Chapter The Between
The darkness was a weird thing. You were never afraid of the dark, you were afraid of what was in it.
Aria had long since stopped caring about either. The fire had consumed her, in a way. She was still alive, wandering the Between. That was what they called the land between the living and dead. A horrid place, she almost would rather be dead.
After Marcus had disappeared and the fire, which she had learned was her own electricity, came roaring back and consumed her, she woke up here. She guessed that she had been here since she thought she went blind, slipping away into this world. The darkness didn't bother her much, it was the other souls around her that made the place horrid. Their screams of pain, moans, and whispers filled the air around her, their sagging skin and meatless bodies adding a stench to the air. Some had approached her, begging for their help, telling her that she was their saviour, their goddess. Aria had tried to explain, tell them that ever since the dome she couldn't feel her powers, couldn't feel anything, other than emptiness, but they didn't listen. To far gone, they had reached out to her, uttering their phrases, begging for help, threatening her. She had taken to running away from them, stumbling through the never ending darkness until their moans faded behind her. Then she would curl up in a ball and close her eyes. Of course, there was no sleep in the Between, no hunger, no tiredness, it was just nothing. Closing her eyes was just her pitiful way of escaping, letting the moans around her fade, letting the time pass, until they would find her again, their hands grabbing at her, and she would run again. She never knew which way she was running, only that in either direction there was darkness, so it didn't really matter which way she went.
A faint yelling caused Aria to sit up with a sigh. Stumbling to her feet she turned to walk again, before pausing as the yell sounded again, closer. That's not a Zombie One, she thought to herself. The yell sounded vaguely familiar, although Aria couldn't be sure. She had driven herself crazy, thinking that someone she knew might be here, that someone other than a Zombie was here. She saw a figure through the dark running towards her, and she immediately let out a yell. She knew from experience that the Zombies couldn't run, and they certainly couldn't yell out her name. As the figure came closer she squinted her eyes, hoping to see who it was. The figure stumbled to their knees a few feet away from her, hands raised in submission, then they spoke.
"Aria.....Aria is that you?" She let out a harsh laugh that echoed off into the darkness as she realized who it was. Smith.
"Well, I'm glad you're in torment here, asshole." With a swift kick he fell to the ground from the strength of her boot connected with his jaw. She could make out a few features of his face as she sat on the ground next to him. "I'm assuming you were smart enough not to run into my shield huh? Cause you sure as hell weren't in my dome." As she ended her sentence, she grabbed a handful of his hair and held him still as she punched him. She knew that he couldn't feel the pain, there was no pain in the Between, but she still relished in beating him up. "Well, I guess since your the only other person in this goddamn place that's not a Zombie, I'll let you speak." She sat back on her hands, her feet spread out in front of her as Smith hauled himself off the floor.
"You pack a powerful punch. I would feel sorry for you, but I'll leave in a few minutes to endure your dear mate's torturing again, so I pity myself." Aria's eyes widened as she took in Smith's words.
"You can leave this place?" A brilliant idea went through her as she grabbed Smith by the collar and hauled him closer to her, "When you go back, you're going to tell anyone that you see that I am here, and that you met me. Tell them that they need to contact the moon goddess. Perhaps, she can't reach me in this place, it is a land of the in between after all." She felt giddy at the thought of getting out of here, and Smith squirmed in her grasp.
"They're never gonna believe me. Your mate's crazy now that you're dead or whatever. Then, I'll just get beat up even more, not that he doesn't already beat me to within an edge of my life, then repeat it after I'm done healing." Smith let out a shudder and Aria laughed with crazed delight.
"Good, I'm glad. That does seem a bit worse than what I have here. I'll tell you something that only I and Marcus know. The day on the cliff when Cain pushed me off I floated back up and shot lighting bolts at him, right before I built the dome I told him I loved him, we met at Acair club and I teased him by walking away naked, and Cain attacked me one night. Those are all things that only a few or no people except us know about. If all else fails, yell for Eve to try and come and get me." Smith seemed to consider her words and then held his hand out in front of him,
"If I convince them to come get you, you have to agree to let me go, deal?" Aria didn't even hesitate as she nodded her head and shook his hand. He'll die anyways, no one survives long without as a rogue, especially one who has 27 enemy packs. Just as she finished her thought, Smith began to fade. Cursing he tried to reach out to her, as if she could keep him grounded here, but his fingers slipped through her arm as though he were a shadow.
"I'll be back soon," he sighed before he faded from view.