Chapter 6: I Will Follow You Into the Dark
We stayed on the beach until the light dimmed through the cracks in the clouds. It’s not safe to walk around after dark on Belzaar. Mary-Allison knows this, I’ve been saying it for the past ten minutes since we left Blood Beach. Her skin has turned reddish, hot to the touch. Perhaps we stayed on the beach too long, only burns come from the sky above Belzaar.
My skin healed itself as I felt the fire of the sun scorch me. As soon as a red hue would attempt staining my skin, it faded back to the tan olive oil color it usually is. Being around Mary-Allison raises not only my senses, but my other abilities. I’m feeding off her, she doesn’t know it, and it took me some time to realize it, but her energy fills me. However, I’m still in control, for now.
It’s been so long since I’ve been this hungry. My body acts on its own, the predator inside me hunts, picking Mary-Allison as it’s prey. Once it’s out of the cage, of my body, it’s almost impossible to stop. I can, however, leash it, reel it in when I feel it inside me. Instincts. All I am running off of are instincts. There’s a reason after dark on Belzaar is dangerous, monsters roam when the light leaves the clouds.
“Christopher—Have you ever been to the ruins just outside of town?”
‘The ruins? Why on Earth would she be interested in those?’
“I have, you know they aren’t—“
“Safe? Yeah, apparently nothing is safe around here. You know, I’m getting really tired of strange men telling me what’s best for me.”
“I’m only trying to protect you, Mary.”
She’s agitated. I could drain a little bit of energy, causing her to be tired again, making exploring dangerous situations seem like too much effort—But I won’t. Once the process starts, even with me in control, it’ll be difficult to pull away. Especially with her energy.
It fills never-ending. Just the little bit I have sucked up has added months to my life. If I actually fed on her, sucking in all her energy, I don’t think I would ever have to feed on another ever again—Which is tempting.
“Yeah, well, as I said, I can take care of myself—I’m going to do what I want, Christopher.”
She’s frustrated. I understand feeling like you’re being controlled.
“I’m sorry, Mary. I didn’t mean anything by it—What would you like to do?”
Her… well it’s not a smile, more devilish in nature, an all-clear grin.
“The ruins!”
***
A rare break in the clouds allows stark moonlight and blinking stars to spotlight all the broken pieces of where we stand. Grass grows in between the fractures of slate where the state of granite columns deteriorate on top of them. Vines sneak up the columns, maybe the only thing holding them together.
This place is a wreck. I used to come here often, back when it had a roof, before the fire, before the curse. A wall to our left had stained glass placed in it. The window told the story of why we were here, it was a reminder of why we came to this disastrous island.
The church served as a place to pray, pray for a way out of here. Glass has since been shattered, and now just an empty carved-out square remains. These ruins were once blessed, a holy place, a temple we could worship safely at, away from the war raging all around. Now, none of that matters. This place is as damned as anywhere else on this godforsaken rock.
“Through here.”
Of course, she wants to enter the arched entrance. The bricks constructed around it have held up better than anywhere else amongst these cracking structures. A cool breeze flows out in constant waves.
“We really—“
“Shouldn’t?”
Mary-Allison drops her backpack and leans her bicycle against a wall. She shades her eyes, the moonlight brighter than a flame at this point. ‘Why do I have the sense to follow her?’ I crave her. But, is it me who wants her, or the predator inside? Am I more dangerous than anything she’ll encounter on the other side of this archway? No, I don’t believe so.
“I’m going either way… You can’t be afraid of a little danger, Christopher—Facing death makes us feel more alive than anything else.”
She says it like she’s been in frightful situations before and came out undisturbed. Her bravery is dumb, but maybe it’s not bravery—Curiosity? Or does she really seek out trouble wherever she travels?
“It’s a thrill, you know, not knowing what’s on the other side of something you think you might never come back from.”
A few steps and tiny dots blink within the shine of her eyes, stars tell me to follow this girl through darkness.
“Okay, Mary-Allison.”
I haven’t met anybody like her since… well since I was cursed. Maybe this is a night where malevolent creatures have retreated. With the open sky, virgin light bathes us from space, there’s a purity to it—
Her lips sink into mine.
Mary-Allison’s hand moves up the back of my head through the thickness of my hair where she grasps a ruffle, her nails trail down my neck.
‘Her smile.’
Playfully, she takes my hands, holds them for a beat, then she’s backing away, consumed by the black of the tunnel. I will follow her through the end of the night.
***
Natural light only carried us for only so long. The tunnel is musky, damp, and unpleasant. We step through a mountain, hollowed out by slimy bricks and a strong will. Now in the pitch black, Mary-Allison is prepared, screwing the top of a small flashlight until a glint of light leads us.
“It smells… like, like something died in here.”
‘Death is everywhere.’
“I’m sure something has.”
Mary-Allison stops, shines her light in my face.
“What’s on the other side of this tunnel?”
“Does it matter? Even if I told you, would you turn back?”
“Probably not.”
“Then it’s best you find out for yourself.”
Her light blinds me from whatever face she’s making. She pauses before responding.
“You’re right, I would.”
Mary-Allison swipes her light ahead of us and follows, walking like she’s been through here before, like something else is guiding her.
“Mary, why… what’s your fascination with creepy places?”
She doesn’t answer right away.
“What makes this place creepy?”
My eyes adjust to the darkness, I can see fine. I can see what her small light doesn’t catch. The skulls, the remnants of charred bones from parts of the body that haven’t yet decayed. Warnings painted along the walls and above. A presence follows us as well. Something invisible, the chill of this tunnel, a constant flow of spirits.
“It’s only our perception, Christopher. We have it in our mind what creepy is… but it’s not the same for everyone. You might think snakes are creepy, but I don’t. Most people would, but only because that’s what they were led to believe as a child. You have to shed what you think you know of the world. You have to see it with your own eyes, through your own mind, and only then can you decide what is and what isn’t to you.”
Her mind is amazing—I lick her brain. She talks like she’s been on this planet as long as I have. If only she could see through my eyes, maybe then she’d realize how black and red the world really is.
“That’s quite the view of life. You know, Mary, I don’t even know where you’re from.”
“Where are you from, Christopher?”
Her light hits my eyes, blinding me for a second.
“Somewhere old and cold.”
Neither one of us wants to be the one to open the door of what lies beneath the surface we’ve only been sharing with each other.
Her light leaves me, shooting ahead.
“Well, it sounds like a lovely place.”
“And you?”
“Me? I’m from a different time.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
But I won’t be receiving an answer as she picks up the pace.
“There! You see?”
Mary-Allison’s excitement is ignorant. A shade of silver light defines the end of our endless walk.
“Come on, we’re so close now.”
She speeds up her walk, and my desire to follow slows.