Crystal Stair. Alessandra Grosso

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СКАЧАТЬ formed a fine mist in the distance. Intrigued, we tried to understand the nature of everything around us, as well as our feeling of being spied on.

      In that arcane maze, our souls were full of two contrasting emotions: fear of the unknown and need to explore it. This desire belongs especially to early youth, and in a certain sense we were adolescents again, confronted – regrettably, in the present case – with new explorations.

      Inner emotions and outer dangers notwithstanding, as human beings we required food. These were lean times but we still had supplies, since my other self had hunted and picked berries earlier on.

      We retreated to a corner to dine on that little meal, which could only be delicious in my eyes; our teeth were cutting blades making short work of the food. We cleaned up after ourselves and were once again on our way, hoping not to have unpleasant encounters from now on.

      While walking we paid particular attention to the appalling images and the warning signs on the walls; but where could we escape? Where could we find a shelter? How could we leave the labyrinth altogether?

      We unexpectedly chanced upon weapons and bullets and took them with us; they could prove useful in the immediate future.

      We also found a collapsed encampment. It seemed to be the aftermath of an attack, the corpses dragged away, if the smears of blood on the ground were any indication; yet we found nothing left of the victims.

      Again we took anything useful, including a small first-aid kit: we didn’t know what was waiting for us but still wanted to be prepared. If they wanted to kill these two women on their own... well, they would have to work hard for it.

      Now armed, we advanced following the blood on our way, in the hope of helping whoever had been so brutally attacked. We feared the worst though: they must have lost enough blood to be already dead, or very close.

      Abandoning the large room, we then entered a darker and narrower hallway. Only a few torches lit up the road but we went on, inciting each other.

      The narrow corridor opened to a wider room with very high ceilings; at its centre was a large walled-off chamber. At first sight we couldn’t see any way in, and it was rather sheer luck because – drawn by our smell – the monsters were soon alert and coming after us. We had only enough time to hide behind a rock.

      __________

      They were hideous and dirty, covered in blood. Simply ghastly.

      And, unexpectedly, at once they were fighting, as peculiar beams and fireballs sprang from their hands and hit each other’s bodies. When struck, they complained with loud baritone screams.

      What they were saying was incomprehensible to us, but I assumed their fights were frequent and usually born out of loneliness and boredom – now, though, they fought over food.

      However, little by little their focus seemed to be shifting from our smell to the sole fight. They had perhaps lost interest in us, and only hurt each other: now was the perfect time to attack and eventually look for survivors. Hopefully there was still someone alive here, and if we weren’t too late, maybe the first-aid kit could save some lives.

      So we decided to approach the monsters from behind and shoot aiming at their wounds, in order to weaken them, if not to kill them. In my mind I could clearly see our silent advance; our commitment.

      We opened fire a moment before they noticed us. Despite their gigantic size, our bullets were still painful for them, so we fired all our weapons; but too soon, it all ended too badly.

      I saw death; I saw it in the dark eyes of the woman who looked exactly like me and who had just been fatally wounded; I could see through her eyes and feel life slowly leaving her.

      But I needed to leave. She understood immediately and looked at me with forgiveness. My escape was accepted and justified.

      In the days to come I would dream of her and feel her pain once more; the creature who came from far away that I would never see again, my own image from a parallel dimension. On my skin I would feel the shock of the fire vortex swallowing her up, the cold of the raw floor; I would look upwards with her eyes, knowing that there was no hope left in this world.

      Since the monsters were still alive and could still hurt me despite their numerous wounds, my newly found companion then blew herself up in order to kill them in one fell swoop. It was very painful for the monsters, who were now screaming and roaring with rage. Out of the corner of my eye I saw them on their knees, and part of me hoped to be finally rid of them.

      I crossed the wide room and found myself in the chamber where Damnation and Revenge tortured their prisoners and sacrificed them to some underworld god. Several bodies had been skinned and hanged by their feet, so that the blood – and life with it – could drip away. It was horrific and tragic, the worst scene I had ever seen.

      The sight made my skin break out in goosebumps and tears cloud my eyes; I felt an unknown terror licking at my body. I shook at the slightest sound, and every trick of the light sent a shiver down my spine. I kept telling myself that I had a moral duty to assist people in need, that it was my nature and I should follow it.

      At that moment I heard a moan coming from a large sack nearby, and tried to deduce what it could be. It was risky: it could be an innocent prisoner or even a creature like Damnation and Revenge.

      I followed the quiet moaning. It was probably the voice of a man asking for help, but I couldn’t understand what he was saying or who he was talking to.

      As soon as I opened the sack, out came a handsome man. His eyes were blue-green and his hair blond; he showed the typical Nordic features that had always driven me crazy; his powerful arms seemed to be meant for me and my protection only.

      He smiled at me gratefully and tried to talk to me, but I still didn’t understand what he was saying.

      However we soon realised that we had to escape quickly, since Revenge and Damnation were howling in our direction and looking for their payback. They were already very close to us.

      __________

      We ran straight away.

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