Zuheil was not a nice person by any definition. She was among the demographic described as ‘bottom of the barrel scum.’ She had lied to and hurt the people near her, not out of necessity, but for her amusement. Often, she lay in bed thinking about why she was how she was.

She had been born to an unremarkable family that was in the middle of the middle class. In the year 2155 abject poverty was pretty much a thing of the past. The stable economic climate and the establishment of several off-world colonies resulted in an unprecedented number of births. Humanity reached out into the void of space, meanwhile back on Earth, Zuheil was just a tiny drop in the tsunami of a baby boom.

Very early in her life, she discovered her lack of identity. She was not the best nor the worst at anything – and it gnawed at her. The only thing she had going for her was that she was smarter than most. She studied accounting at University and got a top paying job right out of the gate. Zuheil was never much of a looker, so she bought herself expensive clothes and jewellery to compensate. The suitors lined themselves up for her at her feet. She settled for an obese, unassuming man called Gary. Her reason being that he was meek, and had a humiliation kink. She would come to treat him more like a dog in time, and he would keep on coming back for more.

Zuheil had no real goal in life. She reasoned that she could never be truly happy until she was the best at something, but try as she might there was always someone better than her. The only time she felt truly happy was when she made life harder for others. Like that one time she seduced a colleague, then anonymously sent the sex tape to the colleague’s wife, and revelled in mirth as a messy divorce followed.

In the end, Zuheil accepted herself for what she was. She convinced herself she was as close to happy as she could be. She smirked to herself as the elevator deposited her on the 19th floor. She lived with Gary in a studio apartment down the hall. The building itself was in the middle of a forest of skyscrapers, so the views were not the best. Still, the apartment was pretty luxurious.

Zuheil entered the password on the console at the door. The screen flashed red with a big blocky warning [ACCESS DENIED]. She tried again to the same result. She spoke to the bracelet on her wrist. “Call Gary.”

A moment later she could hear his squeaky voice in her head. “Yes?”

“Did you change the password to our apartment?”

“Yes.”

He was being very terse with her today. She would have to do something about that. “Well, what is it?”

“Come to the roof, I’ll tell you.”

Zuheil was getting annoyed. “We’re on call right now.”

“I know… There’s just something I want to show you.”

“I don’t have time for your shit, Gary.” In truth, she wasn’t actually busy; she just didn’t want to play his games. She was the one in charge here.

“Humor me.” With that, he ended the call.

Stupid fucking idiot. Who does he think he is? Zuheil gnashed her teeth angrily. I can’t get in without the password. She got back in the elevator and rode it up to the 299th floor, where she took the stairs to the roof. The moon glared at her from a starry sky. Strands of mist danced on the roof as she scanned around for Gary. She saw him seated on a wooden chair, looking at the stars with empty bottles strewn at his feet.

“I’m here Gary, now tell me the password.”

He spoke without turning to face her. “First, listen.”

“I don…”

“It’s rude to interrupt someone when they’re speaking.”

Rude? Zuheil had been way worse things to Gary. Why is he growing a spine now?

“Squeaky died today.” Zuheil had idly fantasized about setting that canary alight before.

“Well, boo-hoo for you.”

“And I lost my job. Not that you’d care anyway. Listen, I’ve had time to think, and I’ve decided I – no, we cannot continue to live like this.”

“Live like what?”

“Don’t act dumb. You know what I mean.”

“You’re breaking up with me?” A divorce would reflect poorly with her superiors. They’d sideline her as she went through a ‘difficult emotional time.’

“No, not really.” He stood up and motioned for her to come to him. He looked straight into her eyes, and Zuheil buckled and broke eye contact. As she leaned over the edge, she wondered when was the last time she had seen Gary as an equal human being.

“What do you want Gary? You’re scaring me.”

He leaned in and kissed her neck. It was sloppy and Zuheil felt disgusted. Now that she thought about it, they had never kissed before.

“Gary, you’re acting weird.”

“I feel… worthless. I suppose I always felt this way, but today I can feel it more keenly.” He sighed loudly. “Zuheil, you haven’t been very nice to me.”

Zuheil felt her blood run cold. She started to slowly back away from the edge; a hand on her back stopped her. She faced her husband nervously and whispered, “You’re not going to do anything bad to me right?”

He smiled at her. “At first, I was angry with you. Then I realized that you’re just like me. That’s why we’ve been together for six years.” He swallowed and continued. “Look, Zuheil, I forgive you. I hold nothing against you. You’re just a product of your environment. So am I. It’s not your fault.”

Zuheil smiled her best smile at Gary despite her unease. Oh god, what do I do? “Gary, can we please go home now? We can start over however you like.”

He waved a hand at her. “No, you deserve to be happy. You won’t find it with me, nor will you find it in this place. Zuheil, my love, I want to liberate you.” With that, Gary planted his hands on her shoulders and gave her a solid shove. Zuheil felt time slow down as the ground was swept from her feet. A shrill scream arose from her throat as sheer, unadulterated terror flooded her mind. She uselessly flailed her arms about as she hurtled 300 storeys to the pavement below.

Ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod I’m going to die. Tears blurred her vision. Sheer terror prevented her from hearing the screams that erupted from her mouth. It felt unfair. Why me? I don’t deserve to die. Those were her last thoughts as Zuheil splattered head first onto the cold concrete.

Zuheil came to in what felt like a puddle of slime. She was naked, and the slime was getting into all the cracks and orifices in her body. She felt supremely uncomfortable and unclean. She opened her mouth to breathe, but the slime had formed a membrane preventing her from doing so. It was in her nose, in her ears and her hair. Terrified, Zuheil opened her eyes to look for an escape. There was no apparent source of light, yet Zuheil could see things clearly. She was hanging upside down, in a slimy bag that looked like an insect’s pupa, with only her head dangling outside.

Her eyes roamed the featureless, slime-covered terrain until she saw it. It was massive. Zuheil was no bigger than a dust mote compared to it. Somehow she knew that she could not see it in its entirety. She could only see its head, which looked like a ram’s skull, with green slimy tentacles sprouting from its eyes and nose. Zuheil knew it was looking back at her, and it bore her no love.

Zuheil was petrified. She could feel the sanity draining from her mind. The thing spoke, and she could hear its terrible voice in her head.

[Welcome, Zuheil] It knows my name

[An eternity ago, my brother and I manifested; he from the light, I from the dark. We fought, but neither could overcome the other. Discontent, he and I moved to separate planes, and all existence took form around us. From this matter arose beings of sentience, who had the choice to fill their hearts with light, or dark. To the blackest, I give pieces of my body to corrupt others. This oftentimes works and I have converted several realities into my fold. My foolhardy brother realized this and has begun opposing me. Waves I have sent, all have been pushed back. Now, I want to try a more subtle approach. That is where you will assist me. I will send you to a different reality than your own, in a vessel that partook of my flesh. You will have free will once more, but I know your black heart shall guide you. Now, begone]

The membrane grew and swallowed up Zuheil’s head. In the blackness she felt like she was floating, dissolving. She became fluid and formless. She felt herself melting away and pulling back together in the void.

Zuheil slowly opened her eyes. She now had a physical body, which was in a box of some sort. Zuheil could see just fine even in the absence of a light source. She brought her hands to her face. There was no slime. The whole ordeal felt surreal in hindsight. She could still remember how terrified she was when that thing spoke to her.

She shuddered as she pushed the memory back into the depths of her mind. Looking around, she observed that the box was made out of wood, and was quite uncomfortable. She tried prying a plank loose and it came away with no effort. A torrent of soil fell upon her face from the gap. She pushed the soil aside as she started digging herself up. Moments later, her right hand felt the cool air on the surface, followed by her other hand. Using the leverage, Zuheil pulled herself up, and she emerged from the soil. The first thing she saw was the starry night sky. She brought her gaze down her eyes met those of a soldier. He was dressed in chainmail and in his hand was a spear. The two stared at each other awkwardly for a tense moment, until the soldier yelled at the top of his lungs, “UNDEAD!!”