Dead and Dubious

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A/N: DOUBLE CHAPTER UPDATE! Have you read the previous chapter before continuing with this one? If not, then you really should.

--x--x--

Eric's P.O.V

One day at the beach, a boy named Eric was building a sand castle with his mother when a seagull flew towards him and landed nearby. Eric excitedly got on his feet and walked over to it. But by the time he approached the bird, it flew away again. Disappointed, he walked back to his mother.

"Ma?"

"What is it, sweety? Why the long face? Don't you like the castle I made?"

"I like the castle. Very much."

Mother pulls Eric into her lap. "Then what's the matter?"

"Why can't we fly like birds?"

Mother laughs a little. "Because birds have wings and we don't."

"Well..then..I want to have wings. Please, Ma."

She kisses the back of his head. "That's the one thing mommy can't get you, honey."

"But I want to fly. Like birds." Eric gets off his mother's lap and look at her desperately.

She pout her lips,"Hmmmm let me see what I can do." She gets on her feet, dusts off her hands and her clothes before crouching down to Eric's level. "I can't get you a pair wings but I sure can do this." She scoops the four year old off his feet and tosses him up and down in the air. Eric squeals in delight. Though he wasn't exactly flying, he was happy.

****

I was falling, more like floating in the air, hearing the wind deep in my ears as the seconds passed and it felt as though time decelerated. Perhaps it's not that time slows down when we're afraid, but that our minds speed up. So, this is it. This is how my nightmare ends.

The fall from the skyscraper stretched every one of those unbearably petrifying seconds before I hit the water. Water? No no no! I am suppose to wake up now.

I was being submerged into the water, sinking like a stone, deeper and deeper and hence, I've become disoriented from the impact. Every little part of me hurts. Suddenly memories came to me in flashes. By the time the ride came to a full and complete stop, I remembered everything: My car accident, the demon, three tasks, the Axe. THE AXE! Damn it!! I quickly swim back and forth, searching for the it. With every kick and arm wave, It felt like I'd die from the shooting pain. I could taste the strong metal taste in my mouth. May be I busted my lips and gums open.

The amulet around my neck was glowing - weakly, faintly, but glowing nonetheless. The Axe should be somewhere around. But will I be able to find it in time? I didn't know how long I could survive the water. Suddenly something brushed past my leg.

"The lake is guarded by some powerful demons and they are not a big fan of my kind. Besides, my life isn't on the line here, Deado!" An abrupt, alarming realization of deadly danger surged over me. It didn't took much longer before I spotted a creature with a body of a mermaid and face of a piranha. Before I could move a muscle, she lunged her spear at me. I felt the burning pain as it passed through my shoulder blade. I was immediately paralysed and put into a temporary state of shock. The pain was overwhelming, almost numbing my other senses. I screw my eyes shut and clutch my shoulder.

By the time I regained my senses, the demonic mermaid was already approaching me with another spear in her hand but before she could strike me with her weapon, an explosion of intense white light blinded me.

*****

I feel a weight on my chest, pressing me down and preventing me from sitting up. I am not sure who or what is pushing on my chest. But it's worse than that - I can't move my arms or legs. Thick liquid coated my tongue. It tasted like metal.

Pinching my nose with two fingers, somebody pressed their mouth against mine and breathed strong breaths of air.

"Wake up already!" A voice demanded. Wait, I know this voice!

I manage to open my eyes and in the periphery of my vision, I could see a shadowy black figure towering over me as I lay on the grass with the moisture of dew surrounding me.

For several minutes my vision was out of focus. I coughed up water over and over again when a pair of hands seized me by the shoulders and helped me sit up. I was coughing repeatedly and it was burning all the way up. My stomach was now sore, my chest, my throat. And then I throw up until there was no more to come out. After what seemed an eternity, I managed to pull my self together.

"I... I am-"

"You're exhausted, you have a headache, I know, Deado!"

"What exactly happened?"

"Surprisingly enough, you managed to retrieve the Axe." The demon flashed a smile as she put the Axe into the backpack, with the haft sticking out.

"You saw everything, didn't you?" I asked.

The demon smirked, "Of course. I was the one leading your sorry little arse out of the realm."

"How many days was I in there?"

"Days? You were in there for like fifteen minutes or something."

Fifteen minutes? Seriously? But I've spent a night back in that tiny room. Impossible!

"Why was I at the school when it all began? And that little room?" I shuddered.

"Those were diversions designed to hinder your path towards the weapon they were guarding. If it weren't for my guidance, you'd have been still stuck in the illusion." She rolled her eyes. "Now let's go. We don't have much time left."

We were now walking up to the car. An illusion, huh? But it felt real. Too real. How come they were able to erase my memories of the car accident and all? If I'd ignored the demon's voice back at the rooftop and handed over the Axe to Liam, What would have happened then? What would have happened to me if I'd lost the amulet before getting transported into the small room?

"It felt so real. I felt...pain."

"Because it was all in your mind. Your subconscious mind actually. Its job is to ensure that you respond exactly the way you are programmed. It makes your behaviour fits a pattern consistent with your emotionalized thoughts, hopes, and desires, and even fear and pain. " She arch an eyebrow, "Your subconscious mind was acting according to the situation you were in, the illusion, which you were perceiving as reality."

Okay, half convinced about the illusion thingy, but what about the hideous mermaid who was ready to devour me before I woke up?

"The demonic mermaid...how did I outrun her?" I asked after I took seat in the car.

"You uh..." The demon turned the key into the ignition and the car roared to life. "You never met one. You see, after you jumped off the skyscraper, I knew that the quest was over so I pulled you out of the lake before you even hit the ground. And once you were out of the water, all the links from that realm were broken."

Lies.

I adjust the side-view mirror so that I can see myself and pulled the collar of my crew-neck shirt away from my throat to reveal a deep scar forming right below my collarbone. Of course, the wound is healing quickly, I glance sideways at the demon, All thanks to Chubby, but now I was sure that the 'mermaid' incident actually happened. Why? because (a) the scar on my shoulder where the mermaid hit me, and (b) when I hit the water, I suddenly remembered everything, I remembered the main reason to dive into the lake in the first place which was not the case when I was in the auditorium or at the rooftop of the skyscraper. Chubby lied to me. May be I was not supposed to regain my memories in the realm. May be I was not supposed to breakfree from the illusion while I was still in there. Does it mean that my encounter with the mermaid was something which was not supposed to happen?

A sudden slash of pain, very intense and quick on the right side of my head diverted my attention me from my thoughts. I quickly press my temple between my thumb and index finger, my eyes shut. The mermaid was approaching me with another spear in her hand but before she could strike me again, I was pulled away by the amulet around my neck as it was leading its way to the axe, dragging me along. I turned my head back and saw the furious mermaid following me. Wait! now there's two of them?

I open my eyes and gasp. A vision. No, a memory.

"Those guys really messed up your brain, didn't they?" I look up at her, the demon was looking at me, her lips arching on a tiny smile. "Don't sweat it, Deado. The mermaid was probably just a fragment of your imagination."

I swallow hard and lay my head back into the seat. Where is she going with this? I let out a deep sigh, If only I'd been careful enough the other night, If only I wasn't too drunk to drive. If I was still alive.. I bit my bottom lip as I push my sleeve back up to my elbow. Hold up! I stopped and slowly turned to face Chubs, gritting my teeth.

"How did I get into this shirt?"

The demon chuckled and tapped her fingers on the wheel. "Magic." she whispered.

I puffed out an exaggerated breath and rolled my eyes. "You know what I can take care of my-"

"Music!"

"What?" my eyebrows scrunched.

"Do you like Jazz?" Before I could reply, she turned on the radio full blast and swayed and sang to the music as we sped along the highway.

--x--x--

A/N: DOUBLE CHAPTER UPDATE!

Having a hard time understanding this chapter? Make sure you read the previous one first.

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