Behind the Black Curtain:

Have you ever noticed movement out of the corner of your eye, only to turn your gaze upon nothing? Are you relieved to find nothing there? Was it an optical illusion? Perhaps. Maybe it was just your imagination. What if it isn’t? What if something is there and you just can’t see it. Honestly though, would you want to? What happens when you turn your gaze and see something…something that couldn’t possibly exist in this world? Terrifying and right in front of you. You blink- and it’s gone…as if it were never there to begin with. Do you forget about it? Perhaps it’s time to see a shrink, maybe get medicated. You blink a few times and go back to whatever you were doing, telling yourself that it isn’t real…

But what if it is?

Another world flourishes in the darkness. It lingers, just on the edge of my vision. There are creatures hidden in the shadows…sometimes I try to catch a glimpse of them. Sometimes I succeed…I always end up regretting it. I've seen monstrous silhouettes shrouded in darkness; glinting light where it shouldn’t be, reflecting off of what I could only assume were scales, or fangs. One time I was sure I saw massive talons suddenly retract from view. I know there are multitudes of beings in this hidden world. I can hear them, barely; moving about, their roars and growls, though muffled, claw their way into my eardrums. Rarely, I will feel hot breath upon the back of my neck. I used to look around frantically, but I would never see anything. I tend to sleep with the lights on most nights.

I started noticing the world of my peripherals at a young age. Movement just out of my sight, disembodied sounds and voices. I was distracted and scared often. My parents were not wealthy. Slaves to their finances, they worked all the time. I knew that they loved and cared about me, but they were just far too busy and far too worn down by the daily grind to see what was going on with me.

Whenever I would run, screaming, into my parents room at night, they would try to comfort me. They would try to dispel my fears and dismiss them as just being nightmares, and then send me back to bed. It was a completely understandable and reasonable action to take. I mean, no one really believes that there are monsters in the closet or under the bed.

I tried to talk to them about my experiences once, telling them of the things I had seen and heard. They laughed uncomfortably and commented on my ‘overactive imagination' and told me I should consider being a writer. Later, I overheard them quietly discussing whether or not they should take me to see a shrink.

I cannot stress how much I did not want that to happen. Yes, I hated talking to people, but I knew there was no way my parents could afford something like that. I also didn't want to be psychoanalyzed by someone who would think I was just another crazy person. Granted my experiences would sound crazy to anyone.

Even then, I knew this wasn’t the case. I know, crazy people don't think they're crazy…but I knew I wasn’t. Crazy, right? I never broached the subject again. I don't think they understood, it seemed no one did. Who could blame them? So I endured in silence, sullen and withdrawn; labeled as the weird kid that always seemed distracted. I never had any friends over…not that I made many friends.

Let's skip forward a few years. I made it into college. By this time, I had been living with the peripheral world for, well…many years. I had sort of grown used to it. Did you know that you're only physically capable of being scared of something for a finite amount of time before your brain literally runs out of the chemical responsible for fear? Don't believe me? Look it up, I'll wait…

Nothing had, as of yet, reached out of the darkness to lay claim to my soul, so I figured the odds were pretty much in my favor. Living with the void had become as natural to me as breathing. Granted, sometimes that breathing was fast and ragged as I hid under my covers fighting off a panic attack…but for the most part I had grown accustomed to the movements and sounds of my unseen guests. Peering into the darkness and feeling that something was looking back no longer held a significant amount of fear for me…but everything changed when the fire nation attacked...just kidding. Let’s just say nothing prepared me for what was to come.

I didn't really like going to my classes…I excelled at my studies, but just didn't like being around people. It seemed like the feeling was mutual. No one ever sat within six feet of me. I didn't smell bad, not that I didn't check often. I am definitely quite self-conscious. I didn't dress weird, not that it would have mattered, I mean come on, it's college. That being said, I decided to drop all of my classes in favor of their online counterparts…well, almost all of them.

Out of the multitude of courses available, somehow I ended up in a public speaking night class. I don’t know how…I never registered for the course. I wasn’t overly fond of the dark. Nighttime is meant for sleeping in the safety of ones home, not wandering the streets. Plus…I hated public speaking…to be honest I hated speaking to people at all.

But I figured, why not, maybe I’ll get better at both. So I decided to attend the class. I didn’t live very far from campus, so I decided I would walk, at night, madness, I know. But it would give me some time to mentally prepare for class. I mean how bad could it be? I stopped short. How bad could it be? Standing up in front of a group of strangers who will already be avoiding me, and embarrassing myself to try to get a good grade in a class that I didn't even sign up for…oh, I'm sure it'll be great. I sighed and continued on my route.

I arrived at campus rather quickly. A lot of people were wandering about the grounds. Some sort of booster event was taking place. Maybe a game too. I didn’t know, no one told me anything, nor was I particularly interested. I stopped near a lamp post and checked my schedule.

My class was at 8pm in a building called Reaper Hall. Odd name for a college building if you ask me. A quick web search revealed very little, and what little I found was kind of odd. The building was first ‘noticed’ in the early 1800s but was determined to be significantly older. Apparently the college just kind of sprang up around it. There was no description of the building and no clear instructions on how to find it. One commenter on the site wrote, ‘Just wander around campus, you'll know it when you see it.’

Yeah, thanks @Green_Spandex69, helpful…This just keeps getting better. A class that I didn't sign up for, in a weird old building that I have to wander around to find because no one knows where it is…Oh man, I'm getting murdered.

I reluctantly wandered about campus, dodging construction projects and like wise being dodged by other students. Nothing like walking toward a group of people just to watch them part like the red sea to get away from you. A couple of people even hopped a fence to put distance between us. They hopped out again after I passed by. Seriously? People suck.

After a few minutes of random walking about, I started to notice the distinct absence of others. This part of campus seemed deserted. The air temperature had plummeted as well. I started shivering…who knew I would need a jacket in the middle of summer?

I shuffled about watching my breath hang in the eerily still air, lost in thought. My feet moved almost with a mind of their own, marching down a path only they knew. Then abruptly, I stopped. Something cold touched my face. I looked up to see something glittering in the darkness. Snow was falling, swirling about in a non-existent wind. Shadows flickered in the light of the fire. Fire? I looked around wildly and almost jumped out of my skin when my eyes settled on the source.

An impossibly massive statue stood before me. After my initial shock, I studied the behemoth structure, marveling at its sheer size, the intricacy and attention to detail. The statue took the form of a gargantuan emerald dragon; all of the line work and finer details appeared to be inlaid golden filigree.

The dragon was in, what I assumed to be, a victorious stance; it’s wings completely unfurled, head tilted back as it uttered a silent roar in challenge to the gods themselves. From it’s mouth burst forth a continuous blaze that pierced the night sky. The light of the fire illuminated the dragon and it appeared to glow, blazing red spots upon it's head led me to believe it had rubies inset as eyes.

I stood there awestruck, my mouth agape as I marveled at this miracle of craftsmanship and engineering. This thing was impossible.

A lilting voice danced it’s way to my ears, “Excuse me, are you lost?”

I flinched, the query snapping me out of my stupor. I slowly lowered my gaze, my eyes trailing toward the statues base. I realized the dragon was larger than I had initially assessed. It stood on its hind legs, its tail encircled a mound of what appeared to be gold and jewels. Surrounding the monstrous emerald beast was an equally massive manmade water feature.

Around the raised stone perimeter of the large body of water were ornate stone fire bowls. Their flames bathed the area in a strong warm glow. Next to one of these fire bowls is where I spotted the source of the lovely voice that had graced my hearing.

A young woman around my age sat at the edge of the pond, staring into the water, lazily swirling the tip of her index finger just below the waters surface. She wore a heavy, hooded, shimmering green cloak that went all the way down to her ankles. The hood was pulled back only slightly, allowing me barely a glance of the side profile of her face. She had pale skin; a few locks of reddish orange hair hung down, free of her hood. “Cat got your tongue?” She asked, the corner of her mouth turning up in what I could only assume was a sly grin.

“Oh! Umm, yeah…no, I-. Sorry…” The words stumbled over each other as they rushed from my mouth. “Reaper Hall?” I quietly asked, embarrassed. She turned her head to look at me, still drawing circles in the water, an amused expression on her beautiful face. She looked me over, sizing me up, her gaze meeting mine. I did what I could to suppress a gasp. Her eyes were mesmerizing, they were the same color as the statue of the great serpent, a rich emerald green with flecks of gold.

After what felt like an eternity, I looked away, feeling awkward. I glanced back and she was still studying me, an amused smile playing across her full lips. “You’ve come to the right place, good sir.” She pointed, I turned my head to look in the direction she had gestured. My jaw dropped.

I had been so fixated on the dragon statue that I had been oblivious to the tremendous, sprawling structure that it stood in front of. Before me loomed a massive castle that looked like it had been ripped straight from a fantasy novel. The castle was impossibly enormous, I saw many towers, turrets, flying buttresses…the works. It looked capable of withstanding even a siege from a modern day military force. Several smaller dragon statues adorned the walls of the beautiful structure.

I frowned. This castle didn't belong here. There was no record in history of this things' construction, no people laid claim to it. I looked around. Something wasn’t right. “That is Reaper Hall?” I asked, taken aback by the fact that I got registered for a class that was located within such a structure.

She laughed a sweet laugh, “ I understand, I was pretty shocked too. None of this belongs here. The weather is definitely wrong.” She paused, looking away from me and back at the water, “Even these little ones shouldn't be here.”

I took a few steps forward, closing the distance between us. I cautiously leaned over the edge of the…pond…peering into the waters depths. A great number of what appeared to be koi fish swam about. Several were slowly circling where she was tracing figures in the water. The most blaring difference between the fish here and regular koi was that these were glowing. They were emitting their own light, not reflecting or reacting to another source.

I stared at them, once again awestruck by something else that just shouldn't be. “Beautiful…” I whispered.

“Thank you!” The girl replied, looking right at me. She smiled, her full, ruby red, lips parting to reveal perfect teeth.

“Oh…I-uh...” I dropped my gaze, my face grew hot, I realized I was blushing.

“I see.” She said solemnly. I quickly looked at her wide eyed, “You were talking about the fish.” She started to pout.

I panicked. “No, no, I wasn’t…well, yeah, I was talking about the fish. I mean…I don't really talk to a lot of people.” This had already been the longest conversation I had had in months. I continued, “I don’t typically have the opportunity to talk a lovely woman such as yourself, much less the courage to tell you that you are the most beautiful woman that I have ever seen.” I stood there, mouth agape as I realized what I had just said. Was I sweating?

Her eyes widened for a moment, and then she smiled another lovely smile, a twinkle in her eye. “Well…” I declared, awkwardly drawing out the single syllable word as my panic stricken mind tried to figure out what to do. “I should probably get to class.” I shifted the strap of my bag up my shoulder, “It was nice to meet you.” I hurried around the large koi pond surrounding the massive statue.

“It was nice to meet you too.” Her melodic voice washing over me, caressing my eardrums. I smiled to myself as I made my way toward the castle that shouldn't be, for the class I didn't register for.

This is not the end…