“We have to go now!” I yelled over the increasing noise.
“No, wait a second, I know it’s around here somewhere.”
“Ella!” I pleaded.
The lights were huge. The ground a few hundred yards in front of us was suddenly illuminated. The light swept towards us as the hulking train thundered forward.
“Ella for god’s sake, we are going to die!”
The sound became deafening.
“Hold on…I know it’s here!”
The train was so close I could see Gabriella as clear as day. Then I saw what she was looking for. A few feet away from her, a small metal door set into the wall. It was curved to fit into the rest of the tunnel and had it not been for the tiny cracks of space around its edges and the strange symbol etched on its front, you wouldn’t know it existed at all. Gabriella noticed it as I did.
But it was too late, the train was too close.
Then came the blast of a horn and the screech of brakes as the driver desperately tried to stop. I shut my eyes and waited for death.
Something yanked me hard to the right and I heard a deep slamming sound. The horn continued to blare, distant and muffled.
It took me several moments to understand that we were still alive. I opened my eyes and gasped. We were sprawled on the plush carpet of what looked like an extravagant waiting room.
Golden wallpaper lined the walls. A silver border ran the entire length of the room. Large pictures of important looking men and women hung in various positions. A coffee table stood to one side. It sat in-between two salary destroying leather sofas. On top were several leather bound books, presumably to pass the time. The room smelled like a mixture of varnished wood and freshly cut grass. I noticed a large ornate vase beside me. It held beautiful flowers with vivid green stems and oil black petals. It looked like no plant I’d ever seen. Or have I? Lastly I looked straight ahead at a large desk carved from rich mahogany. Behind it sat an attractive woman in her late forties. She had short brown hair chopped over…purple eyes? They were wide with surprise as she stared at the tangled mound of arms and legs. My guide stood up, pulling me with her. “Heavens, Gabriella, are you okay?” asked the woman. “We’re fine thank you Iralia. Sorry about the entrance.” Flicking her head in my direction she added, “new recruit.” “Ah so that’s what all the fuss was about upstairs.” The woman smiled warmly at me. “Welcome dear.” “Uh, thanks,” I said, not sure of the correct response.
“Okay, now all potential recruits must be signed in regardless of creed. It’s procedure. So let’s get you booked in shall we?” Her tone was soft and warm, like the way a nurse would speak to a terminally ill patient. “What’s your full name then dear?”
I stood like an idiot, my mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. The woman put up her hand. “No matter. In fact Gabriella, if you don't mind I’d prefer to do it the old fashioned way. I'm a little out of practice.”
Gabriella shrugged. “Be my guest.”
The woman smiled, leaned back in her chair and breathed in deeply. The papers on her desk lifted up and the leaves on the exotic flowers trembled. Then I felt something invisible tugging gently at my skin. Like a million tiny hooks. Shivers swept down my spine.
After a few seconds she stopped and clicked a pen.
“Right. Alexander Eden, Human. Born Seventh of August, nineteen ninety four, aged Seventeen. Thanks lovely.” She wrote the information on a form attached to a clipboard.
“What the fu-”
“-If you could just sign for me” she interrupted, gesturing the form out towards me, before setting it down on the desk.
I stared at Gabriella, mouth wide open. She nodded towards the desk, and I shuffled over. As I got close my blood turned to ice in my veins.
The woman had wings.
From the angle I’d been at I hadn't been able to see the leathery appendages protruding from her back. They were folded, the ends spilling over either side of the chair and touching the carpet.
The woman looked up at me and cocked her head sideways. “What's wrong dearie? Never seen a set of wings before?”
There was a rush of wind as they opened up. They were colossal, spanning at least eight feet. I heard a high pitched scream and realised it was coming from me.
“IRALIA!” shouted Gabriella and the woman instantly re-folded her wings. I fell to the floor and scrambled away on my backside, trying to put distance between myself and the creature.
I felt a warm hand squeeze my shoulder and the waves rolled through me like morphine, calming. Gabriella squatted down and smiled. “Don't mind Iralia, she’s harmless. She just likes to mess around with the new guys.”
As my heart smashed against my chest, I looked up at the thing behind the desk. She gave a butter wouldn’t melt smile.
“I'm sorry Alexander. I just get so bored whenever I’m stuck down here. I promise I won't scare you again. But I do actually need you to sign this form.” She waved it at me.
I refused point blank to go back over to the desk, so Gabriella had to bring the clipboard to where I was sitting. I had to hold my wrist with the other hand to stop it shaking. My signature resembled a series of lines and splodges.
Gabriella returned the form to the creature. Then she came back to me and offered her hand. I took it and stood up.
“It’s okay, we’re moving on now,” she soothed.
I followed her through a set of double doors at the far end. As we passed Iralia, I made sure I was as far away as physically possible.
When the doors had shut and we were safely on the other side in a long white corridor, I turned and yelled, “what the hell was that thing!?” Gabriella waved a hand for me to keep my voice down. “Have you ever heard of a Succubus?” she whispered. “What, you mean as in the life-force stealing demon?” “That’s a fairly accurate description.” I pointed at the door. “A-are you saying that the monster in there is one?” Gabriella’s eyes narrowed. “Iralia is not a monster, but yes she’s a Succubus.” I backed away from her, hands up. “That's it, craziness levels just hit unacceptable. I want to go home. Let me out please.” She walked towards me. “Alex surely you must have suspected something out of the ordinary was happening by now.” “Of course I did,” I snapped. “But I didn’t expect something off the X-files!” “I never said the truth would be easy.”
“Easy?” I had to force myself not to scream. “How about not even in the realm of sane?” I pressed my hands against my head. “I can’t handle this, It’s too much.”
I walked down the sterile looking corridor with no idea of where I was heading, there were so many doors, with god only knows what hiding behind them.
“Wait!” cried Gabriella running after me. She put hand on my arm. “Alex, we need you.” She paused. “I need you. Please allow us to explain. Then if you still want to go, I’ll take you myself.” Her eyes bored into mine, searching for some common ground.
“Explain then,” I said, folding my arms.
My guide shook her head. “I'm not the right person to do that. But if you come with me, I promise you’ll get the answers you want.” She held out a hand, which I pushed away.
“Fine, but no more surprises.” I could still feel my pulse jackhammering away in my ears. “I’d prefer not to have a heart attack.”
“I’ll do my best,” Gabriella agreed with a sober expression. Pointing towards a set of metallic double doors at the end of the corridor, she added, “but you have to understand, once we get where we’re going, you will see and learn things you never believed possible. I need you to keep an open mind.”
“It’s wide open. Trust me, Bat-woman back there made sure of that.”
“Okay then,” Gabriella said with a faint hint of a smile.
We walked the length of the corridor, me lagging behind. I couldn't help it. I didn’t know what to expect, all
