chapter five

[ IN WHICH SHE MEETS AN UNKNOWN WORLD ]

I land face first into a bush.

Then my legs collide with something cold, and hard.

The kind of pain that pulses through me the minute I touch the ground cannot be overemphasized. Jumping from a height of 7 meters should never be done. I end up not only bruising my ankle, but also with thorns pierced into my skin. I want to scream in agony, but I can't risk getting caught.

Swallowing my cries, I pick up my dress, and begin running the opposite direction of the mansion.

When I’ve gotten at least 50 feet away, I turn to look at the building getting smaller and smaller. I cackle at my success, then I flip them the middle finger. Uncontrollable giggles take over as I sprint off into the unknown world.

… [at that moment, i was so sure i had escaped my fate. but i didn’t know Jacqueline and Atlas were by a window, watching me run off with bruised skin. they did nothing to stop me, because they knew i couldn’t outrun my fate.] …

About an hour later, the field of green grass comes to an end, and I spot an open market overhead. Forcing my injured body forward, I continue walking. After running that distance, I’m famished. The market seems like an oasis in a desert. But as soon as I get there, I’m given the worst shock of my life.

The first person I bump into has only one eye.

With a perplexed face, I scurry away from her, but then I bump into a cart. The man pushing the cart stops and glares at me. He looks normal until he raises his four arms and points at me, rudely. I shiver in fear as I run from him also. Unfortunately, everywhere I turn in the market, no one looks normal. Some people have eight legs, resembling the tentacles of an octopus, but they seem to not mind as they go on, marketing their crops to other people with four arms and two heads. I spot someone walking with a fishbowl over their head, and I quickly turn into a corner.

I lean against an empty cart as I try to catch my breath, and wrap my head around what I’ve just seen.

This isn’t Earth. Where am I? What is this place?

Slowly, I peel my eyes open, to see a woman under an umbrella. She’s humming a song as she arranges oranges on a table for sale. She’s quiet and calm amidst the noisy and chaotic market. But there’s something else about her— she looks normal. And ironically, that is weird.

She glances up at me, and then smiles.

“Are you new here, sweetie?”

I don’t know what to say.

“It’s okay, sweetie. I’m new here too.”

I scoot closer to her table. “You were kidnapped also?”

She gives me a frown. “Kidnapped?”

“By the King,” I say.

She looks confused for a second, then she throws her head back and laughs. “No. Why would you say that?” Her eyes glow with adoration as she speaks, “The King saved us.”

Now it’s my turn to frown.

“We couldn’t find our place in either heaven or hell, but the King took us in. He gave us a second chance at life, by making us his creations.” She points at the people buying and selling. “But for everyone, coming back to life has a price to pay.” She pauses. “I just didn’t pay physically.”

I frown. I have so many questions. One of them… “What do you mean you didn’t pay physically? Are you paying to the King? Or to whom? Who is this man you call King? Don’t you think he’s dangerous?” Okay, that may be all of them.

“You can’t call the King dangerous.”

“He clearly is. He turned everyone into monsters—“

She hushes me. “That word,” she says, gritting her teeth, “is forbidden here. You wouldn’t survive a second if they heard you use that term.”

She instills fear in me.

“Why do you have so much questions even? You’re not dead.”

I shake my head a little, trying to comprehend her statement. “Sorry, what?”

“Only dead people can enter the king’s world.”

My lips part open. Am I dead? Have I been dead this whole time? Did I die along with the rest at the Gala dinner event? Is this the afterlife?

She sees the torment written all over my face, and she quickly speaks up. “Oh, no, sweetie. You’re not dead.”

I let out a shaky breath. “How do you know that?”

“Dead people can tell when someone isn’t dead, don’t you think?” She explains with a smile. “Your soul, I can see it. So can everyone else here in the market. It’s glowing and is intact, so, no, you’re not dead.” She then stares at my chest so intensely.

I cross my arms over my breasts. What is she? A pervert?

“Your soul. There’s something about it.” Her eyes are still glued to my chest. “It’s almost like… like, it’s calling me to touch it.”

When she reaches her hand out abruptly, I jerk away. “What the fuck, you perverted old creep?” I scream, bolting out of the market.

I’m a sweaty mess by the time I exit the market. And I’m met with another field of green grass. No building in sight, just a forest ahead. Now, I have nowhere to go, and no means of returning to the mansion.

I’m lost in the afterlife.

“Miss.”

I jolt when a man’s voice speaks. I twirl around to see a group of three middle-aged men approaching me. They look nothing like the freaks I saw at the market. They look like regular humans. They’re wearing rags for clothes, and dressed in tunics and boots, like they’re from the medieval ages.

“Do you need some help?” The pale man in between the other two asks.

I smell danger. “No, thanks, I’m fine.” I take a step back as they get close.

I snap my head to the right when the shortest amongst the three speaks. “Are you sure, miss? It looks to us like you’re lost.”

I gasp in fear when the one with a tattooed arm gets extremely close. “Would you like some directions?”

“No, I said I’m fine. I’m perfectly capable of finding my way.” I eye the men suspiciously.

I’ve met predator men, and these men have all the red flags. Quickly, I turn around, ready to distance myself from them. But as soon as I turn, I find one of the men suddenly in front of me. I jerk back, startled.

“We’re not done with you yet. You can’t leave.” The man with the tattooed arm says, wickedly.

I turn back, looking for another way of escape, but the two other men surround me. The short one sniffs, and says to me. “You’re human.”

I’m shaking as I respond. “Yes, and I suppose you are too.”

The buffy male with pale skin snatches my wrist, pulling me into him. “It’s been ages I saw a human last.” He moans, lifting my arm to his face as he licks up to my elbow.

“Ew! Get off of me.” Infuriated and disgusted, I push him away, forcefully.

Sadly, he barely budges.

I try to escape through the small space between him and his friend, but he holds onto my waist, pulling me back. It feels like ants crawl my back at his touch, so I smack his arms. He growls in pain, and lets me go. I’m on all fours on the grass, but they still don’t stop harassing me.

“Sorry, we can’t let our food get out of sight.” The short one smiles widely, standing in front of me.

I raise my head high, my curls over my face. “Excuse you? Did you just call me food?”

My haughty attitude doesn't phase them.

I see his tattooed arm, before I hear his violent voice. “You are about to be food.” He falls beside me. After licking his lips, he opens his mouth wide.

Immediately, I see his fangs.

Screaming with my eyes closed in fear, I reach out to the grass, and I feel something hard. I pick it up and smash it into the man’s head. He falls on his back, wailing in pain, and his friends gather around him.

I take that as my chance to run.

I pick my dress up in my hands, and I sprint towards the forest ahead.

Suddenly, the sound of feet pounding hard on the ground reaches my ears. I turn my head to see the three men running after me. Breathing heavily, I look straight ahead. My eyes are wide in terror as I see my life flash before my eyes.

I’m going to die today. They are going to kill me.

I start screaming when I pass by the first tree, leading deeper into the forest.

I’m going to die alone in this dark, scary forest.

“Fuck!” I shout when a man lets out a scream as a tree falls behind me. I can’t turn around. I’m too scared it’ll slow me down and then, they’ll catch me, and possibly eat me alive. The determination to keep running is strong, but the urge to look at the gigantic trees as they fall is stronger, so I do that. I turn my head around just to catch a glimpse of what’s making the trees fall one by one.

But the second I turn around, I can’t avert my eyes.

My body freezes in place.

I’m bewildered at the sight above me.

A man with huge, black wings is flying through trees as he picks up the men one after the other. He summons blades made of black smoke, and he directs them through the men. When he kills the first man, his lifeless body falls from the height with black blood oozing out of him. In a swift wave of his hands, a mist of black smoke moves, cutting off the heads of the other two.

My eyes are wide as their heads roll towards me. I gag at the smell, covering my nose.

Wind blows through my curls, and I realize they’re generated from the movement of the man’s wings. I watch in fear as he gracefully sets his feet on the ground.

“What madness is this?” I mutter at the sight of the handsome and powerful man.

… [madness— that’s how i described my savior. but i was yet to call him King.] …

Suddenly, I feel lightheaded, and repulsed by the headless bodies lying around me.

In the past twenty-four hours, a lot has happened.

I watched my friends’ heartless bodies covered in blood. I got tied up and thrown into an unknown world. I jumped out of a mansion and sprained my ankle, bruising my skin also. I saw things my brain refused to comprehend. I got chased by three men who had intentions of eating me.

And now, I’m seeing a birdman.

Today has been unbearable for a girl who is used to getting pampered by maids who run errands for her. A girl who is used to getting carried everywhere she wants with a car, along with bodyguards that treat her like an egg. My world has changed in just 24 hours. I can’t take this anymore. So, I do what every human does whenever they get irritated.

I throw up.