Enjoy the bittersweet, tragic read that is my dream.
It was called the Isle of Cursed Desertion -- an abandoned stretch of land that had birthed legends of death and insanity to those who ventured to it. It looked like a town frozen in time, yet weathered by it. The allure of dilapidated structures complete with untold history was what was claimed to lure people into its vicious clutches. And none ever returned.
And there they were -- three more soon-to-be victims. None of them could remember ever venturing out to the Isle, the only memory was a blink of the eye and standing at the gates of a large, dilapidated facility. Despite this strange incident, the three seemed more intrigued by gaining access to the building rather than attempting to recall the last few hours. The youngest, a teenage girl, turned her eyes curiously up at the towering structure. Her face bore a look of awe and childish excitement that lit up her face. It had been her dream to explore an abandoned building, and now she was getting to.
The middle was a teenaged male who seemed fascinated by the building but also a bit uneasy. Something in his stomach told him that something was amiss; that they should not be there. But he saw it in the eyes of his girlfriend -- the oldest of the three -- that there would be no leaving. At least, not now. He was extremely loyal to the owner of his heart, and whatever she said -- or suggested with her eyes -- was law. He told himself to shake off his paranoia and enjoy the afternoon of adventuring that lay ahead.
"What do you think this building is?" The older female asked.
"Looks like a hospital," the younger female, her sister, replied excitedly. "Just what I've always wanted to explore."
"I wonder why everybody left," the solitary male murmured to nobody.
Suddenly, an authoritative voice called from behind them. "Intruders! Stay where you are!"
The three would-be adventurers jumped and turned around to see two uniformed officials marching their way. The oldest female narrowed her eyes and stood defensively before the other two, but it was obvious she was a bit rattled. Her accomplices stayed quiet.
The first official declared, "You are all trespassing on private property. You have two choices."
The second finished, "You can surrender peacefully, or you can add to your trouble and attempt to run."
"Weird options," the anxious boy murmured again. "What do we do?"
The younger girl stepped forward. "I'll surrender quietly. I want to avoid as much trouble as I can."
The older girl shuddered, then shook her head. "No. Not me. You'll have to kill me first." With that, she set off into a fevered dash.
Her boyfriend's eyes seemed to widen, puzzled. "Where are you going!" He shouted. "Wait! Stop!"
"What's your decision, son?" The officials asked of the remaining party member.
"I..." He took a quick look at the younger girl, a strange mist in his blue eyes -- as if he'd never see her again. He then shook his head and started running after his girlfriend, ever loyal.
The lovers ran through the large, open wasteland while a voice boomed overhead: "Foolish captives! If you can make it twenty-four hours without being captured, we will release you. However, if you are captured before the limit expires, you will be executed for resisting arrest. Good luck..."
"Why are we running!" He shouted at his girlfriend as he jogged up beside her.
"Trust me," she breathed hastily. "Just trust me."
Suddenly the field sprang to life beneath their feet, explosions firing off around them. The field had been rigged with explosives, and was now a bed of firecrackers. The pair jumped and weaved as explosions sent waves of dirt and debris around them. He lowered himself closer to the ground, searching the grasses for any sort of secure place to duck into. A few moments later, he caught sight of a bunker and grabbed his girlfriend by the arm.
"Over here!" He insisted, pulling her towards the ditch. They both threw themselves into it, with him shielding her with his own body. A large shockwave suddenly sent violent, horrid pulses through the pair, causing him to press down harder against her. The world turned dark as a huge cloud of dust blocked out the already limited daylight. And they waited.
A few minutes passed and he rolled over beside her, nearly hyperventilating from panic. "Are you okay?" He demanded.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you?" She sat up and squinted through the dust.
"Barely. Are we sure we can do this? What if every single step is rigged like that!"
"Then we find higher ground... C'mon, we gotta move." The pair cautiously climbed out of the ditch, covering their faces with their hands to try and limit the breathing of the dust that still hung overhead. Their eyes were scratched relentlessly by the cloud's sprinkling of debris.
They trudged cautiously through the remains of the once-explosive field, scanning the limited visibility of the horizon when suddenly she stopped and stood rigid.
"What?" He asked of her, her stance causing him a great deal of worry.
"Run. Run now!" She snapped in a high voice as a huge blade of sorts fell right behind them. As if pushed by an unseen giant, it raced towards them. Although they swore it to be physically impossible, they ignored that fact and ran as fast as they possibly could go. The miserable visibility had them practically running blind, but fear gave them enough sight to keep going forward.
"It's going to kill us!" He shouted frantically.
"Shut up!" She snapped back, not wanting to hear what sounded like the truth. Suddenly her eyes caught sight of something -- a ladder. She pointed. "Look! Quick! Into the tower!"
They reached the tower's ladder and scrambled up it, looking behind them as the large blade continued to carve a deadly path towards them. The ladder seemed to reach up into the heavens themselves, and they wondered if they had been set up. Finally a little opening presented itself, and they fell inside of it. The blade slammed into the tower and shook it violently, causing both of them to grasp the wall and cry out with fright. The tower swayed ominously for a full minute, then came to a stop.
"We're safe here for now, right?" He asked warily.
"Hopefully." She replied, then looked out and down. Her phobia of heights caused her to immediately freeze. They were well over two-hundred feet up.
"Don't look out there!" He instructed. "Let's just sit in here and hope we make these next..." He stopped dead in the middle of his sentence, the color lost from his face. He looked at his shoulder and saw nothing, but swore a hand was laid there.
"They tell us you will be next," a voice echoed in his ear. He jumped forward and rested against the other wall, only to have his ears assaulted by another disembodied voice.
"We never escape, you know."
He grasped his girlfriend's wrist and squeezed violently, stuttering with fright and unable to say anything logical. He stared at the wall on the other side of the room and saw a wispy figure staring back. "I don't want to be in this tower!" He shouted suddenly.
His girlfriend twisted around, alarmed. "We have no other option..."
"But... the..." It seemed that they were only tormenting him. The only thing that seemed to alarm her was their extreme height off the ground.
"You won't make the twenty-four hours," a voice warned him.
"You'll become one of us," another said softly.
"We do feel bad for you..."
"Spending your remaining hours in untold levels of panic and dread..."
He shut his eyes tight and quivered. "Ma-make th-th-them stop," he begged of his girlfriend.
The tower suddenly rocked, hard. "Join us now!" A multitude of voices suddenly exclaimed. The tower rocked again, and tilted sharply to one side. The unfortunate souls looked around in a panic, suddenly realizing the exits were gone. The young man, already having been put through his paces, simply stared through dilated eyes and said nothing, rocking softly, slowly seeming to be diving into morbid insanity.
"Leave us alone!" The female shouted angrily, tears of fear in her eyes. She cried out as the tower rocked again, knocking her off balance. She fell against the wall and screeched again. "Stop it now! Leave us!"
"One of us!" The voices declared victoriously before the tower lost its balance and tumbled through the dusty skyline. The forces of gravity shifted the two lovers until they were forcibly pinned to the top of the tower. She passed a look in his direction but saw no sign of anything in his eyes -- the spirits had driven him to temporary insanity. Or had he just tired of the running and wanted to be put out of his anguish?
Here we are, about to die, she thought to herself silently. We're plummeting to our deaths, and he's completely numbed. Wicked demons... they drained the life right out of him! Why did they torture him and not me -- I could've withstood their taunts... If we do survive, I wonder how they will drive me insane... It must be hell, the state of knowing you're slipping into insanity and trying to fight it... Just like this, this horrific knowledge that death is seconds away and there's nothing I can do to prevent it... all I can do is wait...
She closed her eyes tight and tried not to tense her body. If she were to die, she would want it to be painless. The last thing she would remember would be the explosion of bricks she witnessed as the tower slammed into the ground.
Hours passed, and the massive pile of shattered rubble began to quake with life. Somewhere underneath it, a life was stirred. He found himself pinned beneath two large concrete pieces, but it had created a bit of a "bubble" around him that had kept him safe in the landing. His body pulsed with returning feeling, which he decided was a good thing. But he looked around in his bubble and saw nobody. Had she...? What had happened? His whole short term memory was suddenly gone.
It almost feels safe in here, he thought, but I need to climb out. I need to find her. Was she as fortunate? I don't know what I'd do if I found her and she... I knew there was something wrong about this place from the very start. I don't want to leave this little pocket... it feels so secure, even though it could collapse in on me at any time...
He pushed away debris and squirmed about until he was out in the faint daylight again. Immediately he began digging through the massive pile of damage, shoving aside ton-sized blocks as if they were nothing. Twenty minutes of frantic digging later, and he found her, also encased in her own little bubble. But claustrophobia had set in, and she was a shuddering heap.
"Look," he said quickly, "it's an open space now. Don't--"
He found himself grasped from behind and lifted to his feet. Over his shoulder, he saw the uniformed official again.
"Twenty hours, and you've been captured. As per the rules, you are sentenced to die for evasion."
The two were taken to a large and run-down building, where they were separated and locked in holding cells. She looked up at the ceiling wearily, wondering where he had been taken to. Her body was wracked with exhaustion, but her mind kept fueling her to go on. She needed to get to him, so they could escape. They had gotten so close -- they couldn't let it all go now. She began tugging and beating on the rusty iron bars of her tiny chamber, yelling aloud but finding she wasn't producing sound.
Here, she swore she was yelling. I'm right over here.
She continued her assault on the door for quite some time, before her body gave out on her and caused her to collapse to the floor. She cried out in frustration and curled into a little ball, wondering why she ever chose to run in the first place. Perhaps if she hadn't have run, she wouldn't be in this position. Perhaps she would've been cited or lectured -- a slap on the wrist -- and sent on her way. Suddenly surrendering seemed so easy. But instead, she was set to die.
But then a sound. She weakly rolled over and saw her lover beating frantically on the bars of her confinement.
"How did you..." She spoke softly.
"Ask me later," he replied. "Hurry, these bars are weak and will break if you keep abusing them."
The pair worked furiously until finally the bars were shattered and she was able to climb out. He quickly swept her into his arms and held her close, resting his head atop hers.
"We have to get out," he spoke quietly. "And I know a way."
Instead of heading to the bottom level, he took her up to the top level, stepping out onto the dilapidated roof. He pointed at the large tower, which seemed to have rebuilt itself.
"There's a bridge on the other side of it," he explained, "and apparently it takes you 'outside.'"
"Outside?" She asked.
"I don't know, but I assume that's better than being here..."
They managed their way to a hill and began clawing their way up it when they heard the same ominous voice from earlier declare, "This world is set to disintegrate in thirty minutes, foolish captives..."
With renewed fear and vigor, they climbed up the large tower and made it to the site of the bridge. The winds howled and whipped angrily, causing the flimsy bridge to sway and wobble. It was written on their faces -- neither wanted to test their luck on it. Behind them, an awful sound: the world was slowly melting into oblivion. Things were being sucked into the air and falling into nothing, and with rapid speed. It wouldn't be long that they would be part of the devastation -- it had taken twenty minutes to climb so high.
"We have to go!" The young woman finally announced. She pushed him forward, onto the bridge. "Go!"
"But you..." He insisted. "You should go first."
"Now isn't the time to argue this point! You're already on the bridge, now go!"
"You're going to be right behind me?"
"I will."
He stepped forward once, warily, then turned again. "I love you."
"I love you too," she said calmly, then pushed him again. "Now please... go."
He gripped the railings of the bridge in his hands so tight the color in his hands were lost. His steps were short and fearful, and his eyes were locked upon his feet. A gust of wind tilted the bridge beneath him, and he yelped softly and tried to lean his weight against it to balance it out. Suddenly he felt a tugging behind him and saw his girlfriend holding tightly onto his shirt. He strengthened his resolve and the pair moved in a strange harmonious unison of utter fear and desperation to survive.
The bridge swayed again, sharper, and the two cried out frightfully. He continued trudging forward, knowing he would be impairing her if he froze up. The bridge behind them began melting away. Their pace increased, and they finally collapsed on the other side. On solid land. Wracked with exhaustion, they immediately lapsed into unconsciousness.
The pair came to quite some time later, surrounded by complete strangers who suddenly seemed like their closest friends.
"Oh God, they're actually alive!" Somebody exclaimed. "Call for an ambulance!"
She sat up, only to be enveloped in a powerful hug from her boyfriend. He held on tight and showed no signs of letting go. His body trembled softly, in relief and slight distress, and he said nothing... he simply held her hard and buried his face into the nape of her neck.
"Check it out, the first ever survivors of the Isle of Cursed Desertion," somebody breathed, awestruck. "It's gotta be a miracle -- nobody's ever survived!"
"What now?" The dazed young woman demanded, her face pale.
"The Isle of Cursed Desertion has never had survivors. It belongs to a group of extremely violent people who randomly kidnap people and slowly drive them insane before eventually killing them. Nobody's ever come out of there alive -- at least, not until today. You two survived! You two..."
She didn't hear the rest. She broke away from the grip of her boyfriend, who looked up and watched her quietly. She looked back at the bridge. His eyes misted again with the same sadness as before -- when he had last looked at the youngest member of their group, he had known deep down he'd never see her again. But having to face it made it harder.
"I'm going back, for my sister," the young female announced, her voice trembling with disbelief and impending sorrow. "Surely she's alive in there..."
He grabbed her around the waist, his eyes watered with warm tears of sympathetic misery. "It's too late," he said softly, "it's already too late."
"No!" His girlfriend announced, trying to wriggle from his grip. "It's impossible! I know she's alive! I know it!"
He shivered violently, hearing the cracking in her voice. It was the trembling of a woman in denial; the shattered song of somebody who had yet to realize. He closed his eyes as a few tears spilled over, and his own quivering voice insisted, "She's not. When she surrendered..."
He opened his eyes again when the woman in his grip suddenly grew limp. She wobbled and buckled under her own weight and sank to the ground, facing the bridge. Her body was trembling so hard he visibly saw it. He held his breath and tried to be the pillar of strength, but even he felt his heart breaking deep inside himself. The notion that he had been the last person to see the young girl alive... it was sickening. A heavy burden he'd always carry. But heavier still was having to witness his girlfriend's sobbing as she slowly came around to the conclusion that her sister was lost forever. He knelt down at her side and cradled her softly, utilizing the fact that she couldn't see his face to do some silent mourning of his own.
And even though the two of them had escaped the Isle of Cursed Desertion in the physical sense, they never would be allowed to escape it with their emotional sense. They would always be bound to the horrific locale, staring safely at it from a distance while knowing that somewhere within, an innocent soul wandered aimlessly.
And that somewhere within, another pair of souls would be forever corrupted.
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