Chapter 56

Anya’s eyes jolted open the moment her consciousness returned. She found herself to be laying on the floor, disoriented and with no recollection of where she was. The girl darted her eyes from one corner to the other, only to be met with a featureless infinity. There were neither walls nor ceilings, just a surreal whiteness that stretched beyond the horizon. She tried to sit up but quickly slipped and fell back onto the ground. Her arm was still missing.

Memories quickly flooded back in as she realized her situation.

“No-no-no-no-NO!” She cried, realizing that all her effort were for naught, that she will soon be just another empty husk among many. After a period in wallowing in hopelessness, she eventually tired herself out and rolled onto her back, wiping away her tears. The girl stared into the colorless void above, occasionally sniffling after cleaning her nose with her sleeve.

The utter emptiness was somewhat calming. Anya was not sure why, but the scenery, or lack thereof, brought a sort of strange serenity to her heart. Still, she was scared. The constant thought of her body blistering before drying up on the cold floor unsettled her, but she knew that there was nothing she could do.

“I wanna go home…” She whimpered under her breath. “I’m sick of this…” The child covered her eyes with her arm. “Why is this happening to me… I should have never left…” Anya sobbed and took a deep breath. “I… I wish I was still dreaming…” She wondered why she had fought the dream, after all, the end result would have been the same. Instead of living within her fantasy, the girl is stuck within this emptiness, alone and mutilated.

“Let me go back…!” she cried.

“Be quiet, you noisy child!” a voice suddenly shouted toward her. Anya quickly wiped her eyes again and tilted her head back. “Can’t you see we’re having a conversation?”

It was The Woman. She wore the same white dress as before, along with a pair of white heels. Within her hands she held an orb of light, it had a sort of silver outline which distinguished it from the background.

“Well, if you’ll excuse me.” the woman cleared her throat before turning her attention to the silver orb. “As I was saying… why are you here? Shouldn’t you be by her side? I was sure you were one of her favorites.”

“...” Anya heard no response, but the woman continued.

“Surprised? I’m more resilient than she’ll have you believe.”

“...”

Anya turned onto her stomach and attempted to get up, but found that her legs were numb.

“Steal? I simply borrowed. It’s not my fault if they weren’t there to take it back, is it?”

“Who… who are you talking to…?” The girl groaned as she crawled toward the woman only to be met with a smirk.

“You know what I want… tell me, where is she?”

“...”

“Well, I didn’t expect you to answer. But it was worth a try, was it not?” The woman then sank her fingers deep into the orb, causing it to jitter as if in pain. With her taloned grip, she stretched the silver being apart until it finally ripped.

Anya watched in silence as the white ground was splattered with an opulent red. Chunks of unidentifiable flesh fell from the deflated orb.

“What…” the child muttered, “what did you-”

“Shame, isn’t it?” The woman interrupted, her voice cold and apathetic. “He thought himself to be strong as he devoured the weak.” She bent down and searched through the pile of gore. “You know… there was an old saying.” The woman picked out two chunks of flesh after briefly inspecting them. “You are what you eat.” She twisted her lips into a wide grin as she approached the distraught child, bits of red fluid dripping from her hand.

“Where am I and why are you-”

Before the girl could finish, the woman shoved one of the meat lumps into her mouth. The woman then grappled onto Anya’s cheeks, ensuring that she could not spit it out.

“MMMM-MMMMMM!” Anya wanted hurl but the woman’s grip forced her mouth closed. With nowhere else to go, the grimy dollop began to melt on her tongue.

“Swallow, my dear Anya. Don’t let it go to waste.”

The runoff from the blob mixed with her saliva to form a sort of slimy stew that tasted of dirt and iron. The girl attempted to pry away the woman’s hand to no avail. Eventually, she had no choice but to swallow the disgusting mixture.

After ensuring that the child had consumed her offering, the woman steadily released her grip and ingested the other chunk of flesh in her hand with ease. Anya, on the other hand, coughed and retched until her mouth was rid of the grit.

“W-What did you just make me eat!?” Anya contested, using her arm to keep herself up.

“Oh that wasn’t so bad, mine went down just fine.” The woman licked her rose-colored lips. “Had a nice kick to it, don’t you think?”

“No… that tasted horrible!”

“Well, everyone has their preferences.”

The girl swallowed another gulp of saliva to clear her throat before she gawked at the woman.

“Where am I and why are you here?! Who is 'she'?! What happened to the creature?! What is going on- MMMMMMMMM!”

The woman covered Anya’s mouth again, this time with a gentler grip than before.

“One questioned at a time.”

Once she was set free, the child took a deep breath before she asked her question.

“W-What… What did you just force me to eat?!”

“A gift, my dear Anya.”

“A-A gift…?”

“That’s right,” the woman smiled and lightly brushed the girl’s hair with her slender hand. “For me, the gift of the Whispers… And for you…” She took her index finger and gently tapped the child’s nose. “...the gift of the Other.”

“The gift of the Other…?” Anya furrowed her brows.

“Once you’re awake, close your eyes and follow the brightest light.”

“What? What are you talking about…?” The world surrounding Anya began to crumble. Bit by bit, the very sky shattered along with the ground. “Wait, I have more questions!”

“And they will be answered in time.” the woman said as she waved her goodbye. Soon everything around her vanished, replaced by an endless black void.

***

Anya again awoke from the vivid dream, her vision still a blur as she rubbed her eyes. Once her sight was finally adjusted, she was met with the worm creature right in front of her.

“Whhuaaa!” She yelped as she leaped backward, slamming against the soft and fleshy wall.

The worm did not move, in fact, none of the surrounding worms moved. Every single one of the tendrils laid lifelessly on the ground around her. She then turned around and stared at the creature’s ‘heart’. Toward the bottom was the small gash she had made before she had fainted. It leaked a sort of viscous black fluid that slowly drained out the wound. Anya looked up and noticed that the shape of the organ seemed distorted: The blob had lost its form and gave the impression that it was steadily deflating. Its membrane was covered by fissures of various sizes, all leaking the viscous black fluid.

“Huh?!” When the child attempted to stand up, she noticed, to her surprise, that her arm had returned. Anya rotated it back and forth, carefully inspecting it for any peculiarities. Just to be sure, she flexed each individual finger and pinched her palm to check whether it was really her’s.

“How did…” Suddenly, she noticed a strange taste in her mouth. With her new hand, she touched her lips and saw that her fingers were stained by what seemed and smelled like blood. Her focus returned to the ‘heart’ and she noticed that a few of the injuries resembled bite marks.

Anya backed away to a more comfortable distance, avoiding tripping on the countless dead creatures. She lifted her cloak and skirt only to find that the rest of her body seemed to be fine as well, no signs that the parasitic worms ever intruded her skin. She approached the wall where she was previously held captive, with each step she took, sections of the flesh-wall seemed to shrivel and curve toward the ground. The girl looked into her cast, refusing to get too close. The tiny hair-like protrusions all fell limp, and the previously detached arm remained imbued into the organism. Judging from all that she witnessed, the creature seemed to be dead.

Without a word, Anya turned around and slowly headed toward the exit, curiously observing her decaying surroundings. The creature’s tentacle still latched onto the door, but with an effort-filled tug, the appendages fell loose and freed the exit. A loud creak sounded as the large wooden door slowly crept open. The child looked down and saw that her rifle and satchel laid on the floor. With her equipment recovered, the girl took one last glimpse behind her. Whatever the creature was, no longer mattered as it was dead. No more victims would result from this place.

Anya glanced at her newly regenerated hand as she curled it into a fist, loosening it after a short moment. She was not sure how, but she had slain the beast that took down countless others. The girl felt different, a strange sense of relief that pressed her mouth into a faint smile. The constant fear and anxiety that plagued her had settled.

The child could not help but feel a sense of pride, the satisfaction that she survived and that the creature that held every advantage had perished. Anya understood that she was not strong, but at least now, she knew that she at least was not weak.

“Right…” she mumbled, for she remembered the woman’s words. “The gift of the Other…” Unknowingly, these words escaped her lips as she recalled the dream. Unlike before, this time her memories were vivid, allowing her to relive every moment. Every touch, smell, and even the awful tastes she had experienced within her dream stuck with her.

The girl hesitantly closed her eyes and saw exactly what she had expected, nothing. She opened her eyes and quickly grew confused.

“What was I supposed to see…?” Anya was sure that that was what the woman had instructed, to close her eyes once she had woken up. She wondered if she had misinterpreted the woman’s words or whether it was really just a dream. After some thought, the child decided to close her eyes once more, this time squinting as a way of putting in the extra effort.

“Look around…”

A shiver went up Anya’s spine and she immediately opened her eyes. She stared at the strange organism behind her. With her rifle pointed at the creature’s ‘heart’, she searched around for any signs of movement.

“Close your eyes…” The whisper sounded different from before, completely unlike the voice that lured her.

“W-Who said that?!” the girl nervously shouted, she searched around but there was no one around her.

“Just listen to me, my dear Anya.” Upon hearing the tone of the voice, Anya instantly recognized it: it was the woman.

“How… how are you doing that?” Anya questioned out loud but received no answers. Finally, once she was sure that it was not another of the creature’s tricks, the girl closed her eyes.

It was the same darkness from before, except in the far distance, there was a dim glimmer that was barely noticeable. Bewildered, she slowly turned her head while keeping her eyelids shut. There were several sparks, some far and some near. All, however, were overshadowed by the one which laid in the far beyond. She could not gauge exactly how far it was, but the shine’s overbearing size overshadowed all others near it.

“Follow it…” the voice said.

The girl opened her eyes and she was back at the door staring a the sides of various shanties.

“I don’t understand… what am I seeing…?”

Like always, the whisper refused to answer. Anya glared at the defeated creature once more to ensure that it was dead before she holstered her weapon and left the vicinity.