Ghost in the Roses
Chapter 45

Her soul-piercing cries for help vanish under the rising thickness of our shared grave. Inside a metal box, with hands and legs tied, my fate is being sealed under the cement and it pains me that I’m still alive to know that her fate will be no different. Death by suffocation, if the settling concrete won’t crush us in our separate coffins first, will be our end.

In solitary confinement and without a soul to hear it, my mind explodes. My scream wastes away at the very little air I have. How could this have happened?! This can’t be real! Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?! I pound the back of my head. My scull feels bloody raw. My bitter tears are like acid.

No matter how much I demand answers, the same silence keeps coming back. But what I know and what I don’t, won’t matter. The reality of it all hits me like a train because I failed to stop this wrack. Hope is dead, and our lives are soon to follow. The guild paralyzes me.

“I’m so sorry,” I beg for foreignness from everyone who comes rushing across my mind: Lada, Kai, Nina, Mom, and Dad.

Numb and defeated, I lay still, staring up at the pitch-black darkness. No matter how much I apologize for the pain my death will cause, there’s no one to accept it. No one will ever replace us here in the underground tunnels, under the cement, under our sudden disappearance, under everything that ever happened.

The terms of this fate are clear and there’s only one thing left to do. So, whatever is left of my life turns into a prayer. Perhaps, they will hear me. Maybe, they will grant me the forgiveness I need. It’s possible, that I might convince them to give us a second chance.

This one-way conversation gets quieter and quieter as my conscience drowns farther and farther down. My mind is losing its grip, but I don’t dare to stop it. Desperate, I’m willing to try anything to get out of my nightmare. Slowly, my thoughts and memories slip away. With nowhere left to go, I follow them. They might know a way to escape all this fear and anxiety. Through a passage of curtains, I can feel a disconnect growing. This might go on forever. But vail after vail, I keep moving forward.

With a brush of a hand, a final veil reveals the mystery. Somehow, I’ve stubble into some world filled with an abundance of emptiness and shadow. This must be death and this is the afterlife I know my soul deserves for letting everyone down. My final destination is no paradise.

“Where am I?” my voice causes the strangest echo as I walk around.

“Welcome to the Valley of Death,” a warm welcome in this grey and dusty desert is the last thing I expect.

“Who are you?” I turn around.

That tree wasn’t there before, was it? The swinging of its bare branches motioned me to come closer. I obey. Any company is better than no company for all eternity.

“The real question is who are you?” it speaks.

“I think I’m dead. My name is Adrien Rivers,” I state the obvious.

“Hmmm, but you’re not. You are not Adrien Rivers,” the tree replaces my claim amusing. “He is still breathing in his grave, barely. So, you must be something else.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re an extension of him, but you are not him. You’re what we call...oh, what’s the word for it,” my only company tries hard to remember.

“What do you mean I’m an extension of him?” afterlife starts to make less and less sense.

“Oh, I remember!” it shakes with excitement. “You are what they call a prayer.”

“A prayer?”

“Yes, you’ve been sent here to look or ask for something.”

“So, I’m not my... I mean, I’m not Adrien’s soul?”

“Not yet, but if you fail to replace what you’ve been sent to look for, then you will be.”

“But I...I mean, Adrien prayed many times before and I’ve never seen anything come out of it like this!”

“Adrien never been shut out and excluded from the world like this before. He’s never heard a dead silence like this before. He’s never lost all hope like this before. You’re are the last sound of his voice,” it explains.

“Then, Adrien is not... dead,” I’m taken aback. “But what can I possibly do?”

“Go look for help, silly. What do you think prayers are sent for? It might take some time and you’ll have to do a lot of walking, but if you go far enough, you’ll replace it.”

“Which way do I go?”

“That is up to you to decide,” then, curve by curve, the tree breaks down in the wind, turning into ash like everything else all around me.

Where do I go? Who do I look for? How do I get back? In this bizarre dimension, I come to understand only one thing - this is why it takes such a long time for prayers to get answered.

“Hello?! Is anyone here?!” I keep yelling.

Still, not a sign.

“Hello!!” time and time again.

Who am I kidding? Why would I ever be able to replace help in this shit hole? This is the Valley of Death, after all. Nothing survives here. Not even the trail of footprints behind me. The monotoned wind sweeps away the only evidence of my existence as if it’s ashamed of having me here.

“Hello! Can someone help me? Please!!”

Nothing.

“Hello!” giving up is not an option.

“What are you looking for?” out of thin air, someone sneaks up on me.

In an instant, their feral tone makes me wish that my calls remain unheard.

“Are you lost?” it tries to cover up its growls with an attempt at concern.

“We can help, you poor dear,” one more comes walking toward me with eyes burning red.

“Did you come here all by yourself?” with drool foaming around the jaws, another pack member closes on me from the other side.

“You shouldn’t be going to places you don’t know alone,” they keep emerging, tasting the air around me.

In this lonely place, somehow, I become the center of unwanted attention. A dark whirlpool of predators encircles me. Their howls sound off like a dinner bell, inviting more of their demonic brothers to join in.

“Don’t be scared, prayer. It will be over soon,” the leader closes in on the hunt.

Without any way to defend me, not even a stick, I’m reduced to relying on a handful of ash and dust to distract the alpha. Unfortunately, this does nothing to me. It only infuriates him even more. To my terror, I realize that I only speed up my end, but at least I’ll be a meal that is difficult to digest.

“Don’t!!” he barks for the rest to stand back. “He’s mine. I got to teach him some table manners, first!”

In mid-leap, his glowing eyes meet mine. I take the opportunity to throw another handful in his face. Caught off guard, the beast loses his concentration. I barely manage to get out of the way of his fall.

“Why, you! You’re going to pay for this,” like a machine on springs, he’s already back on his feet.

Before I can even think to do the same, the offended alpha is already on top of me. His claws dig in like nails. Pushing against his open jaws, my hands delay him from feasting on my face a bit longer. I grunt against the toxic pain, as his fangs penetrate through my palms deeper and deeper. The saliva slithers downs to my slowly bending elbows.

“Help!!!” I give it my last try.

I am answered. At last. A moment later, it would have been too late. The weight of the wolf is lifted off me. Something even bigger and stronger walks this valley. The huffing and puffing wind pushing through my nostrils and thundering hooves scaring the ground stand in my defense. The wounded alpha no longer looks so intimidating as he whimpers for mercy.

“I take claim of this prayer! Leave! While you still can!” Even the floating dust trembles at my protector's command.

Without so much of a nod, the pack scatters off.

“Sorry, it took so long. It’s harder for me to pick a prayer’s scent,” the reddish-brown giant turns to me.

“It’s quite alright. You’re here now,” I can’t help but, stare at his horns. The knife's sharp points drip with black blood.

“I’m a Taurus,” he greets me.

“It’s so nice to meet you,” I smile. “I’m Adrien Rivers’ prayer.”

“So, I heard.”

“Can you help?”

“Damb right I can. Jump on! We’re going to bust right through!”

Gladly, I accept his aid.

I have no idea where to go, but the Taurus’s speed shows clear and undeniable confidence in which way to go. Not sure, but I think I got a few seconds’ glimpses of that tree again. It seems to be waving at me.

“Hold on, prayer!” Taurus gives me a fair warning as we approach the mountains of a wall.

By the look of the length and height, there’s no way around or over it. I’ve never seen a barrier or fortress of such size, but there’s something very familiar about its solid gray material.

Taking a tighter grip on his horns, I brace myself for impact.