Underland(66)

Zeke’s absence was the hardest to get over. She missed him…bad. She hadn’t known how much it affected her until she found herself wandering the streets, looking into the gutters. Twice she’d used a crow bar to pry up a manhole and walked around the sewers looking for the wall with the graffiti, the one that said Monsters.

Even if she found it, though, it would be impossible to find her way back. Each time, she left the sewers a little more dejected. She wandered. Slept on benches, hardly ate, and wandered again. What was she even looking for? Answers maybe?

She went back to the alley and stared at the dumpster, at the spot she had been sleeping in all those nights ago. She took a few steps back and surveyed the scene. It looked almost like the same scene in the tapestry, the one Atropos was weaving.

Kira realized she was looking at it from the wrong angle. She needed to get higher.

Kira looked over her shoulder and saw the fire escape ladder. That would do it. With a lot of pushing, she got the dumpster over to the ladder and pulled herself up on top. She leapt and caught the bottom rung, pulling the ladder down. Once she got up to the second floor, she surveyed the scene again. She still needed to go higher.

Kira climbed one more floor and looked out over the alley.

This. This was the angle the tapestry had shown her. The angle the Fate had weaved that no one could see but her.

But why? What was such a big deal about her alley? Kira turned behind her and noticed the window of the building was slightly ajar. Brown paper was taped over the dusty glass, so she couldn’t see inside. She pulled up. The wooden window shuddered as it lifted.

Kira ducked and stepped inside the building.

There was just enough light from outside to illuminate a path to the middle of the room where a light bulb dangled. She reached up and pulled the chain. The room lit up, and a stone door appeared. Whoa. Totally out of place in a 1930s industrial building. The door, surrounded by sandstone, seemed thousands of years old.

There was a symbol on the door.

Kira moved to touch it.

“Kira.” A voice called to her from beyond. She knew that voice.

“Zeke?” Kira turned. He stood in the empty room with her. She ran to him. “How did you find me? How did you get here to Portland?” The questions came tumbling out.

“I’m not in Portland.” His arms wrapped around her, and she could feel the warmth of him. Why did he feel warm, when he’d always been cool to the touch? Something was wrong.

“What do you mean?” She pulled back and looked up at him.

He looked down and smiled, gently touching her forehead to his. “You’re not in Portland either. You’ve never left the Underland. Hypnos has control of you. You need to wake up, Kira, before they see you found it.”

“Found what? And what do you mean wake up, Zeke?” He pulled away and she felt him fade into the darkness of the room as if he was being pulled by an unseen force.

“Wake up, Kira!” He commanded. His voice grew distant.

“Zeke, I am awake!” She cried out and spun in circles, searching for him. “Don’t leave me.”

“I won’t ever leave you, Kira. But you need to wake up and wake up NOW!” His command shook her to her very soul.

Something inside of Kira snapped.

She gasped.

And woke up.