but still her dress burned and her hair snapped with fingers of electricity. She sipped the verdant liquid in her glass, took in the delicate tastes and savored the brief moment as the music quickened.
“Drink my children! Drink, your mother commands it! Though our minds shall take leave, our bodies will stay. Show us what you’re good at, show off your talents! Here where no eyes are watching, we will be.”
We will be. To be indeed, a certain state under the cover of an endless night that allows for a reinvention, a reinvention those who were new would soon experience. AnnDro would enjoy the sight of it, watching their transformation. She turned her back to the crowd, to the rising music and the imminent climax.
“Let us greet New Day without a breath left to say HELLO!”
The drop hit and the lasers flashed like a great broiling storm that had just been released all at once. AnnDro disappeared into the crowd, her dress no less muted. A beacon amongst the faceless bodies.
Chapter 2
He moaned, gasped for air, a welcome break from the sound of flesh smacking flesh. Another grunt, wet skin, a hacking cough. He paused, catching his breath, before resuming the monotonous back-and-forth. The bed rocked with each thrust, back and forth back and forth. The bed stopped, one great final heave, and silence. The old man rolled over, his chest rising and falling in quick succession. His many rolls of fat glistened with sweat under the pallid, ghostly yellow-white of the uncovered light that sat within the ceiling. He mumbled something through thick lips and thick cheeks, but Saeko was already rising from the bed. He went to the restroom and quickly shut the door, the soft lights above the mirror and counters slowly rising to a gentle golden hue.
Saeko flicked a finger at the faucet and waited for the warm water to slip from the steel spout. He stood staring into the mirror as the sound of running water filled his ears and silenced the outside world. What stared back at him was a thin, toned young man with weary eyes, whose body was adorned with symbols and writings, tattoos in many intricate designs and an array of deep, cold colors. The face that stared back mocked him with a smile. He responded by lowering his head and closing his eyes. He took in a deep breath and ran a hand through his black and purple hair before shutting off the water and returning to the small rented room.
The old man was already dressed in a gold suit, one of Them. Saeko could never get over the arched shoulderpads and general ridiculous complexity of the outfit. The man whose name Saeko didn’t know was tapping his fingers across a Stone, a small, round silver object, marked with a gold A and O, that was specifically attuned for each user. He mumbled something more as he held the Stone out for Saeko, without even bothering to look at him. Staring into the soft blue screen, he tapped in the password to the account he used for these transactions. The Stone hummed happily as the transfer completed and the screen faded. The other man wasted no time in grasping the expensive piece of equipment out of Saeko’s hands. He replaced it by shoving a small grey ball into Saeko’s hands. No words were passed between them as Saeko dressed and the old man left.
Alone, Saeko took one last glance about the sparse room with its one lamp and one table and one bed to make sure he, or the mark, hadn’t left anything before he too departed. The room reeked of the aftermath, the mixture of expiring human smells both physical and emotional. More than fluid clung to the fabrics of the sheets, it was a feeling that hung stagnant in the air. In the hallway he paused, making sure no eyes were watching him. He pulled his light coat tighter about him before leaving the run-down building altogether. The owner behind the counter in the lobby didn’t look up from his flashing screen. Once outside, Saeko took in a deep breath of air that wasn’t filled with the stench of rot and disease. There was no night sky this far below ground, but he stood imaging that it was the ceiling of the world he saw rather than the metallic floor of the above Level. 2 Down was higher than he had been in a long time. The cleanliness of the walls hurt his eyes.
Chapter 3
The streets, passages and alleys of 4 Down were poorly lit. Many light fixtures were broken, and those that worked gave off only a meager light. It was a haunting grey, created more shadows than it killed. Saeko moved quickly through the winding tunnels and labyrinthine corridors, between nameless bars and misshapen houses. Graffiti covered every surface, shapes and words written in current and arcane languages that glowed in several ghostly colors and moved as if alive. The air was an uncomfortable mixture of cold and warm depending on which ventilators were working in what area. People milled about aimlessly through the streets or sat under awnings hawking whatever baubles or diseased food they could find. Saeko ignored their garbled tongues and spits of curses, refusing to stop for anything.
4 Down. No one important came to 4 Down. No police marched through the streets. No cameras watched one’s actions. There were only a handful of lifts that even worked to bring people to and away. Those who did choose to brave the lifts either had no choice or had a tourist’s sense of perverse curiosity. Many who came never went back up. They would become lost in the madness of the Level, staring at the hypnotic graffiti until their brains rotted, or simply found no reason to return to the land of the living. Saeko had become trapped in a different fashion, had allowed himself to be swallowed by this dark abyss.
As he neared his destination, he could feel the ground shake ever so slightly. The walls and ceilings, floors and buildings gave off a soft hum. It was a sound that reverberated, that echoed like the siren’s call, attracting all to locate the originator. The people who lined the paths became more eccentric and less lucid, those who sought to answer the call. Saeko refused to look at them head on, to do so would court insanity. These were those who were too poor to go higher and too lost to enter the bars at their current Level, but nevertheless tried to look the part. From the corner of his eye he could see their flashy colors and done-up faces, mockeries of radiant angels. Askance, they were ignorable, but when looked at directly, the illusion was lost and their truth was revealed as abominations of this underworld. Their make-up was scattered and garish, their hair in pieces, and the colors clashed in pinks and yellows and neon greens that hurt the eyes.
He rounded a corner and suddenly there was light and sound. It never ceased to shock his senses, so used to the lack of stimulation. He didn’t stop, even as his eyes struggled to adjust. The music was calling, pulling from within his chest and directing his steps. He stopped before what he knew to be the entrance just as his vision cleared and a black door appeared before him. There were no guards, no people waiting in line. Such was the way of Nevermore, all were invited so long as you could find it. Saeko tapped his finger against the door in rapid succession, an innocuous pattern that was his form of identification. The door slid open and he was confronted by the darkness. He stepped in and the door slid shut, enveloping him in the void space.
“Welcome to Nevermore,” a disembodied artificial voice whispered in his ear.
A ghostly apparition appeared, a simulated person, and bowed slightly. Saeko raised his arms, allowing the scan to complete. The digital figure raised out an arm and Saeko removed his coat. With another bow the apparition faded and the doors before him slid open. This time his eyes did not shrink away, for the lighting was much more subtle, allowing for a smoother transition. He stepped over the threshold and was immediately bombarded by the sounds. Voices loudly mixing with non-vocal electronic music, the primal bass and the elating synthetics. Smoke hung low, splitting the laser lights and strobes in a thousand directions. People dressed in impossible clothing and muted alike either stood in small groups or danced on the massive multi-level dance floor. Men in cages, women on platforms, and Others on the stage, their bodies unclothed and bathed in light and sweat. Many wore tattoos like Saeko’s own that glowed in the ultraviolet lights, hair streaked with colors and arranged in the teased out and spiked fashion of 4 Down. They wore smiles or nothing at all, no one was unhappy. They were not allowed.
Saeko wound his way past the groups of people, stopping briefly to talk to those he knew. None of them interested him tonight, even though the reverse was clearly not true. He fended off gropes and turned down gracious advances, all with a smile and a warm look. When he finally reached the bar, he plopped himself down on the stool and sighed heavily as his aching legs thanked him. “What you avin’?” the bartender asked, leaning over the counter with a wide smile plastered over his face.
“Surprise me,” Saeko said, turning to look back into the crowd.
The bartender rolled his eyes and disappeared. He returned moments later with a large drink filled to the brim with blue-green-red liquid. Saeko didn’t acknowledge him as he picked it up and took a sip. He nearly choked.
“Well, don’t we just reek of fuck.”
Saeko didn’t turn. That didn’t deter AnnDro in the slightest. He slid into Saeko’s view, blocking him from the crowd and instantly souring his senses. AnnDro, dressed in an immaculate ancient white business suit with glittering sequins, smiled down at his sitting friend. “You know, you really should be nicer to him, especially when he makes your drinks.”
AnnDro quickly grabbed the beverage out of Saeko’s hands and took a sip, making a face as he swallowed. “Oh honey, fuck that! Here, get him something worthwhile!” he spat at the bartender. He shooed a patron off of the hovering stool to Saeko’s left and took a seat. The bartender returned with two other drinks this time and AnnDro shooed him away too. “Here you are, hopefully it’s better than the beggar piss you were drinking earlier.”
“Maybe if he was better in bed I’d pay better attention,” Saeko said as he clinked glasses with the Other.
“Truth.”
They sipped in silence for a few moments as they observed the crowd. AnnDro smoothed his mustache with his fingers before turning to face Saeko with a much more serious look in his eye. “Did you get it?”
Saeko dug into his pocket and pulled out a small round ball. “One Forget-Me-Not.”
AnnDro took it greedily and swallowed it immediately. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back, enjoying the sweet memory filled capsule explode in his mouth. He sat like that for a good ten minutes before the effects wore off and he lowered his head. His irises had been swallowed by dilated pupils. “My my….what a rough job that was. But oh so worth it. Your sacrifice is so duly noted.”
He smiled, but it lacked mirth. With the black gaze and wide teeth, he appeared more as a mad beast salivating over a kill. Saeko merely shrugged and did his best to ignore the unsettling look. A woman stood across the dance floor underneath a flickering purple image of a dancing flame. Her dress marked her as Upper, either 1 or 2 Down: stick straight hair with a flat, colorless face. She smiled, undoubtedly attempting to flirt in her customary way, but that sort of action wasn’t nearly enough in Nevermore. Saeko turned his gaze away from her, downing his drink in one quick gulp. AnnDro placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and he shivered involuntarily. He had to resist the urge to flee, for something dark lingered in the touch. He could feel AnnDro’s presence as a weight on the back of his mind as he leaned close to whisper into Saeko’s ear.
“We are Dancers of the Forever Night! And soon…it will be Dawn…” He giggled. “Our guests have yet to arrive, but they will come in their entire decadent splendor. We are making ourselves ready, spreading our legs wide in advance. Are you prepared, my child?”
Saeko didn’t move. He didn’t respond. The hand grew icy.
“Of course you are. Don’t forget why you are here, what I have done for you. Why, if it wasn’t for me you’d still be staring at the walls.”
AnnDro pulled back and his hand slipped from Saeko’s shoulder. Saeko flinched; the touch lingered like a patch of ice. AnnDro pushed himself off his stool and rose to his full height. His suit had changed from ivory to ebony. Lacking the usual flair, the attire appeared dull and worn. He pulled a small object out of his pocket and placed in Saeko’s palm. With a wink and a wave he disappeared into the crowd.
Saeko looked down at the object sitting in his hand, the small circular piece of metal. He dug into his own pocket and retrieved its twin. His heart began to race and he became dizzy momentarily from a sudden rush. It wasn’t Nevermore if they didn’t spike the drinks. The colors of the room began to melt together until his vision was nothing but a cloud of color.
Waiting.
It was a whisper, a touch upon his cheek, a spoken word that only existed in his mind. He knew the voice, though he had not heard it in quite some time. He didn’t seek to answer it.
“Glad to see he’s gone. And don’t think I didn’t catch you lookin’ at that nishyit.”
Saeko’s head fell backward, his glazed over eyes staring upward. Though the words registered in his mind, his mouth had become too thick to speak. He heard her sigh, but he still did not look at her. There was then a sudden pain on his arm and he was forcibly returned to reality. With head still craned back, he looked at his friend out of the corner of his one eye. “It was just getting good.”
She leveled a deadpan stare at him. Blowing air out his nose in exasperation, he lowered his head and shut his eyes. The last hints of the Calmer fading, replaced by the hyperactive stimulant injected into his bloodstream. “Nice to see you too, Leta.”
She said nothing as she turned her attention away from him. He opened his eyes to look at her, first at her teased out platinum-violet hair then her thin frame covered by a few simple rags that glowed with ultraviolent paint. Like him she was covered in body work, but hers was more uniform, a decoration of flowers that adorned her muscular arms, vines that reached up her neck and wrapped around her eyes. The implants within those eyes shifted from green to red to yellow to blue and back again as she slowly searched the crowd. She turned her head so that she was looking at him. She was the first to smile, rolling her eyes. Leaning in, Leta placed a quick kiss on Saeko’s forehead before pulling back. “What were ya talking about with AnnDro anyway? “
The empathetic link they shared allowed their voices to be heard without having to shout over the din of Nevermore. It relaxed Saeko to hear her voice so close to him. “Planning.”
She snorted. “Planning what?”
“You know what,” Saeko said.
Awkward silence passed between them. Leta spoke first.
“Come with me.”
Saeko sat for a moment even as Leta wasted no time in disappearing into the crowd. He downed his drink, felt the sting of the stimulants mixing within his system, and pushed himself away from the bar. She had not gone far, her glowing eyes entrancing amongst the others. She smiled lightly, beckoning him through the sea without water. He could feel her amongst the crowd, feel her as a force within him that pulled him forward. He strengthened the empathetic link, enjoying the sensation of their bodies melding together across the distant space.
They made it to the perimeter, passing glances and smiles between each other. She offered a hand and he grabbed it just as the disc beneath their feet lighted up and began to float upward. Together they stood upon a small platform that allowed just enough room for them both, that floated above the dancing crowd, amongst the other discs with their own passengers. They came close, their bodies pressed against each other. They pressed their foreheads together, his eyes looking deeply into the mixture that was hers, and their smiles grew even wider.
* * * * *
The doors slid open and AnnDro stepped through the threshold into an opaque room. The doors slid shut and he was locked in darkness. The lights came on, one by one. A row that led away from the door and split to encompass the small room. Lamps within the ceiling lighted, casting a soft golden glow throughout the space. A large, white conference table sat in the center and slightly below the plane AnnDro stood upon, between him and the glass windows that looked out onto Nevermore. The crowd could not see up that far, no light penetrated that height, but AnnDro could see them. One whole Level above the rest.
One other was already in the room. Standing with hands clasped behind her back, she stood like a pole. Her uniform was a mixture of gold and silver, a skintight bodysuit that left nothing to the imagination. AnnDro delighted himself in looking her over, the taut musculature clearly defined underneath the fabric. Her curly brown hair had been cut short around her stern face. She looked back at AnnDro through her own reflection in the glass. “So glad you could make it,” AnnDro commented dryly.
AnnDro made his way over to the woman without speaking a word. The pair stood in silence while they observed the crowd. AnnDro affected the other’s stance, his suit shifting from black to copper. “You are late,” her words were quick and clipped.
“Oh ho, imagine that. I got myself a club to run, if you hadn’t noticed.”
The woman turned her head sharply, her brown eyes narrowing. AnnDro stared back with a pleasant smile. The other was the first to break, turning quickly on her heels she turned back to the table and took a seat. “Get me a drink.”
“As you wish my lady,” AnnDro said with a short bow, moving to the end of the table where he pressed a few buttons on the side. A panel in the center slid away and a glass of green liquid was slowly raised on a spinning platter. The woman reached over and took the offered drink before the platter had even finished rising. AnnDro smirked as he slid into the tallest chair at the table with the highest back. He sat with his legs laid over the arm rest, his back pressed against the other. “So what brings one of the Bodiless here to my humble home for the drunkards and hedonists of the world? And what is your name, I didn’t quite catch it.”
“First Officer Vegaran. And I am here to report.”
AnnDro waited, but the officer merely sat staring at him with drink untouched in her large hand. “I…see.” AnnDro scratched the side of his head with his index finger. “Don’t suppose you might tell me this report, would you?”
“Everything is ready.”
* * * * *
Saeko stared at the tiny metal orbs in his hand, rolling them between his fingers, and then looked up at Leta. She was silently waiting for him, her hips moving slightly from side to side in synch with the beat of the music that sang from all around them. “Ya don’t have ta, if ya don’t want.”
Her words were not spoken but felt across their empathetic link, a transmitted thought paired with a mixture of emotion. She was concerned for him, a sense of trepidation they both shared, anger from him. She felt that, a slight squint at the corner of her eyes and mouth, but she recovered with a smile. She came close so that their bodies were touching hip-to-hip, and they began to move as one. Saeko pocketed the orbs in his pants, smiling down at Leta who gave him a wink. They leaned into each other, sharing a kiss. The link strengthened, flared like an explosion, and images were transferred. Complete thoughts and feelings shared between them in an instant. Their lips parted, and the explosion was gone. To her credit, Leta did not say a word. “I don’t have much of a choice.”
The music swelled and their movements became quicker, fluid as water. Their platform spun above the crowd, unable to be seen by them. They were in their own little world, only the occasional light came up to meet them. “I don’t want ya to, but I can’t stop ya.”
Saeko silenced her with another kiss, another explosion of shared consciousness. Nevermore was gone and they were crossing the planes of memories past. They were in a room, far away from the dance floor, from the glowing crowd. Kissing passionately, Saeko slammed Leta against the wall. Their breaths were heavy, quick and panting. He nipped at her, smiling like a greedy animal, his eyes delighting in the tease. She snapped back, catching his neck and drawing blood. They both laughed, spinning away from the wall as Saeko picked her up and together they fell on the bed. Kissing deeply, kissing long, they shared each other in the embrace. Her fingers scratched at his back, his teeth bit into her shoulder. Kissing and licking, sharing bodies.
They parted once more, knowing smiles playing across their faces. Leta teased him with another quick snap of her jaw. But even in the excitement, the dark clouds of turmoil broiled just on the outskirts of their thoughts. They danced in continued silence, their eyes shut against the world, only the feeling of their bodies. He could smell her, the scent of distant things and claustrophobic spaces. She could smell him, the scent of chemical baths and approaching calamity. And sweat, their bodies’ slick with it. “I miss ‘im too, ya know.”
Saeko couldn’t respond. Not as much as him. She knew that too, but merely sharing the idea was enough to remind him. “It’s been a long time.”
They pressed their foreheads together once more, their fingers interlocking and squeezed tight. They threw their arms out wide, and then brought them close, pressing closer, their eyes locked. Another kiss, an image of them amongst the sheets. Another kiss, more and more. He felt her hands across his chest, reaching under his shirt and pulling off the tattered remnants and letting it fall away. “Ya sure ya ready?”
They parted and took a step back just as the music began to fade. He smiled at her, but it was forced and she knew it. His chest heaved and he paused. Was he ready? The question wasn’t welcome. “Of course I’m ready.”
It was harsher than he had intended. Leta blinked, the empathetic link began to fade. He sighed and brought her close. She placed her hands against his chest, stopping him from getting too close. Her expression was steel, cold and furious. The platform had reached the end of its circuitous journey and had slid back into the floor. In silence, Leta grabbed his hand and led him into the darkness of Nevermore.
* * * * * *
“First Officer, please lower your weapon.”
The soldier was standing, her glass and chair both overturned, with her arm raised. She held within her hand a simple weapon, a small weapon with a long barrel made of steel. AnnDro had not seen one of them in a long time, an archaic projectile firearm. Crafty. Took effort to pass the sensors at the door. He smiled at her, gesturing toward another seat. “Please, I insist.”
“These are my orders. I will not deviate.”
AnnDro sighed and lowered his head. He pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut, rapping his free fingers against the top of the table. “I asked you once, I won’t ask you again. Lower your weapon.”
The woman fired. The sound muffled slightly by the silencer attached to the end. Not that it was necessary, the sounds of the dance floor reached high enough that no one outside of the room would have heard it. Vegaran blinked, unsure if she had just seen what she thought she saw. AnnDro was no longer in his seat. Instead he was next to behind her, looking out the large windows. “Who was it exactly that sent you?”
She turned, her firearm pointed toward him. She hesitated.
“Was it Sophie? Or was it Alexso?”
She fired. Once more AnnDro had disappeared. The bullet bounced harmlessly off the glass, clattering onto the floor and rolling back to her foot. “One would think that they’d be slightly more clever. But no, we can’t expect too much now can we?”
He was beside her. Sitting on the table with his legs crossed. “You can’t stop this. But I’ll give you one last try. Make it a good one.”
The first officer fired three times. But AnnDro wasn’t there.
“Pity.”
Vegaran’s head was smashed into the table, enough to break the skull and the surface. Vegaran collapsed onto the floor, confused. Her mind reeled. She could see AnnDro’s black booted feet. He turned on his heel and slowly walked back toward the window. She tried to lift her arm but it wouldn’t move. “It’s almost time. Unfortunately you won’t be here to see it. I had so wished to share this moment with a special someone.”
He laughed softly.
“One last Purge, eh? Thought you could best me at my own game? My dear, I’ve been at this for years. None of you Bodiless will stop me. Not here, not there, not ever. You tried so hard to stop the Dawn from rising, and I will commend you for that.”
He turned, clapping slowly as he did so. He took a step and then lowered himself so that he could look at her face. His gaze lingered, evaluating her, judging her, condemning her. She attempted a feeble resistance, he could see it in the occasional twitch of her eyes or her finger. He smiled. “You sought the stars while we were forced to dig down, to run. I’m not so sure anymore who got the short end of this stick. I quite like it here in the dark, had to learn so very much.” His voice had grown icy. “Are you transmitting? No, of course not.”
He rose and came closer, so close that her eyelashes nearly grazed the toe of his boot. “Please, do give my condolences to your brothers and sisters. It’s more than my own family ever received.”
She felt for a moment his foot pressed against her head. Then nothing.
* * * * *
Saeko sat at the edge of the bed, staring at the palms of his hands. He looked up at the mirror that sat before him, Leta always did enjoy watching herself, and stared at his reflection. His reflection stared back with a face without eyes. Two holes stared from under the dark brow, piercing his own and slipping behind into the crevices of his mind. He could feel it walking around inside, opening the doors and closing them, looking for something. The reflection grinned, his chest heaving with silent laughter.
“Could I have done anything?” Saeko asked.
The reflection’s smile faltered, the brows knitted together. But he quickly recovered, the same mad grin pasted across his pale flesh. Saeko rose from the edge of the bed and took a step closer to the mirror. The man on the other side still sat, tracking him with the endless stare. Tell me, what could I have done? Tell me, how could I have stopped any of it? Please, I’m listening.
The emptiness of his eyes. Saeko could not look away. He tried, tried to pull his attention, but still the other looked on.
What do you want from me? What do you want? I did everything that I could! Nothing more, nothing less.
The reflection rose, still the mad grin, breathing heavily with anticipation.
Fuck off. Where were you? You could have stopped them! Stopped them all. And…and I wouldn’t be here now. I wouldn’t be like this. I wouldn’t….
The reflection raised his chin defiantly, arrogantly. Accusing me.
Saeko turned and clutched his head between his hands. The room had disappeared, replaced with him and the mirror and nothing more. What the fuck you do want from me? Tell me why. Tell me why I’m here and he’s not. Tell me why I’m running. Tell me…please…tell me why…
The reflection banged against the mirror, threw his body against it. Saeko turned to look back at him, his eyes just as dead as the other’s. The reflection lifted another fist and slammed it against the glass, a crack spread out from the impact. I just…I just wanted…him. And they took him from me.
They took him from you. So what will you do?
The glass shattered and the reflection stepped out. They met in an embrace, their arms wrapped around each other. Saeko wanted to scream, to let loose the storm that broiled within him. The other understood, pushed back and gripped Saeko’s head with both hands, forcing the two to look at each other directly. The endless swimming void in those eyeless sockets, the reflection of himself as a dead thing. Saeko shut his eyes against it, against the sight of himself, and when he opened them he was back in the room with the soft yellow glow. He stood before the mirror, his reflection dutifully staring back. His tattoos had begun to glow, a deep neon indigo that pulsed like the beat of a heart. He dug into his pockets and took out the metal orbs. He did not hesitate before putting them in his ears and pressing the soft spot behind his ears. An electric blue halo stretched around his head, just below his hairline and above his eyes. The room appeared dimmer, the sounds of Nevermore beyond the walls muter.
“Do it for us.”
Saeko looked over his shoulder at Leta who had propped herself up on an elbow, the sheets covering her chest. Her eyes burned with an inner fire, projected by the solid red. Saeko’s response was a silent one, an affirmation of anger sent across the link. She met him there and they shared a mental embrace before the link was closed. Saeko moved to the one plastic table next to the mirror and picked up the solitary white pill. He swallowed it and departed, the door behind him sliding shut. The darkness enveloped him.
* * * * *
“Tell the others that it’s under way. This is the final hour.”
* * * * *
Saeko stood once more on the stage that slowly rotated before the crowd. His eyes were closed, his heartbeat pounding within his chest. The music swelled and then began to quiet, waiting for his cue. He could smell the stench of sweat, of so many bodies and drugs that mixed together to become almost toxic to breathe. His own body was covered in sweat, causing the tattoos that glowed to shimmer. No more going back. The music stopped and within Nevermore there was complete silence. Not one person made a sound as they waited expectantly. All faced the stage. Saeko raised his hands. Everything lingered. That briefest of paradoxes where nothing is still and everything is frozen.
It was time to usher in a new day.
When he lowered his arms, the world exploded. In a symphony of synthetic sound, the music rose and fell, a storm released all at once. Lasers and lights flashed and the crowd screamed. The bass, the heartbeat, shuddered and trembled. The air itself vibrated and every chest felt it within them, mixing with their body and forcing them to move. The ritual had started, the mystical power of the dance floor entranced their minds and stole their thoughts.
Their minds were ripped from their bodies, allowing the ambling bags of flesh to move amongst each other, against each other. To swell and rise and pull apart, a sea of melted limbs. Saeko, barely aware of the dancing crowd, danced himself upon the stage. The music rose and fell with every moment of his disconnected thoughts, every tremble of his breath, every beat of his heart. It moved with him and was him and he was it. Every last raw emotion was unleashed, pulled from the expectant crowd and mixed together in the invisible space above. Discs rotated wildly, coming close as if to crash and pulling away at the last moment.
Saeko emptied himself, felt his mind slipping, felt his body gaining more control. A fire swept within him, roared above him to temporarily light the crowd and their radiant bodies. A revolution of the spirit, an uproar. And then he could see it, his body, beneath him. He watched it collapse, and he felt his world fade to black.
Waiting.
Chapter 4
His mind wandered through the no-space, separated from his mortal coil. Aimlessly spinning through the opaque world. He felt he was walking through water, a powerful resistance that washed over him and halted his steps. Glimpses of barely recognized memories flashed before him, beside him. Holograms flickering to life for an instant then fading to black. Too quick for him to recognize them as anything more than echoes from somewhere else.
Without his temporal sense, the no-space swallowed his conscious being. When he stepped over the ethereal threshold, he felt the passage of eternity. He was aware of light, dimmed but growing brighter. Carefully he opened his eyes and pain shot through his skull. He shut them again tight, the light growing painfully bright.
Slowly he adjusted, opening them to the sight of a white room with a dim fire that flickered in the hearth, much softer than he had first thought. Real fire, real oranges and reds and yellows glowed and snapped. The tongues licked the air, so many dancing figurines with the response in shadow upon the walls. Saeko was entranced, staring deeply into the center of the pit framed by white-grey stone. How long had it been since he had seen fire?
He managed to pull his head away, tracing the walls and the shuttered windows that lined them. Heavy metal gates placed over the thick panes, shutting him out from the outside. He could feel cold radiating from them, threatening to burst through and only the fire was keeping it at bay. He continued his survey, delighting upon the many appliances in the small kitchen with numbers and buttons that glowed. So many gadgets so carefully placed. All in order. He finished, having turned his back toward the fire, and found himself staring at the impossible. A man sat on the wooden table, the rich scent of life emanating from it. The man smiled at him, and Saeko found himself wanting to run. The man’s large, dark eyes glittered from the reflected light of the fire. “Long time no see,” he spoke.
Saeko stood frozen, his heart racing. The man pushed himself off the table but did not move far. Still he smiled at Saeko, but Saeko found it difficult to smile back. “What the fuck? You just going to stand there like an idiot?”
That voice. Saeko could tell the difference between artificial and physical well enough, and this wasn’t artificial but neither was it real. Saeko raised his hand to touch the man to see if he was actually present but hesitated.
David smiled and stepped forward, grabbing Saeko’s hand and placing it against his broad chest. Saeko felt the steady pulse, his pulse. Saeko shivered, his body attempted to reject what it knew to be impossible but stood his ground through force of will. “I…” Saeko tried to say.
David leaned forward, their lips met and Saeko felt his body go limp. He grew calm within the embrace, wrapping his arms around David’s head and pulling deep. He tasted David, and all the memories came flooding back. His friend, his lover. They parted lips, pulling back just enough to look into each other’s eyes. Saeko desperately searched for acknowledgement that this dream was a dream and nothing more. But what he found was a temporary truth, this was a dream. The shadows lined his face in the same way he had remembered all those years ago, fitting beneath the cheekbones and sharp nose. He traced David’s thin blond eyebrows with one finger and then up the temple into the closely cropped sandy brown hair. His other hand never left David’s chest, lest the heartbeat stop.
Then he kissed him again, and both stumbled backward, past the table and onto the small bed.
* * * * *
“This was a mistake.”
The words were out of Saeko’s mouth before he even knew he spoke them.
“AnnDro’s a bitch, huh?”
Saeko chuckled. “Putting it mildly.”
He was wrapped in David’s large arms, felt David’s chest pressed against his back, felt David’s breath on his neck, the occasional nip or peck on his shoulders. It was warm, warmth that could only be known to those who spent so long underground.
“Fuck, I don’t want to leave.” Saeko spoke to the room.
David responded with another kiss on the nape of his neck. “I never did like this hair color.”
“You didn’t understand the point of it, never got why we do it. If you had…maybe...”
There was silence much welcomed for a few precious minutes. Saeko had forgotten what real silence felt like. “I miss you.”
It was David’s turn to laugh. “I miss you too.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
Saeko couldn’t bring himself to say it. If he did, would David disappear? He would hang onto this moment for as long as it was possible.
“Do you remember?” Saeko asked.
“Yes.”
Saeko bit his lip to hold back the swelling of emotion within him. His throat had become thick, threatening to choke him. The light in the room had shrunk to nothing more than a few pulsating embers. “It’s dark.”
David pulled Saeko tighter against him. “I had to, you know. Either me or you.”
Saeko wondered if he could bore holes through the shutters, let in the light from the other side.
“I don’t regret my decision. I told you that we would see each other again.”
“You also said ‘fuck you’.”
They both laughed. “Probably not the best choice for my last words.”
“And here I am. Seeing you again.”
Saeko felt the wet drops fill his eyes, no longer able to hold them back. His body was wracked. The crack in his carefully constructed façade had become a fissure. David waited as Saeko sobbed, held him close and tight while Saeko screamed, as Saeko thrashed and tried to escape.
Undeserving. Unwanted. Unfair. Get away from me get away. Let me go. I can’t handle this I can’t do this! For fuck’s sake why? Why me? Why you?
Why can’t we live happily ever after? Why couldn’t we have died together? Where was the romantic conclusion? Where was my peace and happiness?
You were taken from me.
I watched you die.
And with you went me. What am I now?
What am I?
Saeko stopped, the last few sobs choked from him. He cried in silence. David held him quietly, waiting patiently. “I love you.”
The words stung, pierced his mind and spun the knife.
“I loved you then, I love you now, and I will love you forever. Just wait a little longer, and we’ll see each other one last time.”
Saeko wanted nothing less than to wait, and yet all he could think was to run.
“You are my Saeko. I will be with you and together we will watch the sun rise. Together we will be.”
Quiet. The last few embers died and the room was finally devoured. Saeko felt the warm, sticky wetness seeping through the sheets, could see one last glimpse of red before the light died. He could still feel the bed, but David’s grip had faded. Wrapped within the blankets, he did not try to escape, but merely lay there with wide eyes trying to conjure anything but the image that was currently flickering before him.
David. His death. The crimson blood. And then darkness.
What am I? What does it matter?
The room was behind him, and once more he was in no-space. But instead of the opaque blackness and flickering imagery, there was a solitary room large and unadorned. The most basic of basic, a flat grey with only the barest of ambient light. Rather, a place so dark that what registered was the inverse of light, feeling more than seeing. Alone, no other person inside, he screamed. Screamed and screamed until he choked. No sound emanated from him, only the thought of it echoed in his skull. He collapsed onto his knees, leaned forward and clutched at his sides. Pain swelled within him, grabbed his heart and stole it. What was left was fire, flame that coursed through his veins and ate his breath and life.
A husk, he raised his head to see himself standing before him with an offered hand. Saeko stared at it, and in his rage set it aflame. But his reflection stood there, even as he burned. His endless, eyeless gaze remained unwavering. Tentatively, Saeko reached up and took the hand, felt the iron grip close around him and pull him to his feet. The two stood close, like lovers. Saeko stared into the reflection’s eyes. Beside them appeared ghosts, ambient wandering souls searching for something, anything. They moved like dancers, their bodies twisting and spinning and jerking to internally produced sound.
Saeko watched them, watched them dance past one another. Some met and were a flurry of movement before they parted just as violently. “They want a revelation. A revolution.”
The words came from the reflection, were thoughts they shared rather than spoken sounds.
“What are we but dancing demons, caught up in our own madness? Do you see them burning? Can you hear them laughing? Desperation in their movements. Mindless bodies moving when they should not.”
The two looked at each other and Saeko understood.
“What are we, if we are not?”
Chapter 5
When Saeko could finally open his eyes, the haunting memories still clung like dank moss covering a grave. The vision that greeted him was filtered through a glass pane. The vision of two moons, ghostly and pallid, spinning about one another in their mad tumble through the heavens. Saeko couldn’t recall their names, refused to search his memory lest he come across more open wounds. There were no stars in the sky. They were hidden behind clouds of nebulae that stretched like webs of spiders across the visible expanse.
Beneath the night sky stretched a world covered in steel that shown under the moonlight in that hollow way that only the artificial knows how. So many towers reaching up to pierce the sky, to grasp at it like so many skeletal fingers. The world itself demanding to be free from its own confines. Points of light shown from their myriad surfaces, windows to other worlds. Saeko imagined that, in one of those many pinnacles, was a window that was barred that belonged to a room with a cold fireplace and a bed with bloodstained sheets.
AnnDro stepped out of Saeko’s peripheral vision and placed a slender, gloved hand on the glass window. Her dark eyes surrounded with fuchsia circles gazed upon the land of metal, wide with awe. She turned her head to look at him with one thin brow perched precariously high. A coy smile stretched across her face, “It worked.”
She turned her head back to the window. “We’ve done it.”
Framed against the window, her long white dress with a train that stretched several feet behind her glittered under the light of the silver moons. She was a point of radiance but out of place. Saeko could see her gaunt face, the thinness of her frame, saw her for the first time as more of a wraith than human. He moved to stand next to her, both of them now looking out upon the never ending city. “And to think, we let this all go.”
Saeko remained silent. Unwilling to speak a word. He could feel the outside world pulling at him, begging him to step through the glass and tumble to his death. He could feel the coldness of the outside air radiating from the barrier. Just a push, it would easily give way. “Did you see him?”
Her words cut through him. He noticed his reflection in the glass. Just him. One particular tattoo still glowed a soft blue, a set of numbers that rested above his heart. The date of David’s death. He had forgotten them, forgotten where had placed them. Darker blue lines stretched out intermittently from the numbers, lighting upon other tattoos before darkening.
“Yes.”
She smiled to herself as she turned, her back now to the window. She placed the same hand that had been against the glass onto Saeko’s shoulder and gave a small squeeze. “Soon.”
Saeko hardly heard the words. He was staring at the marble floor beneath his feet that held within every corner a golden A and golden O. AnnDro stepped past him, her white stiletto heels clicking loudly against the stone. “It seems we have company.”
He turned just as a woman dressed in a plain, almost translucent, white gown stepped out of floating obsidian cube. Her impossibly large golden eyes shimmered as they looked from AnnDro to Saeko and back again. Artificially enhanced eye sockets. Saeko wondered what information streamed behind them. Beyond her the room stretched. There was no furniture. Only the marble floor and the walls and ceiling made of glass. The frames of the windows on the roof were lined with rubies and emeralds and sapphires that were muted now but had to look dazzling when brighter light shown upon them. “I believe it is I who has company,” the woman spoke in her unaccented, monotone voice. She followed it with an equally flat smile. “How may I assist you?”
She was not surprised at their presence. Her words seemed genuinely welcoming. Saeko wondered if They felt any emotion at all anymore. She stood perfectly still with hands clasped before her waist. Her stick straight raven hair stretched all the way to the floor, striking against her pale flesh. Her smile was perfectly proportioned.
“Assist us? Oh darling, we don’t need your assistance. We’re doing just fine.”
AnnDro gazed intently upon the plain woman. The Other patted her green hair with her hand before checking her nails for grime. “You know who we are, don’t you?” she asked, her eyes once more flicking up to look at the other.
The woman cocked her head to the side not unlike a bird. “No, I do not. Who are you?”
The smile faded, replaced by the unblinking stare.
AnnDro looked at Saeko, exasperated. “We are…oh who are we, Saeko? We need something with proper gravitas, don’t you think?”
“Harbingers of the Dawn,” was Saeko’s reply.
AnnDro’s eyes twitched briefly, a tick that was slight but was there, before she turned back to the woman. “Oh yes, Harbingers of the Dawn. I love it.”
“I am afraid I do not know the ‘Harbingers of the Dawn’”.
AnnDro took a step closer to the woman who still stared rigidly at the Other. “We have come to do what all good harbingers do: deliver a message.”
The woman’s head straightened, her features impossibly precise. Saeko resisted the urge to look away from her. “And what is this message?”
AnnDro mocked her by affecting her stance and face. “The Forever Night is ending. Now is the Waiting Time. Dawn is coming.”
“The Forever Night? It has been quite some time since I’ve heard of that particular fairy tale. Tell me, which Level are you from?”
“4,” was AnnDro’s response.
The woman nodded, a quick jerk of her head. “I thought so. Tell me, what do I have to fear of this ‘Waiting Time’? It seems like a lot of effort for you when a simple note would have sufficed.”
“Telling you the significance of the Waiting Time via note would have spoiled the delightful surprise we have planned.” AnnDro laughed lightly, borderline cackled in her contained delight. Saeko wondered if she was going mad, then wondered if she had ever been sane. “We have grown absolutely restless in the Levels. We are a ravenous bunch.”
AnnDro had taken a step closer, and the woman had taken a step back. “The Church of the Beginning/End will welcome all those to our doors that seek to repent.”
Beginning/End. An impossible combination of words that was spoken at once. A verbal assault on Saeko’s ears. “We want more than what you can offer, Daughter of the Morning. Oh yes, we do know who you are. It is very impossible not to know the Morning Star, the High Priestess of the Criminally Insane. Simply put, I want your title.”
“That is…”
“Not your title?” AnnDro scoffed as the two began to pace around each other in a perverse dance. Neither broke their gaze from the other. “Goddess of the Celestial Overworld? Is that better? Or, or, ArchBitch of the Bodiless? I can go on and on…”
“No, I do not believe it necessary….”
“You interrupted me! I wasn’t finished. We’ve come to deliver a message. With Dawn, the mad will run free. War, your holiness. We are hell come to take your heaven.”
AnnDro’s voice had lost its high and wilting affectations and had taken on a much harder tone that Saeko had not heard before. He was not sure he wanted to hear it again. AnnDro appeared even frailer within the center of the room. She had become deformed by the darkness but also hidden by it. Here in the world of light, she was demonic.
“Oh yes, I remember you. You who escaped us so readily. Apparently our Purges were unsuccessful. We will certainly have to rectify that. War, you say? Then war you shall have. The Levels will not survive.”
“You underestimate us. When Dawn rises, light will flee, and we will be. “
The two stopped their pacing and stood rigid as stone statues. Saeko felt oddly out of place, as if nothing in the world mattered beyond their locked stares. Some silent war was being waged in a place he could not see. Saeko had not heard this part of the fairy tale.
Now he was not so sure.
“Very well, I believe you have overstayed your welcome. Do give my condolences when you arrive back in your hell.”
Her flesh parted and fell away like rushing water. It happened quickly, before Saeko could even truly comprehend what had happened, she/it was now more chrome frame than human. Her golden eyes were even larger within her skeletal, metal face. She raised one hand, even as the appendages split and fell way only to reshape themselves into a long barreled weapon. AnnDro broke his stare and looked toward Saeko and gave only a soft nod. The weapon fired with a sound that cracked like thunder and flashed like lightning. Saeko looked away, dazed momentarily.
When he turned back, AnnDro was no longer there. In her place were several smoking holes in the marble floor. She was gone, transported back to Nevermore. Saeko smiled in spite of himself. It was very much like her, to plan this out and make sure that she would see it through.
The woman/machine turned to face Saeko, her weapon pointed at him. Words were produced but he did not hear them. He was focused intently upon her weapon, a memory drudged up from the halls within his mind. The image of a flash, an ear splitting sound, a chrome plated weapon, and David’s fallen body. Blood on David, blood on Saeko’s arms, blood on the ground. The life drifting slowly from David’s eyes, the mixture of pain and bitter anger. Stunned Saeko stood silent, even as the other repeated their words.
“Do you know a David?”
The words were out of his mouth before he even recognized that it was him who spoke. She/it had no face to gauge the reaction with, no movement beyond the internal whirring of mechanisms. It was her/it that had been there, been there before. It was her.
“No I do not know a David.”
The words were so distant, she/it was so far away. Saeko felt adrift, felt his mind losing the battle he had been silently waging for years. It was another’s turn to speak. “Dawn has come.”
Golden light had begun to rise above the distant horizon. Black towers framed against it, blocked windows. The rubies were the first to glow, the color of crimson blood. She/it blurred in his vision, and David was there, smiling at Saeko. One last time.
The woman/machine fired her weapon. There was no flash, no crack of sound. Saeko briefly felt the projectiles entering his body, tearing through him and exploding within him. The shards tore his insides to pieces, and exited out the other side. He coughed blood, even as he smiled back at her/it. The numbers, the tattoo, above his heart glowed bright. Blue lines stretched to connect with every other tattoo in a complex web. He glowed.
The gas giant began the slow rise upward. Broiling yellows and oranges. A god of fire come to light the world.
Saeko collapsed. His body nothing more than an empty sack of flesh and bone. Though in his place stood an opaque form, his presence still remaining. Slowly its shape lessened, grew less defined, and spilled outward in defiance against the light that caged it. Darkness stretched from him to surround the room made of glass and stone. Devoured the light that entered and grew stronger from it. Surrounded, the machine/person backed up against the hibernation cube she had been in previously. The darkness followed her.
Absent space, a cruel tear in the world. The shadow began to advance upon her/it. Barely recognizable as a person, it shuddered and flickered and screamed with a thousand angry voices. Words spilled from the nonsense, spilled out and were echoed by countless others. Faces flickered, eyeless stares. Within the darkness, she/it stood still, unsure what to fire at. Behind her golden eyes that were slowly dimming she searched through the world’s library for any information that would save her/it.
Four arms stretched outward, rippling as if made with water. They grabbed the metal frame and lifted it from the ground. One hand upon the metal face, crushing it beneath the iron grasp. With delight, the revenant tore the machine/person to pieces. Tore it/her limb from limb and scattered her/it to the darkness that greedily swallowed them all. What remained was a casing with the soul of the Daughter of the Morning locked inside. The spinning white ball of energy wailed but no sound came forth. A psychic pounding that the shadow hungered for in its wrath. A spinning soul, the last remains of what the machine had once been. The darkness fell upon her, crushing it within the impenetrable hybrid of no-space brought in to the mortal plane.
The explosion tore through the floor and several floors below. It shattered the windows and rose upward. A fire blacker than black that burned without light. Framed against the rising planet behind it, it roared as a beacon upon the tower that rose above all the others.
Chapter 6
AnnDro watched the patrons of Nevermore dancing under the myriad lights. She sipped from her verdant drink, delighting in the sweet taste of fruit and spice. Though he could not hear the music, she could feel it. It was soft through the glass, but she could hear the strains written into it, in the movements of the very dancers themselves. He wondered if they knew what they were dancing to. She knew. The last song of a dead man. “He’s…gone.”
AnnDro chose to ignore Leta who stood beside him. Together, in silence, they watched as the lights of Nevermore died, plunging the world into opaque black. “Dawn has come and no longer can we hide in our dream-states,” AnnDro spoke to himself.
From within the void appeared the many dancing ghosts, caught forever. AnnDro watched them from her silent place, watched them spin and so desperately wanted to hear their music. “The city is burning.”
One more ghost appeared amongst the rest, burning with black flame. The crowd moved away from it, giving it space. Slowly it turned to look back on AnnDro with an eyeless, haunting gaze. AnnDro smiled as she turned from the glass. “And from now until the inevitable end, we are.”
