The city walls were white, but somehow had a dark atmosphere
They walked onto a paved roadway
Walking slowly toward what seemed to be lamps
The path was bendy and long
No echo from inside the city could be heard
Nor could much be seen
Autumn floated beside Thomas
They both looked around anxiously
They slowly got closer to the lamps
There was a black iron gate
Two lamps stood on either post the gate was hitched to
No one was there at the gate, though
The gate squeaked ever so softly as the breeze blew
"Oh...damn" Thomas muttered
He rubbed his hands against the gate.
Autumn floated behind, looking around
Autumn looked at her swollen hands
"It's alright. I'll carry you over," she said
"No!" Thomas responded
"You're just gonna hurt yourself worse," he added
Thomas gripped the bars of the gate
"And I'm not planning on falling to my death," he said
His palms glowed
Heat emanated from them
Thomas clenched his teeth as he focused
The gate wasn't melting, not even a scratch
"Come on...fucking work," he muttered
Autumn felt a chill run up her spine
She looked around
But there was no one
Suddenly, the lamps went out
Immediately, Autumn got defensive
Thomas stopped melting the gate
"The fuck was that?" he swore
Silence.
"You ain't feel that?" he asked
Autumn nodded, scanning the area randomly
"I'd advise you to turn back," a chilling voice echoed
Flames erupted from the palms of Thomas's hands
His surroundings glowed
But they couldn't find the source of the voice
"Show yourself!" Thomas ordered
"Pershus is no longer what it used to be" the voice echoed
The two stood back to back, scanning their surroundings, but couldn't find the source
"I don't like this" Autumn muttered, drawing closer to Thomas
Every time the voice spoke, their instincts spiked with fear
Chills ran through their bodies continuously
"I warned you..." the voice echoed again
Thomas tensed, expecting a sudden attack
He got defensive
...
But nothing happened
Then Autumn realized
The voice didn't sound threatening...more like defeated
And suffering.
"Come here, boy" the voice echoed.
Almost like it was pulling them
But they didn't move
"You gonna continue playing games or what!?" Thomas shouted
"Games...I wish I could," the voice replied, almost flickering...like it was losing its signal.
Slowly, Autumn's eyes widened in realization
There wasn't someone talking to them
The voice was all in their heads
Autumn suddenly looked to her right
Then she finally noticed it
A pillar
"Thomas..." Autumn called
'Look to your right' the voice said
Thomas turned
Hearing Autumn's call
She was staring at something
Obviously shaken up
She couldn't look away
Thomas walked over with his flame-lit hands
At first, he thought it was a statue
But the body parts were very real
His eyes widened in horror
What he saw was a man's body
Engraved inside the stone pillar
His face was barely outside the pillar
Half his face had already matched the material of the pillar
His hands were somewhere inside
So was the rest of his body
A few strands of hair suggested he was blonde
His right eye had turned to stone
His mouth had frozen in concrete while open wide
Almost like he was screaming
His other eye wasn't concrete, just blue and soulless
It glowed ever so faintly, slowly flickering dimmer
His tears turned to stone before they could even fall to the ground
Leaving them marked on his face
Autumn and Thomas couldn't take their eyes off the figure-
Cemented into the stone pillar
"F-fuck," Thomas stuttered
Autumn held her hand over her mouth.
"W-what happened to you?" she asked
'A coup d'état took place'
'My cousin...she has gone mad'
'She took over...and ordered the deaths of all with powers like hers'
'But...she had to come for me personally'
'I guess even warriors lose their fire eventually'
The normal eye moved dryly
Looking at both of them
'You are actively choosing to go to hell'
The figure looked away
Staring out I to the distance
"We...can't" Autumn said
Suddenly, Thomas stepped forward
"Hey! Who's your cousin?"
"What does she want?" he questioned
But the eye on the figure stopped glowing
He looked at the two of them
"Hey!" Thomas shouted
But the figure was now staring out into the distance
Not blinking
Thomas stopped shouting
He looked at the still figure in the pillar
"Fuck!" Thomas shouted
He sat on the ground, head low
Autumn stayed silent
Thomas sighed loudly
For a long while neither moved
"So...how are we gonna get in?" Autumn broke the silence
Just then, something started splashing below the path
They both went to check
It was a waste pipe
Sending huge amounts of green, unrecognizable liquid
Autumn looked at Thomas
His face folded
"Come on, no." Thomas shook his head.
[Five Minutes Later]
They were walking inside the huge waste pipe.l
The liquid on the ground squished as the two stepped through it
Some of the liquid was dripping from the ceiling
"This is just-" Thomas barely finished before he had to dodge some falling muck
The stench burned their noses
"Oh god, I think we should turn back."
Autumn was at the back, holding her mouth
Trying not to throw up
Thomas stopped to wait for her
But then they both froze
A deep rumbling could be heard
The waste pipe started to vibrate
Getting closer and closer
"Oh. My. God," Thomas said, astonished.
He froze
Autumn looked up in disgust, wiping her mouth
Her face changed to shock when she saw it
A huge amount of waste was rushing toward them
"Ah!" Autumn shrieked "Quick, grab onto something!"
But there was nothing in sight
She looked around
The waste was getting closer
"Over here!!" Thomas shouted
He was gripping climbing rungs embedded into the concrete
Autumn flew forward, holding onto the manhole steps
Then the wave hit
It slapped against them like a pressurized hose
For a second, Autumn's mind went blank
The liquid rushed over her with tremendous force
Thomas
Thomas's head was rocked backward as the wave hit him
His mouth was wide open,
As the liquid passed
His mind went blank from the pressure
Then he felt it.
Autumn's grip slipped
Instinctively, he caught her hand
Holding on tightly, rocking back and forth
The wave disappeared
..
They both fell to the floor
Thomas vomited instantly, eyes wide
He vomited what seemed to be a mix of the waste and his guts
Autumn was vomiting again, too
Tears streamed from Thomas's face as he threw up
He slammed his fist into the ground
Splashing the sludge
"What the fuck are these guys shitting?"
Autumn floated just inches above the waste
Wiping the mess out of her hair and off her face
Her face shifted into an expression of annoyance and disgust
She spat continuously, groaning
She looked at the climbing rungs
Her eyes followed them until she spotted a manhole cover
"Thomas" she called
She flew up toward the cover, pushing it upward
Thomas looked
He started climbing
The two pushed their heads out into the open
They were in an alley, looking out at the streets
Messy, with chunks stuck in their hair
The fresh air instantly made tears fall from Thomas's eyes
Autumn was silent
What she saw wasn't hell
People were actively moving around
Yet from the outside, it was so quiet
End