Behind the Black Curtain: Voidwalker

The sound of shuffling footsteps and nasal exhalation tore me from my slumber. My eyes shot open and I looked around the room wildly. Across the room from me in a dingy fireplace, a dying flame emitted a dull glow; the last bastion of light, embattled, struggling to hold back the crushing darkness. Beyond the border of the light of the flame, utter blackness.

I had awoken in a seated position. Clearly, I was no longer in my apartment. I tried to rise to my feet but stopped short with a gasp at the searing pain in my shoulders. Finally taking stock of my physical condition, my hands were numb, my shoulders burned and there was something restraining my wrists. Clinking noises informed me that I had been shackled and chained to the wall, my arms above my head.

"Hello?” I called out meekly to the inky blackness. The footsteps stopped suddenly, the breathing continued, but sounded more ragged and stronger…open mouthed.

“There he is,” rasped a voice from the darkness, menace and hatred dripping from every syllable.

“Who are you? Where…where am I?” I asked, frantically scanning the darkness in a futile effort to spot the source of the voice.

“He doesn't know where he is?” the voice rasped incredulously. “He doesn't know where he is,” he repeated, a statement this time. “It doesn't matter!” he snapped. The voice fell silent.

Another voice could be heard in the distance, chanting. I couldn't make out the words, but the cadence sounded familiar, I just couldn’t place it.

“It's all your fault!” the voice growled.

“What is? What’d I do?” I asked, recoiling from the wrathful outburst, only to be rewarded with more protests from my shoulders.

“You ruined everything!!” the voice roared angrily. “You and your 'princess’,” he added bitterly. “You ruined everything…” he reasserted. “How was I…How was I supposed to know? We didn't know…we couldn't have known…”

“Know what?” I asked. No answer. The chanting grew louder. What was that? I recognized it…from where? I could tell it was the same chant just being repeated.

“It doesn’t matter!” the voice snapped again. It sounded like it was right beside me. I jerked, eliciting another jolt of pain from my shoulders.

The chanting grew louder still. I was barely able to make out the words, realization dawned on me as I recognized what I was hearing.

‘Our Father who art in heaven-‘ it was The Lord’s Prayer being endlessly repeated. With the start of each round of repetition, new voices joined the chant. It continued to grow louder, and each time, it grew a little more warped and distorted until the words were no longer recognizable as human speech. Only the cadence remained the same.

“Who are you? Stop hiding!” I shouted.

“Hiding?” asked the being standing in the darkness, his voice gaining a familiar gravelly sound. A figure stepped in front of the fireplace, the small flames weakly illuminated a silhouette. The figure stood hunched over, its head heavily tilted to one side. I could make out a pair of horns jutting upward; one was long and ended in a point, the other stopped a few inches lower and the end was misshapen as though it had been broken.

“You’re the one cowering against your bonds, boy,” the figure said quietly, spitting the last word out venomously. The demon slowly moved closer to me with jarringly irregular movements, its head and hands occasionally twitching violently. As it approached, the fire grew stronger, illuminating more and more of my surroundings and the figure before me.

The walls and floor were made of gray stone. Lines of strange glyphs were carved upon every surface, a red liquid slowly oozed from them. No door was visible, nor was there a visible ceiling. Realization dawned on me that I was in a pit.

The demon stopped next to me and crouched to look me in the face with a malicious sharp toothed grin. The fire raged completely lighting the room and illuminating the face of the demon before me. My eyes widened, “Mr. Moncrief!” I exclaimed in shock. He looked rough, even for a demon. His eyes, while burning with unfathomable hatred, were very sunken. One of his horns was broken. He had open wounds on his face and across his body. His face was partially swollen, some of his teeth were missing and his clothes were torn.

“What happened to you?” I asked.

“You did!” he roared, “You ruined everything you little shit!” He crouched, coming face to face with me, pure hatred burning in his eyes. "So much time and planning gone to waste because you came along..." he muttered. "So much time..." He placed the tip of one of his talons against my cheekbone and slowly dragged it down my cheek. The talon left a burning trail in its wake, as it laid my flesh open. Blood spilled from the wound, running down my face. I jerked my head away from his talon, gritting my teeth, trying not to cry out.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked, my words coming out as barely more than a hiss.

“Weren’t you listening to what I said?” Mr. Moncrief growled, “ You ruined everyth-” He stopped mid-sentence, as the cacophony of voices that were intoning the warped prayer abruptly fell silent. There was a rumble in the distance, everything shook slightly, as though something massive had impacted the ground. Shortly afterward there was another impact, this one felt closer. Mr. Moncrief’s eyes widened and he somehow visibly paled. “He comes.” the demon hissed, glancing away from me. The demonic perversion of the Lord’s prayer resumed with renewed vigor, growing louder as the reverberations of the monstrous footsteps grew closer.

“Who is?” I asked, fear crept into my voice.

“Who do you think?” the demon turned and cast a baleful gaze in my direction. “Surely by now you’ve realized where you are.”

Hesitantly, I nodded.

“The beautiful one, he who corrupts, the Lord of Darkness, the one in shadows, the King of Hell, Lucifer Morningstar, Satan…you know, the Devil?” He smiled wickedly. “He’s coming to kill you.”

My face became a mask of fear. The footsteps drew ever nearer, the volume of the demented prayer reached a crescendo.

Mr. Moncrief’s face softened. He stroked my cheek with the back of his hand as he said quietly, “Don’t worry, I won’t let him kill you.”

This abrupt change in demeanor startled me and cleared my fear addled brain. I looked at him sharply, eyes narrowed, “Why?” I asked, perplexed.

“Because,” he said slowly, pure malice displayed on his face, “that honor will be mine!” He roared. Before I could react, he drew back his arm and thrust his hand into my chest. With a sickening crunch and the tearing of flesh, unbearable pain ripped through me, dominating my entire existence. There was a disgusting squelching sound as he pulled his hand back out, my still beating heart clutched tightly in his talons. Right before me, he sunk his teeth into it as my vision faded to black.

I bolted upright in my bed, wordless screams burst forth from my throat as I clutched my chest, gasping as I struggled to gulp in ragged breaths of air. The sharp pain in my chest gradually faded. I forced myself out of bed and stumbled my way to the bathroom. I flipped the light switch, illuminating the bathroom. I stifled a groan as I clamped my eyes shut against the sudden onslaught of brightness. After several long moments, my eyes finished protesting and adjusted to sudden violent shift in light levels. I squinted as I peered at myself in the mirror, my breath caught in my throat. My wrists were an angry red, and there was a white scar on my cheek, but that wasn’t what drew my eye. On my chest, over my heart, was the same angry red, surrounded by five puncture wounds. Blood seeped out of each wound, slowly trickling down my chest in small rivulets.

I opened the cabinet under the sink and pulled out my first aid kit and peroxide. I wiped the wounds on my chest and hissed in pain as the wounds bubbled from the peroxide I applied to them. The blood flow slowed down, but continued to seep out. I covered the area with bandages and went back to my room. It was still dark outside, but after what just happened, I decided I was done sleeping for the night. I decided to pass the time playing video games. After an unspecified number hours killing demons with shotguns and chainsaws, it dawned on me that it was light outside. I didn’t have a job, and I had no classes scheduled for the day, and there were several hours still until I was to visit Victoria in the small country she called a home. While I could spend the entire day playing video games, I figured that I probably shouldn’t.

I glanced around the room and my eyes fell on the paper I had read earlier. “Mr. Humboldt…” I muttered, “I should probably talk to him.” I went ahead and redressed my bandages, blood still seeping from the wounds. I threw on some clothes and headed out the door. After a brief walk, I was on campus once more. Not having any classes, I was dressed more comfortably, and moved at a more leisurely pace. Campus was just as busy as usual, everyone rushing about to their various destinations, paying no attention to anyone else around them. I decided to just wander, knowing that I would eventually end up where I wanted to be. I wasn’t walking for more than a couple of minutes before I spotted a familiar figure sitting at the base of the staircase leading to the campus library.

It was Mr. Humboldt, he had a box of donuts next to him, and he was sipping out of a thermos, another thermos sat unopened next to him. I walked up to him and greeted him, “Good morning Mr. Humboldt.” He glanced up at me but said nothing. “Uh…Ted.”

He smiled and gestured for me to sit down. I sat on the other side of the donut box; he sat the other thermos down next to me and said, “Breakfast,” between sips and bites.

“Oh, uh…thank you.” I said, as I grabbed a donut. I opened the thermos and took a drink. I was surprised to find it was cold chocolate milk. I greedily gulped it down between bites of donut, occasionally casting a glance at Mr. Humboldt, who still continued to consume his own breakfast in silence. After we finished, we threw our trash away and he stowed the empty thermoses in his bag. He reclaimed his original seat on the steps, I hesitantly sat down near him.

“So…you were expecting me…” It was meant to be a question, but it definitely came out as a statement.

“Yeah,” he sighed, “I kinda figured I’d see you after you read the note. I’m going to assume you have some questions for me. I’ll do my best to answer them.”

“Okay…” I said. All the frustration, craziness, and anxiety of the day welled up within me. In a strained voice, as forceful as possible while still keeping my voice low I started…asking questions.

“What the HELL is going on? No pun intended, no ha ha, literally what in the Hell is going on? First, I end up in a class I didn’t sign up for. How did that happen? I mean, I don’t take in person classes, and I HATE public speaking, so why would I even take that? And it’s at a place called Reaper Hall? What kind of name is that? Plus I couldn’t find dick about it online. Yeah, the place is old, it popped out of nowhere, but there’s no pictures, no description, definitely nothing that matched what I saw, it’s a freaking castle! No location, just some vague instructions from what I assume was a JDF fan.

What’s up with the weird weather? Snow? This time of year? This far south? And it’s a castle, a castle!? With blood powered doors and crazy artwork, oh and not to mention the Demons! I’m being threatened by spectral shadows, I’m having visions of a dark place, and weird monsters and what I think was the Grim Reaper. I had a grand old time in Hell, like I think I was shackled in a pit in the actual Hell waiting for the Devil to come kill me, but only he didn’t because I was murdered by Mr. Moncrief first. I mean yeah it was a dream but I woke up with this,” I gestured to the mark on my face, “and bleeding chest wounds.” I gently patted the gauze over my heart. “I’m sorry to vent like this, you’ve been nothing but kind, but you see where I’m coming from, right? You gotta give me something. I need some answers. Please!”

He listened quietly; absorbing what I said, I thought he was anyway. He let out the breath he’d been holding in one long exhale. “Well. It seems like you’re going through a lot. I don’t think that I’ll have all the answers you’re looking for, but I’ll answer what I can. I guess, let’s start simple. ‘Reaper Hall’ isn’t the true name of the castle. That being said, it is the commonly accepted name for it. The castle is named for it’s original Lord and Master. I’m sure he has many names, but the only one he ever told me was Reaper.”

“Wait. He told you…his name? But… wouldn’t that make you, like…4,000 years old? That’s not possible.” I said bewildered.

“8,473 approximately. By your calendar, anyway.” He said with a wry smile, pain lurking behind his eyes. “But, let’s not get into that quite yet. Remember what you saw as you approached Reaper Hall? The majesty? The grandeur? The sheer scale of the structure sprawled before you. Do you remember how it grasped at the very clouds themselves?” I nodded, his question distracting me from the impossibility of his age for now.

“What you see, is but a small fraction of a significantly larger structure. The part that is visible has been superimposed onto this side of The Curtain. While it is visible, including the odd weather patterns surrounding it, it’s not, um…noticeable…to those who aren’t supposed to notice it.” He held up his hand to gesture for me to be patient. I closed my mouth, the question I had, dying on my lips. “Dear boy, don’t worry, I will explain all I can as we go. But since you’re getting restless, I’ll try to jump to more complex matters.”

“Now I won’t get into matters of multiverse theory, the idea that alternate realities exist based on different choices made; universes being cast into existence by the toss of a coin or the roll of a die. Is it possible? Maybe, but it’s not for me to say. What I can tell you for sure is that existence is more than,” he gestured around us with both arms outstretched, “this.”

“Let me provide you with an illustration of sorts. Picture a door frame, if you will. Nothing special, just a standard doorway with no door. Now imagine that stretched across that doorway was a black cloth, like a curtain. It’s blocking the entire doorway, and it’s impossible to move aside. On one side of the curtain is you, Earth, this solar system, the milky way galaxy, the void of space, essentially the whole known universe. On the other side of the curtain is an entire other universe believed to be infinite, full of wonders you can only imagine. Now, let’s say that you need to get from one side to the other, but you can’t move the curtain to the side. What do you do?” He fell silent and looked at me pointedly.

“Oh! Um…you go through the curtain?” I asked hesitantly.

“Good lad! You go through the curtain. But this would be no simple feat. See most people can’t just poke or cut a hole in the curtain and walk through. You have to understand, you can’t actually see the curtain. It’s not some cloth that you can tear asunder whenever you so choose. It is everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It is the intangible veil that acts as a barrier between the two universes.” He paused a moment to see whether I was understanding and processing this information ok.

“You also need to understand, the veil is more than some simple barrier. It exists as a realm of its own; a dark universe sandwiched between the other two. I believe that the dark place from your vision is somewhere within the curtain.” He paused again and looked at me, “Let me ask you this Mr. Isaacs, aside from your most recent visions of shadowy figures, do you ever have other waking visions? Usually at the very periphery of your vision? Hear noises that don’t seem to have a source? Maybe you’ve even seen something in its fullness, ever so briefly, that shouldn’t exist?”

“Y-yes. How did you know?” I asked, stunned.

He nodded slightly, “Well, that explains that,” he muttered to himself.

“What explains what?” I asked, slightly irritated. Why did it seem like his explanation was just leaving me with more questions?

He ignored my question and continued on with his lecture. “Back to our previous topic, passing through the curtain. As I said before, you can’t just poke a hole in it and walk through. That’s not to say that there’s no way through. Over time, small holes do appear and most are constantly in motion, others are stationary. Anything you hear about like the Bermuda triangle, where people, planes, and boats often vanish…those are larger stationary tears in the curtain that constantly fluctuate. The moving ones are honestly the bigger problem though.”

“These contribute to a large number of missing persons cases and missing pets flyers. They appear randomly, and oddly tend to favor already established openings like doorways, Windows, pet doors, even tunnels. But they can still appear in the open. A man walking in a field vanishes in front of a group of people. They run over to where they last saw him, there’s no hole in the ground, he’s just gone without a trace. The tear has already moved on.

Now, if they’re lucky, they end up on the other side of the curtain and maybe live a life over there. If they’re not lucky…they end up trapped within the curtain…in the dark place. In there, survival is…less certain.

Ted looked at his watch and sighed, “It would seem our chat will have to draw to a close soon. If I’m too late, they will get suspicious. But, I feel I’ve dropped a lot of information on you, and fear I may have left you with more questions then answers. So I’ll try to be a little more to the point here.”

“A moment ago, I asked you about visual and auditory phenomena you encountered, yes?” I nodded. He continued, “you aren’t going insane…unless, of course, this whole conversation is a product of your insanity. Kidding! I’m just kidding! Look, I’m not entirely sure, but I’m still fairly decently certain that you’re sensitive to The Curtain. Reaper Hall is a fixed and controlled access point that exists partially within all the realms. That would explain why you passed out upon entering, as you were overwhelmed by the transition between them.

The things you see and hear that are out of place, those are manifestations of The Curtain that you are picking up on. Probably drawn partially through the curtain. You must be careful, I suspect you already have a presence within The Curtain, these things are likely drawn to you.”

“Additionally, I don’t know how you came to be in your ‘class’, honestly, I don’t think the demons know either. I’m pretty sure your arrival was unexpected, your girlfriends too. But I can assure you, you are not there to learn. I’m not certain what they’re up to, but I am certain, with demons involved, the outcome will not be a good one.”

“Final word of caution, be careful with your Princess. She’s…more than she may seem to be. I’m not saying she is your enemy, I am just saying, be careful. With that young master, I must away. I hope any of this was helpful.” By this point in the conversation, we had arrived in front of Reaper Hall without my noticing. He turned to walk away.

“Wait.! Mr. Humboldt! Ted!” I called after him. “Why are you telling me all of this?”

He paused, and turned to look at me. “You came in through the wrong door kid. Students enter through those doors over there.” He pointed at a far less impressive set of doors on the other side of the courtyard. “You don’t think all the students in your class entered through blood powered doors as you so eloquently put it, do you? The castle chose you, boy. That’s good enough for me.” He smiled, tapped himself on his right temple a couple of times and gave a little two fingered salute and then disappeared.

I stood there for a moment, contemplating everything I had just heard. It felt as though the surrounding shadows grew deeper and were closing in around me. The whispers returned. I shuddered and then made for home like the hounds of hell were on my tail. I arrived in surprisingly short order, out of breath, lamenting once more that I had yet to acquire a car.

I fumbled with my keys, rushing to get the door open to get into the illusion of safety that my apartment provided. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. I wrenched the door open and slammed it behind me. Only now relaxing and catching my breath. A sudden loud chime caused me to try to jump out of my skin. Heart pounding, I realized it was my phone notifying me that I had received a text message. I pulled out my phone and my heart skipped a beat. It was Victoria!

V: Hey!

Me: Hey Victoria, what’s up? We still on for tonight?

V: Of course! Actually, that’s why I’m messaging. I know we planned on a specific time to hang out, but, if you don’t have anything going on, you’re more than welcome to come over now…you know, if you want to…

I stopped and stared at the message, momentarily dumbstruck. I snapped out of my daze and hastily replied.

Me: Yeah! That sounds great!

V: Excellent! See you soon?

Me: Count on it Ms. Blackrose! ;)

V: Ok! :D See you then!

Me: Ok! :)

I shed my sweaty attire and took a speedy shower. After toweling off, I rummaged through my closet for my nicest clothes. Unfortunately, I kept no formal attire as I didn’t make any social calls, nor did I attend any formal events. So blue jeans, sneakers, and a Deadpool T-shirt was the look of the day.

“Oh, I’m definitely under dressed for the location, hopefully she won’t mind, since we’ll be hanging out at her place…” I shrugged at my reflection and brushed my hair and teeth…separately of course. I grabbed a controller and a back up battery pack, and headed out.

It dawned on me as I walked that she had neglected to tell me what console she had, and I had neglected to ask. I hoped that I had brought the right controller, at the same time I figured it probably wouldn’t be a big deal if I hadn’t.

I stopped off at a convenience store and picked up the tried and true combination of chips and soft drinks known to fuel gamers…you know what I’m talking about. I paid for my purchases and resumed my journey without incident.

Before too long, I stood before the front gate of the Blackrose compound. A guard ordered me to halt. Obviously, I complied.

“State your name and business.” Ordered the guard. He wasn’t a tall man, but he was stout and muscled. I knew he wouldn’t need to rely on his firearm to mess me up if he had to.

“Uh, Isaac Isaacs, sir. I am here as an invited guest of Ms. Victoria Blackrose.”

The guard nodded as he checked my ID. He touched an earpiece I hadn’t noticed previously and said, “He’s here.” He gestured to the other guard to open the gate. “Follow along the footpath and go straight to the front door and knock. They are expecting you.”

“Who is…” I started to ask but he had already walked away, “they…” I trailed off. I started down the path toward the massive house in the distance. Not gonna lie, it was a beautiful scenic walk. This place was well taken care of. I could feel the money, and I felt even more out of place. With each step, the urge to turn around and run away grew stronger, but the chance to see that beautiful smile, to hear her lovely voice and bathe in the sound of her sweet laughter kept me moving forward.

At last, I reached the front door. I raised my hand to knock, but before I could, the door opened. My eyes widened in surprise and I froze like an idiot, hand still raised in front of me. I was not prepared for the sight that greeted me.

This is not the end…